Hi prospective Jumbos and friends in the Tufts community! Before I dive into today’s post, let me just tell you a little bit about myself to help you gain some perspective on my writing. I’m a rising senior at Tufts who, after spending time abroad and surviving the Snowpocolypse Boston Edition, has a newfound love and appreciation for my university. I hope that through my contribution to the admissions blog you will gain insight into being a student at Tufts and how you too can be part of this incredible community. Here are a few quick things about myself before I get started: I study economics at Tufts, but love studying everything else too which is why I only have one major, I live to eat, and I find traveling one of the most rewarding things in life. Oh, and when I’m walking around campus, there’s a 75% chance I’m listening to podcast. And now, let’s take a little trip around the world, to the beautiful country of Rwanda in Eastern Africa.
A couple months ago I had the absolutely incredible opportunity to travel to Rwanda on an interfaith trip through Tufts Hillel and the Cummings Program for Holocaust and Genocide Education. Tufts has a special connection with the country of Rwanda, as an alum’s wife with a strong connection to the university devised plans for a youth village for orphans of the Rwandan genocide in the basement of Tufts Hillel. Since the Agahozo Shalom Youth Village (ASYV) opened in 2011, Tufts has sent a group of students to learn about the village and the country of Rwanda every year.
Looking back, the trip resembled a 10 day mini-course entitled Traveling to Rwanda: Genocide, Identity, and Service. Through visits to genocide memorials, student-led group discussions, and time spent learning about ASYV from all angles, we explored a wide range of topics related to genocide, identity and service. That title is hard to grasp, so let me explain: in our discussions we analyzed why we came to Rwanda, what we were doing in Rwanda, how to bring our experiences back to Tufts, and why and how to donate our time and money. We did what Tufts students do, we questioned and discussed our purpose, impact, and future goals. This part of the trip was crucial to processing what we learned at two genocide memorials and by reading a book about the genocide.
The most special part of the trip was getting to know, learning from, and spending time with the students at ASYV. The village’s structure and mission is based off youth villages in Israel after the Holocaust. Students have classes during the day and in the afternoons and at night you can find them participating in a whole host of extracurricular activities. You would never guess the hardships these students faced when you see them smiling, laughing, and singing. Some of them are internationally-ranked debaters, others record their own music, but they are all committed to changing their country, to paying it forward.
My experience in Rwanda may have been a bit of a stretch to cover in one blog post, especially my first one. The fact is that the trip changed my perspective on life and will therefore have a significant impact on my time at Tufts when I return in the fall. The trip forced me to think about how my identities shape myself and my interactions as well as how I choose to impact the world and the lives of others. I have no intention of this experience leaving me any time soon.