A Tuesday in the Life of a Tufts EECS Major
Hey future Jumbos! My name is Emilio, and I’m a junior studying Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. If you’re wondering what a day in the life of an EECS major actually looks like, you’re in the right place. My days are a fun mix of hands-on technical work, deep theoretical discussions, and just hanging out around campus. Let’s dive into my Tuesday schedule!
Morning: Coffee, Grading, and Hodge
My Tuesdays actually start pretty relaxed, which I love since my first class isn’t until the afternoon. First things first: an essential coffee from Kindlevan Café. I work as a Course Assistant (or TA) for CS 61: Discrete Mathematics, so I use this free morning block to get some grading done and prep for my office hours later in the week. It’s incredibly rewarding to help other students navigate the same concepts I wrestled with during my first year! Once I’m caught up, I swing by Hodge to grab a quick lunch before my academic day officially kicks off.
1:30 PM: Philosophy of Technology
My classes begin at 1:30 PM with Philosophy of Technology (STS 57) in Braker Hall. Even though I spend a lot of my time writing code and building circuits, taking interdisciplinary courses is a huge part of my Tufts experience. It’s a nice change of pace that forces me to step back and think critically about the real-world impact and ethics of the technology I build!
3:00 PM: Electronics I
At 3:00 PM, I make my way over to the Joyce Cummings Center (JCC), easily one of my favorite buildings on campus, for my Electronics I lecture (EE 21). This is where we dive into the theoretical aspects of electronics before eventually applying them in our separate lab sections. It’s fascinating to learn the fundamental math and physics that power the hardware and devices we use every day.
4:30 PM: Intro to Security
For my last class of the day, I walk over to Pearson Hall for Intro to Security (CS 116). We learn about system vulnerabilities and how to defend against them. It feels like solving a massive puzzle every time we tackle a new concept, and it perfectly ties into my interests in cybersecurity.
6:00 PM: Dinner at Dewick
By 6:00 PM, I’m definitely ready for a break. So, I head over to Dewick to grab dinner and catch up with a friend. It’s a great time to decompress, talk about our weeks, and get some good food before my last commitment of the day.
7:00 PM: TASSA Fellowship
My Tuesday wraps up at 7:00 PM with the Tufts AI Safety Student Association (TASSA) fellowship. AI Safety is a field I’m really invested in, and we use this time to discuss complex readings and talk about things like mechanistic interpretability, which is basically figuring out how to make sure advanced AI systems are safe and aligned with human values. It’s a fascinating way to end a busy day!
Thanks for tagging along on my Tuesday at Tufts. Whether I’m grabbing a coffee at Kindlevan, debugging a circuit in Halligan Hall for my Electronics I lab, or discussing the future of AI, there is always something exciting happening on the Hill!