Email us your questions for the Ask a Tufts Student page and learn more about the students featured below by visiting our Meet Tufts Students page!
What kind of community service activities have you participated in at Tufts?
 Morissa Sobelson | Most of the community service activities I've participated in as a Tufts student have actually occurred in Boston, but would never have been possible without the support of the Tufts community. In 2007 I founded the Health Disparities Student Collaborative, a group of graduate and undergraduate students from schools all over Massachusetts who are now collaborating on efforts to eliminate health disparities. Tufts has not only provided financial backing for this project, but also mentor and peer support, and opportunities for academic credit and related research opportunities. |
 Duncan Pickard | This year I worked with the Somerville Community Corporation (SCC) to help implement their East Somerville Initiative. The Initiative's goal is to help prevent displacement in East Somerville, a largely immigrant community about fifteen minutes from campus. I researched best practices for implementing some of the Initiative's specific goals, such as foreclosure relief and education rights advocacy. By the end of the year I had written six policy reports that were sent to nonprofits partnering with SCC. |
 Constance Mourning | I have participated in many community service activities at Tufts. For example, I went to New Orleans with the Leonard Carmichael Society, our community service organization, last spring break. We gutted a house one day and the other days we did needs assessment surveys. This was a great experience as we were really able to help the community and our group was able to bond and become close. I'm also a member on National Student Partnerships, which is an organization that volunteers in the community serving as case workers for community members who need assistance with housing, finding a job, filing their taxes. Finally, every year I take part in "Halloween on the Hill," "Read by the River," and "Kids Day." These are all activities organized by groups on campus that invite children from the Medford/Somerville area to take part in fun activities on Tufts Campus. |
 Edward Fan | During my first year at Tufts, I was introduced to the Tufts Literacy Corps, which is an organization that tutors students in the town of Medford in reading, writing, and mathematics. Over the past three years, I trekked to middle schools in the Medford area to tutor students in mathematics. I eventually picked up a couple students for one-on-one tutoring sessions; their parents drop them off at Tisch Library and I tutor them. To me, the students that I tutor are like an extended family to me, and the children's parents invite me to dinner on occasion. I love what I'm doing at the Tufts Literacy Corps, and it has definitely been one of the most worthwhile experiences here at Tufts. |
What has your advising experience been like at Tufts?
 Stella Deych | My Senior Project advisor is great. I took two classes with her and have gone to her about a million times with questions about everything from internships to the font type of my magazine and she always has the answer. She actually happened to know the CEO of this company that I was applying to for a summer internship sophomore year, and when I went in for my interview, the CEO came up to shake my hand and said he had "heard great things about me," so I think I owe that internship to her. |
 London Moore | One of the most important people in my college experience has been my advisor. My advisor at Tufts is absolutely one of my favorite people. Dean Glaser is in a word: inspiring. He constantly pushes me to do the best that I can and be the best that I can. He has opened my eyes to wonderful opportunities. He seems to always have the right answer; I remember last year he gave me that extra push that I needed to go abroad, an experience that changed my life. He has has certainly helped me to involved in the student and person that I am today. |
 Felipe Ossa | Tufts has a very efficient and individual-oriented advising program. In my case, I wasn't sure what type of engineer I wanted to be. Thus, I was first assigned to an engineering professor. After I decided that I wanted to study Civil Engineering, my advisor was immediately changed to a CE professor that could help me choose classes more effectively based on my interests. |
 Whitney Wiegand | I have received tremendous amounts of support and guidance from my advisors at Tufts. My initial advisor was very helpful freshman year in ensuring that I was on track academically and that I was adjusting well to life at Tufts. After choosing my two majors I selected two new advisors who have been amazing. They have helped me with my classes, with research I have done, with finding an internship, and are often there just to chat. For me, the advising program at Tufts has extended far beyond the academic sphere. |
What kinds of athletics and other outdoor activities have you participated in at Tufts?
 Pamela Roy | One of my BEST decisions since coming to Tufts has been joining the Women's Rugby Team. I played sports all my life, but I didn't want the time commitment of a varsity team, so club sports are a perfect in-between and a great chance to try something completely different. I don't know which I love more: the sport or my team...both are wild, crazy, unbelievably fun and unpredictable. Another one of my best experiences at Tufts was and still is Tufts Wilderness Orientation: 5 days of bonding and partner hikes, amazing summits, loud sir mix-a-lot sing-alongs, and plenty of pita bread. For any incoming freshmen reading this, I cannot wait to lose my voice and use up all my energy welcoming you to one of the best weeks of your next four years! |
 Malek Al-Chalabi | During my first two years at Tufts, I was part of the Men's Club Volleyball team, which was really fun because we were able to travel around New England and have some great games. Now, I participate in intramural soccer and intramural basketball, which is fantastic because it's a casual way to stay in shape and have fun with my friends. |
Whitney Wiegand | I joined the Tufts Women's Ruby Team in the fall of my freshmen year, having never played before. I quickly came to love the sport and the team, and have been playing ever since. Currently, I am training for my second Boston Marathon with the Tufts Marathon Team. I ran with the team my sophomore year and am excited to do it again! |
What was the best lecture or event that you’ve attended at Tufts?
