Learning for life: Tuition Remission program allows Tufts employees to take courses with students

REMISSION continued from page 26 enjoys having a formal setting to engage in topics she is passionate about.

“I was able to take creative writing, something I [wanted] to do for myself for years [but] never had the chance to [as an] undergrad,” Sargeant said. “It’s going to count for nothing [toward my degree], but I had so much fun. I had a blast, I learned a ton.”

Brzozowski also explored more creative course offerings. The first class she took through the Tuition Remission program was at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts. From there, Brzozowski decided to seek out courses that would apply toward a master’s degree that she could pursue during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“[Class] was my favorite part of every day, when I would take my lunch hour to do this project management homework,” Brzozowski said. “It felt like recess for my brain, and that was in fall 2020 where there wasn’t that much else a person could do for entertainment, … so I did that and I was like, ‘if this is what this degree is, then I have to go for it.’”

Brzozowski encouraged others to try out things, even if the end goals are unclear.

“I follow the idea of prototyping your life, design thinking for one’s life, including, if you’re considering something, prototype it and test out your theory,” Brzozowski said. “I said to myself, … if I like this class, maybe I should consider this great degree, and I loved the class, so as soon as I was done, I applied for the [Tuition Remission] program.”

Experiences like this show how many educational paths the Tuition Remission program can reveal.

“You don’t appreciate how many doors education can open for you until those doors are closed in front of you,” Callahan said. “I think working has taught me … that.”

Callahan is not currently pursuing a degree through Tuition Remission; however, taking courses has been a meaningful learning opportunity in his eyes.

“One thing I’ve appreciated about these classes is, they’re actually pretty realistic to work life,” Callahan said. “They’ve been more open-ended [with] open discussions, and you have to discuss with other people.”

Overall, the program offers the opportunity to pursue learn- ing that is applicable to the lives and careers that employees are already building.

“One thing that drove me and made it more rewarding, is that I could really use everything I learned,” Brzozowski said.

The difficulty of taking a course while working full-time cannot be underestimated.

“You enjoy it at the end of the day, but there’s going to be moments where it’s like, ‘Oh my gosh, there’s a lot of work, what did I get myself into,’” Sargeant said.

Callahan compared a commitment to lifelong learning to his own love of physical fitness.

“Exercising is my favorite thing. You always have to push yourself physically and education is just like that,” Callahan said. “You’ve got to push yourself to learn more.”

Brzozowski’s takeaways from the program include experiencing Tufts through many roles: as employee, student and an alum.

“I do think the Tufts education is so valuable, and it’s nice to be able to be a part of it, not only by doing so much of the communications, but also by being an alumni as of a few weeks from now,” Brzozowski said.

For Tufts’ staff and faculty members, the Tuition Remission program opens the door to an accessible, well-rounded educational and social experience.

“It is a totally awesome deal,” Callahan said. “I’ve met a lot of really great people, I’ve learned a lot of great things to improve myself. I’m very curious and eager to do more. It’s been a whole new world basically, a very eye-opening experience.”

Lucky roommate assignments evolve into lasting friendships as they live together for all 4 years at Tufts

ROOMMATES continued from page 28 supposed to be my roommate.’ So it was an uphill battle at first to regain my reputation,” Hotch said.

While they became good friends living in Hill Hall together freshman year, Hotch and Johnson grew even closer through living together in a small COVID-19 residential cohort in Lewis Hall their sophomore year. In part, because the circumstances required that they spent almost all of their time together.

“I think that we got lucky,” Johnson said. “The whole cohort system sophomore year ended up helping because we had to spend a lot of time together. So, we had other friends before but I think that’s [how] we became better friends.”

The two ended up living in a room together when they moved off campus their junior year.

Because they found a room that was big enough for two people, they reasoned that it was a smart decision because they could both pay less in rent.

“I thought that was a more common thing,” Hotch said. “But we were the only ones that I was aware of that did that.”

Some of their favorite memories together are renting a Zipcar to take an hour-long road trip to get vaccinated and stopping at the beach along the way, and meeting up five times when they were both studying abroad.

Both Johnson and Hotch agreed that Tufts’ random firstyear roommate assignment is a beneficial exercise in personal growth, regardless of how it turns out.

“There’s a whole paradox of choice, … where the more options you have, you think that whatever you [pick] will be so perfect,” Hotch said. “So I like that part of the random room- mate, … just make the best of it. … It will unfold however it unfolds, I think that that’s a good experience for a college freshman to have honestly.”

Lastly, seniors Autumn Stelzer and Jill Collins were matched to live in Houston Hall their freshman year and went on to live together for the next three.

