After I committed to Tufts in May 2018, all the upperclassmen I knew told me the same thing: to do the Global Orientation program. At first, I didn’t really want to leave home early to do a pre-orientation program, but the more I heard and read about GO, the more exciting it sounded. The website and my upperclassmen friends mentioned a scavenger hunt across campus, going to places like the North End and Chinatown, and a trip to a nearby beach town, among other really fun-sounding events. Most of all, I wanted to meet people from different places, whether those places were Singapore, London, or even Lexington, Massachusetts! Although I was looking forward to starting my life at Tufts, I was pretty nervous about being that far from my home in Mumbai. I didn’t know what to expect by the time move-in day rolled around in August 2018; I was suddenly worried that Go wouldn't live up to what everyone had claimed it would be. Turns out, I had no reason to worry. GO ended up being a really meaningful experience for me. It helped ease me into life at Tufts and Massachusetts.The different activities helped me meet some really cool people, and discussions about culture shocks and adjusting to college life went a long way in making me feel more comfortable in this new environment. Host Advisors gave me insight into Tufts; one of my Host Advisors told me about Tufts International Club, an organization that has now become one of my favorite parts of my Tufts experience. Some of my best friends at Tufts are people from my 11-person GO group!
Pre-orientation programs really help in those first few weeks on campus. You see familiar faces in your classes, residence hall, and just walking around campus, whether they’re fellow participants, Host Advisors, or Coordinators. They are an opportunity to get involved on campus early, meet upperclassmen who become friends and mentors, and meet other students with similar interests before orientation officially begins.
I loved pre-o so much that I returned as a Host Advisor last year, and as one of the Coordinators this year! Whether it’s GO or another program, I highly recommend doing a pre-o – deciding to do GO was one of the best decisions I’ve made at Tufts.
Here’s what some past and current Host Advisors/participants/Coordinators had to say about GO:
Insiya Naim (Participant 2017, HA 2018, Coordinator 2019, HA 2020) – “GO is a unique program because of the emphasis on cultural integration. One of my favorite parts of being Coordinator in 2019 was watching the student leaders encourage the participants to find beauty in the differences between their backgrounds. People come from all walks of life, and GO does an amazing job of introducing global citizens to the Tufts community!”
Meera Rohera (Participant 2018, HA 2019, Coordinator 2020) – “Moving from home to a university is always a rollercoaster whether you’re an international student or from the USA. The Global Orientation is a great way to meet people from different corners of the world who are on the same boat as you and ease this transition in your life. Doing this preorientation will mean you start college with a bunch of familiar faces around campus!”
Miran Miyano (Participant 2018, HA 2019) – “GO has the most diverse range of students in one orientation - we have students who live 20 mins away from campus and 20 hours away from campus who all get to know each other, have fun and become great friends!!”