Earlier this week, I spoke to the incoming first-year international students as well as shared some welcoming remarks with their families during Global Orientation. These families have traveled far and wide (some much farther than others) to see their children excitedly settle in at Tufts, all while knowing they must leave campus in a few short days, child not in tow. Today is matriculation and the beginning of first-year orientation. In a sense, it’s the beginning of a new orientation for parents as well. Their houses, a little quieter (and cleaner?). Their schedules, much less consuming. Many will fly home likely thinking about how Tufts is taking care of their children, and if their children are enjoying Tufts. Who will their friends be? Will these friends be a good influence? Will they see them through success and failure? How will my child cope without me around?
So, parents, if you need some assurance, simply look around—at all their peers. Trust me, they are in good hands. They'll be making friends, perhaps become best friends, with extraordinary, inspiring people. As you may know, Jumbos dream big. They defy expectations and care about each other. That’s what Tufts is. And that's especially true of our tight-knit international student community. They bring a distinct richness to campus, unique narratives that help widen the perspectives of both peers and professors alike. How so? Well, let me show you.
In the incoming class, we have a chemical engineer from Tanzania who hopes to use her education stateside to reform energy infrastructure issues back in her rural community. She shared in her application, “At Tufts, I’ll acquire skills in energy processing in order to advance electricity production from natural gas in Tanzania. I’ll return home and become a role model to girls who are afraid of pursuing the sciences or engineering, because they think these subjects are only for men.”
Running on that same wavelength is the civic-minded leader from São Paulo who plans to major in education in order to empower others by exposing them to broader ideas and solutions. “I want to be a voice in the social, economic and political fates of those who have been oppressed for too long.” At home, she’s an English teacher to under-served individuals in her Brazilian community and licensed to translate TED talks into Portuguese.
From Eastern Turkey arrived the only student of Kurdish background in his entire school community back in Istanbul. In a country where it is still illegal to have a Kurdish surname, this prospective double major in computer science and political science aspires “to be a link in the chain that can hold Turks and Kurds together, to create a peaceful home purged of prejudice and loathing.”
There’s also a math-obsessed environmentalist, athlete, singer and future environmental engineer from Bangkok, Thailand, who grew up in Dubai until the age of 10. She spent her last two years of high school in rural India, where she led her campus-wide campaign to teach others how to reduce their water usage. At Tufts, she hopes to continue researching water while taking classes in Middle Eastern foreign policy.
And finally, a prospective international relations major from Nanjing, China sees himself in the trenches as a future war correspondent and journalist who will make his mark on complex geopolitical issues. He confides to us, “Correspondents talk to people who have suffered the most and give them a voice. I simply want to make a difference, and anything less than that would be unacceptable.”
So now, I hope that it may be a bit easier for you—mothers and fathers—to fly home, knowing that you’ll be leaving your sons and daughters behind with Jumbos who are inspired to make change, at an institution that will encourage them to do just that.
Photo by Modes Rodríguez via Flickr.