“You’re waiting all summer [thinking], who’s my random roommate gonna be?” Stelzer said. “So, you get a name and you’re like, ‘Okay, let me Google them.’ And so I found Jill’s Facebook and I sent a picture to my grandma. She was like, ‘Two gorgeous roommates!’”

The two connected online and texted over the summer. They quickly started hanging out when they got to Tufts, and Stelzer shared a story of the two bonding on their first night out in college together.

“We walked back in the rain. We’re soaking, we’re alone on the first night in O-Week in our dorm room. And we took a selfie or something in the mirror and then we just … hung out the whole night. … It was just really fun,” Stelzer said. “And then we just bonded that night after we were soaked in rain at Lax House and it was just a really fun, cute night. … That was actually the last time we ever went to Lax House.”

The two then moved into a suite together in Latin Way for their sophomore year. They shared special experiences, such as a tumultuous road trip from Chicago back to Tufts, and having one of their best Thanksgiving dinners together in their Latin Way suite. Despite the joyful memories, living with a close friend requires careful maintenance of the relationship.

“I think that you build deep connection … by going through hardships and repairing that,” Stelzer said. “Because we prioritize our friendship, we were forced to deal with things when things weren’t working out. Like if we were disagreeing on something, … we had to talk about it for the sake of the friendship. … You couldn’t ignore each other — you were living together.”

After graduation, Stelzer and Collins will be adding a fifth year to their roommate tenure, as they plan to move to an apartment in Brooklyn together next year. Their random roommate assignment will soon outlive their time as Tufts undergraduates as they venture out of the Medford/Somerville campus together.

“Now that we’re kind of reflecting on this, I feel like me and Jill are two very open-minded people,” Stelzer said. “I think we could be friends with whoever we got put with and, luckily, I happen to be paired with somebody who’s awesome.”

Jeffrey Berry, a mainstay of the political science department, retires with fulfilling memories

BERRY continued from page 28 engaging students in conversation about American national politics.”

According to Berry, Tufts has changed a lot over the years, both as a university and within the political science department. During Berry’s academic career, the international relations program was created in 1977.

“We essentially became two political science departments,” Berry said. “More traffic goes through our department than any other department, so we became bigger because Tufts international relations became sort of a bellwether — it became a signature program of the university.”

Berry also explained that when he first started teaching at Tufts, the political science department only had 10 faculty. Since then, the department has more than doubled in its size.

“The [political science] department became more research-oriented over time,” Berry said. “Tufts was a small college that became a university later in its life, and so it took time for it to transition.”

Berry is departing from Tufts knowing that the political science department is in good hands.

“I think in my fields, in particular, American politics, it’s just really first-rate,” Berry said. “It’s hard to walk away from because I love my American politics friends and colleagues. … They’re great scholars, so the department is in very good shape.”

Berry also reflected on the changing demographics of Tufts students over the years.

“Of course, the population of Tufts students has become more diverse because America has become more diverse, so it’s a different student body than when I entered,” Berry said.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, it was challenging to teach from a distance and feel removed from the community while learning was done remotely.

“COVID was painful for me, as it was for the students,” Berry said. “I missed the campus. I missed the relationships with my advisees, so it was hard. The day Tufts closed down, … I didn’t really get to say goodbye to people.”

Persisting through the difficulties, Berry was grateful to return to teach in person before his retirement.

“I’m glad that I got to go back and teach a little bit in person before I retired,” Berry said. “I loved my classes that I taught in the fall, which was my last semester. … I loved the courses, [and] I loved my students who were enrolled.”

Following his retirement, Berry plans to stay busy. He will still be present on Tufts’ campus to finish up his book with Schildkraut and Glaser. In addition, he will also be attending classes with his wife at the Harvard Institute for Learning in Retirement and is training to be a nonprofit consultant through SOAR Management Consulting Group, an organization that offers pro bono consulting to small nonprofits.

“To my surprise, I’m actually busy,” Berry said. “I’ve never woken up since retirement and said to myself, ‘Gee, what am I going to do today?’”

Berry is also looking forward to traveling and spending time with friends and family, including his two daughters and grandchildren.

Upon reflecting on his time at Tufts, Berry offered some advice to students.

“Challenge yourself, because there are courses that demand a lot in terms of research skills, and so I would gravitate to those to do more than just the bare minimum,” Berry said. “I would take advantage of research opportunities. … It’s about being mentored as opposed to being taught. That would be my advice.”

All in all, Berry is very appreciative of his time at Tufts, and views it as a permanent home after close to five decades of inspiring students, colleagues and political scientists worldwide.

“I hope I remain part of the Tufts community because I love Tufts,” Berry said. “So I’ll be back on campus every once in a while.”