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Last year, I picked Students Heightening Actionable Political Engagement (SHAPE) as my Pre-Orientation program. As a political science major, the program seemed perfect for me! Coming to campus that August, I was terrified to start my new chapter at Tufts. SHAPE ended up being one of the best experiences I’ve done at Tufts. My year, SHAPE focused on digital equity: we went to low-income communities in the Medford/Somerville/Boston area and learned about their access (or lack thereof) to the Internet. At the end, we helped people sign up for the Affordable Connectivity Plan (ACP) and gave free computers to people who signed up. It was a fulfilling experience to do my first week as a college student.

This year, I returned to SHAPE as a Peer Leader; SHAPE provided me with an amazing base to start my time at Tufts, and I wanted to help incoming students have the same experience. SHAPE is one of the newest Pre-Os, with this year being its second year. Because SHAPE is so new, being a Peer Leader meant more than getting to move onto campus early. Coupled with the fact that all the Peer Leaders were SHAPE “alumni” from last year, training was an interactive experience where we all felt as active members improving a program we grew to love.

The SHAPE Pre-O is a great way to learn about resources on campus, meet new people who have interests similar to your own, and explore the Boston/Medford/Somerville areas! In fact, this year we worked with a non-profit called BCAN to spread awareness about money coming into the city of Boston for green public transit. In doing so, students learned more about the transit system in Boston (something they will be using very often) and had the opportunity to explore parts of Boston they may have never been to before. My “line” group went to Maverick station on the Blue Line, an area with predominately Spanish- and Portuguese-speakers. We even took our students to a Brazilian café called Brasil Brazil.

As a Pre-O focused on political engagement, we were hyper-aware of the fact we are in an election year and many of us – both first-years and Peer Leaders alike – have differing views on the upcoming election. We were fortunate to spend a lot of time going over ways people can get involved in the process. From registering to vote to hearing from both Tufts Democrats and Republicans, I am proud of our Pre-O for creating an environment where people could speak openly.

This year’s SHAPE students reminded me so much of myself and my friends from last year! Being a small Pre-O both last and this year, all of us got to know each other very well and we became a tight-knit community. Even now after the program, I love seeing what my SHAPErs are up to on campus and getting to see how they’re adjusting to college life. As a Peer Leader, it was strange to see students - who are often just a year younger than me – rely on me as we went through the program. Spending time with the first-year students made me realize, though, how much I’ve grown between now and when I was in their shoes. I feel like a new person, and I am grateful to say SHAPE was a crucial factor in my evolution.