Finding My Community
Email: jmosle01@tufts.edu or Jaiden.Mosley@tufts.ed
Hometown: Riverdale, Maryland
My first couple of weeks at Tufts have been a period of great transition for me! As a first year-student I am at the beginning of a new and exciting journey, and I have been trying to find my place here at Tufts. As I have been in this process there have been many people to help me along the way during my transition from high school to college. This weekend I participated in the annual Africana retreat for first year students. A couple weeks ago before school started, I participated in a pre-orientation program called SQUAD specifically for students in the African diaspora. The Africana center has been a major part of my transition to Tufts!
When I first came through those gates a couple of weeks ago, I was nervous about finding my tribe so to speak. I was nervous about fitting in and making friends. However, when I participated in SQUAD earlier in the year and the Africana retreat that made me feel a little more comfortable in my environment here at Tufts. I got to hear from older students who have been here at Tufts before me. I also connected with and made friendships with so many unique people from around the African diaspora and from around the country. I even met up with some friends I knew from the past! The older students who were running the retreat as well as SQUAD gave us advice on how to navigate through different spaces at Tufts .They also provided us with information on the wonderful resources Tufts has such as Academic support (the Staar center) , the writing center, and the career center. The older students also talked about their experience specifically as black students here at Tufts, both good and bad. It was very fulfilling to hear an honest perspective on race and inclusion from people who look like me on issues of race and inclusivity at Tufts. I was a little fearful when I came to Tufts as a black student about how people would treat me or perceive me. So, I really appreciated the guidance and the advice they gave us!
Through the Africana retreat as well as the Squad pre-orientation program I was able to connect with so many of my peers who come from such unique backgrounds. Now I understand that the Africana center is a safe space and a haven for black students within a predominantly white institution such as Tufts. I appreciate that Tufts supports safe spaces such as the Africana center for students of color to go to when they need support.