Tufts Blogs

My two best friends, Emma Zafran and Aaron Pomerance, came to Tufts with a few ideas of what they were interested in studying. But, it was only once Emma came here that she realized how strong her love for International Relations was. And Aaron, who had always enjoyed the outdoors, realized that he could turn his passion for the environment into an academic interest after taking some classes. This summer, they both landed their dream jobs. Emma is interning at the Consortium on Gender, Security, & Human Rights and Aaron is leading 10 day hiking trips around the northeast.

Emma, an International Relations major and English minor from Boca Raton, Florida, came to Tufts hoping that the IR department would further her interest in international security. After taking Intro to International Relations with Professor Michael Beckley in the fall of her sophomore year, Emma was set on pursuing a summer internship in Boston that was related to IR and security.

With guidance from her Professor and TA, Ivan, Emma was accepted into the perfect internship for her, working for this Boston NGO. Her responsibilities range from conducting research on gendered political economies and masculinized institutions to writing annotated bibliographies. While interning, she is also working on organizing their Speaker Series, which brings in a global roster of thoughtful activists, frontier practitioners, and engaged researchers to address today’s issues. After Emma finishes her internship in mid August, she will be a Wilderness leader (or Wilder mom, as we like to call it) for the Tufts Wilderness Orientation (TWO) with Aaron.

Aaron, from Weston, Connecticut, is pursuing a double major in Psychology and Environmental Studies. He came to school very excited to start his four years after being in the same Wilderness Orientation group as Emma, and having a great time. His positive experience with TWO furthered his interest in all things outdoors, both in and outside of the classroom. After learning more soft and hard hiking skills from Tufts Mountain Club, Aaron applied for a job at Apogee Adventures. This summer work is able to combine his two major interests – working with teenagers and having a positive impact on their life, and the environment.  Aaron will be leading adventure backpacking, hiking, and community service trips for teens throughout the New England Mountains and coasts. Once Aaron comes back from Apogee in August, he will be heading out on another trip, but this time he will be leading his Wilderness babies.

And, to you – Emma and Aaron’s future wilder children – know that you’ll always have the two best role models by your side.