There are plenty of ways to find community at Tufts, and I would argue that one of the easiest ways is to simply be a good neighbor. In my first year on campus, I found an amazing Carmmunity (Carmichael Community!) through my housing assignment–here’s how that story went.
Move-in day. After making multiple trips up and down the stairs and having to put my stuff down as a door stop, I started to get a little frustrated. Luckily, my neighbor saw me struggling with my move-in and graciously offered me one of her spare door stops. I was extremely thankful and took the offer. I was surprised how quickly people were willing to step in and help. That night, we took a walk through campus, and it was so nice to already have a familiar face around me. The next day, I introduced my roommate to her, and that was one of the first steps of building our community.
The Wing. Throughout the first semester, the “wing” grew. It was everyone in my specific hallway of Carmichael Hall, and we had one big group chat. We started hosting movie nights in the residence hall, and everyone would come over with snacks and blankets! When it started snowing, we all went outside to build snowmen and have snowball fights, or simply just to walk. I shared countless meals with people in my wing, and I was so lucky to have such lovely people surrounding me! As the first semester came to a close, we even hosted a secret Santa. We all gave gifts to each other and unwrapped them as we huddled around the mini Christmas tree I had hauled into my room.
The Common Room. This became a big part of my life during my second semester at Tufts. I had noticed a group of Carmichael residents who would spend time in the common room every night, and they would cook in the kitchen, study on the couches, or just hang out on the floor. I knew one of them from my Experimental College course, so I decided to drop by one night and get to know some of the others in the friend group. They were so welcoming and I started hanging out with them almost every night. During Easter, we even held a huge egg hunt around Carmichael, and it was so fun to run around looking for eggs!
RA mention. Anand was my honorary Resident Assistant (RA). He cultivated so much community in Carmichael and always held events. My friends and I attended some of them, and I am still in contact with him today!
The Carmmunity. Overall, my first year in Carmichael was amazing and I met so many people just through housing! There are many ways to find community at Tufts–you can join clubs, attend events, and find people through your classes–but one of the most accessible ways to create connections is just by meeting and reaching out to the people you live with. Everyone is looking to make friends their first year at Tufts, so a great start is to just be kind and put yourself out there–just like my neighbor did with me on move-in day.