Tufts is still a Match for me
Roughly three years, nine months, and seventeen days ago, I sat in my AP Calculus class, sitting unusually still while I clicked the refresh button…
As we reach the end of the summer (crying), here is the final part of my Engineers in the Summer Series! Over the past few months, we've met some great engineers doing cool, meaningful research. Today, we meet a newly initiated Jumbo: Kimmee is a freshman in the School of Engineering who has spent the past six weeks on our campus as a BEST Scholar (Bridge to Engineering Success at Tufts). She was born in Vietnam but has been living in South Carolina. She is a student athletic trainer, is involved in STEM clubs and plays the piano, ukulele and guitar.
BEST is a program designed to support students from under-represented backgrounds and less resourced high schools in their transition to college. Students have the opportunity to take two Tufts courses for credit, attend engineering workshops and network with deans and faculty. BEST is run by Tufts University's Center for STEM Diversity, a center focused on supporting students from groups traditionally underrepresented in engineering and STEM.
Hi Kimmy! You're about to start your first semester at Tufts, as an engineer! Have you always been interested in STEM?
I have always liked math and science. Growing up, I wasn’t great at English because it wasn’t my first language, so I leaned on math as it was something I could always understand. I really had no exposure to engineering. In my high school, we didn’t have a very strong STEM program, but I always knew I liked making stuff and helping people. I was involved in our school’s sports medicine team, and in a weird way, it helped me decide that I liked engineering. Taping was really cool! Learning the physics of taping and how things supported each other like splints and casts was interesting. Everyone expected me to be a doctor. That’s like the quintessential first generation student thing, but I didn’t want that.
Thinking about exposure to engineering, can you tell us about the past six weeks of BEST?
We took two classes, Calculus and Physics, and had classes four days a week. On Tuesdays and Thursdays we had resource lunches with different people on campus like health services, career services, the president, the dean of engineering, the Group of Six (Latino Center, Asian American Center, International Center, Women’s Center, LGBT Center, Africana Center), etc. On Fridays, we had MAT lab classes and engineering workshops. We also went to the Center for Engineering Education and Outreach and did a Lego Rube Goldberg activity. On the weekends we got to have some fun. We went to Boda Borg (Escape the Room type thing), the Museum of Science, and SIX FLAGS!
Additionally, each week we got to learn about a new engineering discipline and it was really, really cool! I think MechE and EnviroE were my favorites. I thought I was going to major in MechE but exposure to EnviroE has made me think about majoring in it. It resonates with me more because I care about helping people and the environment. I want to improve people's lives and connect with them.
Cool! What was your first impression of BEST, and how has that changed now?
Honestly, I didn’t really know what BEST was when I first found out about it. I was like, I guess this is cool… I get to take two classes, get ahead, and learn about engineering? I was waiting to get to Tufts to see what would happen. I was excited to meet other underrepresented and first gen students, though! I guess I didn’t know much about the program but I knew about the people! My high school was predominantly white so I thought these were people I could relate to.
Now... a lot has changed haha. I was going in neutral, without expectations, and I was really pleasantly surprised! It was really inviting and not a stressful environment (the kind you would think for an engineering program). When I met all the other BEST-ies, they were all so genuine, and we got along so well. I think the program is awesome. It is very heavily scheduled and definitely intense sometimes, but I loved it.
What was your favorite and least favorite thing about BEST?
Fav, EASY! I loved how our cohort of BEST-ies formed a family. It was so great. We’re all so different, and for a group that was thrown together from different backgrounds, it worked out so well. Least favorite… honestly it's nothing bad, but I guess the work was stressful at times and some of our days were very very busy.
Overall, BEST was a great experience. I now have all the resources I need and a really good support system going into college. I value the friendships I made, the connections I have, and the support from the Center for STEM diversity.
Last question! The classic "Why Tufts?" How did you find Tufts and why did you choose Tufts?
I grew up in Boston, so I always knew about Tufts, but I wasn’t thinking about colleges until junior year. I knew I didn’t want a place where I would feel boxed in. Bigger engineering programs never appealed to me because I knew I had so many different interests. When I looked at liberal arts engineering programs, Tufts stuck out. One day junior year, I worked at an event in South Carolina and it turned out to be the Quidditch World Cup! I saw the Tufts team and talked to some of the players. They told me how much they loved Tufts and how much they have grown not only academically but also as people. I loved that, because people always focus on academics and not on personal development. I knew the numbers and statistics of schools, they are there for everyone to see, but I was thinking more about fit. Financial aid was also a factor, and I got a great package from Tufts. I guess in the struggle between fit and “Can I afford it?” Tufts worked out very well! I’m glad BEST came out of it too.
And that's all from me for now! I hope these blogs have given you a glimpse into the life of a Tufts engineer in the summer. These four fabulous students represent a community of engineers that are diverse, intellectual and well-rounded—a community of change makers and active citizens. At Tufts, they have close relationships with faculty to support them in their academic experience, and access to research and internship opportunities to deepen their knowledge of their fields.
If you haven't read the first three blogs on Research and Internships, check them out!
Engineers in the Summer: Research (EnviroE)
Engineers in the Summer: Research (Computational Physics)
Engineers in the Summer: Internships
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