Duncan Pickard | I heard Dan Rather speak and moderate a panel of prominent journalists in spring 2007. They discussed how news media must accept the Internet age to survive and their shortcomings in doing so thus far, the relatively new role of "embedded" reporters in covering war, and how Americans are exposed to fewer original sources of international news than we were even ten years ago. The panelists related all of that to recent changes in how Americans look at the world and how that perspective affects policy. Most amazing, though, was being able to ask a question and have Mr. Rather — one of the century's most respected newsmen — respond to me personally. |
Felipe Ossa | The best event I've attended at Tufts was a lecture given by Paul Rusesabagina, the heroic man who saved many lives in Rwanda (the actual person from "Hotel Rwanda"). His speach was really interesting. The auditorium was full, and everyone stood up to applaud Mr. Rusesabagina. It was very moving. |
What did you do for your first-year orientation?
| Whitney Wiegand | Freshman orientation was a great opportunity to get to know Tufts and the rest of the freshmen class. Aside from having regular meetings with with my advisor and orientation leaders, I spent a lot of time with my roommate and getting to know my hall mates. We went to a hypnotist show, an a capella concert, and the annual food fair. The last night of orientation my orientation leaders took our whole group out to dinner in Boston's Chinatown. |
Malek Al-Chalabi | For first year orientation, I was part of International Orientation. It was one of my best times at Tufts because I was greeted with such warmth and care from the Tufts community during my first days on the Hill. The people I met were really friendly and I met my best friends at International Orientation. It was so much fun that I signed up to be a host advisor for the following year. |
Constance Mourning | I took part in the Windows program, taking "The Sociological Eye: People, Places and Things." It's funny because I signed up for the class thinking it was a sociology class, but it actually turned out to be a photography class that dealt with sociology. It was an interesting development when I realized what class I was taking, but it actually turned out to be a great experience. I had a great group of peers in my advising group, and we all began to hang out over the course of the year. So even thought it wasn't exactly the class I was looking for, it turned out to be the perfect class for me. |
| Morissa Sobelson | For me, the most exciting, memorable, and fun aspect of orientation was participating in the the Tufts Wilderness Orientiation program. We hiked, camped, built trails, and bonded in NH's beautiful White Mountains. It was the perfect way to make a smooth transition to college, provided an awesome opportuniy to learn from our upperclass leaders about how to make the most of Tufts, and was the starting point for what have become some of my closest college friendships. |
What is your favorite way to be involved in the arts at Tufts?
 Josh Wilmoth | Tufts various arts programs were one of the main reasons that I fell in love with the school. It's such an integral part of the Tufts' social community, and in a way that provides an open and stress free way to be involved with the activities you're passionate about to a degree that works for you. There are always concerts, plays, gallery openings and tons of other student arts activities going on. I constantly go to student performances during the school year to support my classmates and to enjoy a good show. I'm also involved with a number of arts organizations on campus, which are definitely my favorite extracurriculars at Tufts. |
| Stella Deych | I'm very involved with the theater troupes at Tufts. Working on the production staff of a show is really fun because you get to be creative and you have a lot of freedom. I tend to choose the student-run productions because then I get to be the primary designer or manager and make my own decisions but still have the drama faculty available if I need guidance. One of the most rewarding experiences for me is seeing a show come together on opening night after months of work. |
What kind of research or internship opportunities are available to undergraduates?
Felipe Ossa | I recently completed a summer internship at Simpson Gumpertz & Heger, a Waltham-based company that focuses on the engineering of structures and building enclosures. While at the company, I worked closely and learned from professional engineers. Amongst the projects that I worked in is the structural design of a teaching and research building for Biotechnology, the structural design of an Integrated Nuclear Waste Treatment Plant, and the litigation case of an existing structure. It has been an awesome and unique experience, and I’ve learned a lot! |
Whitney Wiegand | Freshman year I participated in a research based advising group in the child development department. Our class of ten students would meet weekly to assist Professor Easterbrooks in her research about the effects of parental depression on child development. We would watch footage of parent child interactions and collect data on notable differences between the relationships of depressed and non-depressed mothers with their children. It was an amazing opportunity that my classmates and I were able to conduct research with an esteemed professor as first semester undergraduate students. |
Malek Al-Chalabi | Over the summer, I was a research assistant in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at Tufts. Being a research assistant, I was able to research a variety of topics, which included water contamination, permeable concretes, and different types of civil structures that are engineered to address environmental needs. It was a great experience because I was able to research interesting topics and also be in an academically rich setting. |
What's a classic weekend like at Tufts?
London Moore | I have found that every weekend is extremely different. Some weekends you may spend the whole weekend on in Boston while other weekends you may not be able to get away from campus at all. There is always some sort of Tufts performing group having a show or some sort of interesting guest speaker to go hear, or somewhere to go out or hang out. During finals you will find yourself buried in Tisch or Ginn Libraries with your friends, heads in your books, but every few minutes breaking out in silent laughter because one of your friends has done or said something that only your delirious state could find hilarious. More than anything a Tufts weekend is a chance to spend time with the people that make the pressures of school worth it. |
| For me, a classic weekend at Tufts would start on a Thursday. I usually go out to dinner or go to a movie on Thursday nights. Friday nights are usually when I'd make my way into the city, and there's always a ton to do in Boston. I usually find an art museum to go to, especially on Friday nights because a lot of them will have discounted rates and concerts geared towards college students. Saturdays and Sundays I usually stick around campus, where there's also a ton going on. I'll put in a few hours in the library, check out a sports game, go to either a lecture or a movie on campus, and just chill out with friends. At night there will be some parties, or we'll cook dinner for our friends. |
Typically, on Friday night, I will go to a concert, show, or movie on campus and hang out with some friends afterwards. Saturday afternoons are really varied for me. I might play tennis, participate in a campus event like Kids Day, have rehearsal for whichever show I'm working on at the time, or occasionally go into Boston. There is usually a theatre production just about every weekend. So most Saturday nights, I attend closing night of that week's show and then the post party. Sunday my friends and I do brunch in Dewick (the Downhill dining hall) for two hours and just drink coffee and chat. After that, I'll spend most of Sunday afternoon in the library catching up on homework. Sunday nights are TV nights. My best friends and I all watch the same showbut we all have busy schedules so we tape them and watch together on Sunday nights. |
