Meet the Admissions Team

Kindred by Octavia Butler

"Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare" -Audre Lorde

It's hard to narrow down to just one, but East of Eden is that book that I always come back to. I tend to really like books that focus on families and the communities in which they live (a more recent favorite is Little Fires Everywhere—highly recommended!).

I am the longest standing member of the staff (notice I didn't say oldest!) so have spent a lot of time on the Tufts campus. While there are many spots on campus that I love, the Memorial Steps are probably my favorite, especially since they were refurbished a few years back. Standing at the top or bottom, you can appreciate their beauty and message.

EXP-0028 Baseball Analytics: The Sabermetrics Model

Elephants spend about 16 hours a day eating, consuming 300-400 pounds of food!

The African elephant is the world's largest land mammal – with males on average measuring up to 3m high and weighing up to 6 tonnes.

“There may be people who have more talent than you, but there’s no excuse for anyone to work harder than you do.” - Derek Jeter

Elephants have the longest pregnancy of any mammal at 22 months long.

The Prez Lawn, especially at sunset!

Bendetson Hall – it’s where I get to partner with an extraordinary team of colleagues to read the applications (and stories, and aspirations, and journeys, and worldviews) of some of the nation’s, and the world’s, most promising and compelling students as we build each incoming class.

If I had to pick just one: A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers. But with books, you never have to pick just one, so some close seconds include: The Emperor of all Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee, The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead, Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin, and The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. 

Women of Paris: The Circus Lover by James Jacques Joseph Tissot is one of my favorite lesser-known paintings in the Museum of Fine Arts permanent collection.

Dumbo was recognized as Time Magazine’s “Mammal of the Year” in December 1941.

Roussel, Walser, Proust, Stein, Lispector, Michaux, Huysmans, Artaud, Pynchon, Borges, Sterne, Rabelais, Kharms, Vvedensky, Pizarnik, Seneca, Sun Ra, Trakl, Carrington, Mallarmé, Bataille, Celan, Howe, Sarraute, Zürn, any book that has a lot of long lists in it, etc.

Laura Owens, Glenn Ligon, James Ensor, Sigmar Polke, Mike Kelley, Fischli+Weiss, Theaster Gates, Tauba Auerbach, Hanne Darboven, John Rafman, Charline von Heyl, Christian Marclay, Isa Genzken, Guy de Cointet, Ree Morton, R.H. Quaytman, Dieter Roth, Adolf Wölfli, Rachel Harrison (did I mention that I’m enthusiastic about a lot of things?)

I once rode an elephant through a river in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Alcove between Goddard Chappel and Ballou

"If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart." - Nelson Mandela

In addition to the familiar trumpet blast sound they're known for, elephants also purr much like cats do.

MUS-44: History of Rock 'n Roll...again

Some elephants are “lefties,” others are “righties.” Because of constant usage, their preferred tusk gets shorter over time.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake – can’t pick just one

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

Elephants can drink up to 50 gallons of water in a day, and can hold 2.5 gallons in their trunk. That’s one heck of a water bottle!

Elephants are excellent swimmers, and use their trunks like snorkels!

Candy Chang’s public installations, especially Before I Die and I Wish This Was

Bendetson Hall. This is not only where I get to meet students on paper in their applications, but also where I connect with them in person once they are on campus!

Painting the cannon, because it gives students an outlet to express themselves in a creative and nontraditional way.

Lucy the Elephant is a six-story tall structure that was modeled after Jumbo by inventor James V. Lafferty in 1881. Residing in Margate City, New Jersey, Lucy is one of the oldest surviving roadside tourist attractions in America and a National Historic Landmark.

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

A Separate Peace by John Knowles

EC-144 Income Inequality, Poverty, and Economic Justice

The SMFA Art Sale is such an exciting time of year. All of the walls of the building are lined with hundreds of works of art from SMFA at Tufts students past and present. It's great to see so many people visiting SMFA looking to purchase art. Plus, there's a chance your artwork gets hung next to famous SMFA alumni like Mike and Doug Starn or Jim Dine.

"Why talk when you can paint?" –Milton Avery

Misery by Stephen King

Paul Gauguin, Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? (It’s in the MFA collection!)

Michael Scott’s The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series has to be one of my favorite personal reads but Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed is one of my favorite academic reads ever. If you want to begin your understanding of how educational structures are formed, operate, and continue to inequitably thrive in our society, then Freire’s work is a must.

I know this is cheesy but “Shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you’ll land amongst the stars” has always motivated me to do my best.

Upstairs in the Campus Center (couches, pool tables, and The Sink)!

Not stepping on the Jumbo logo in the lobby of the athletic center.

The lawn tucked behind Paige Hall where you’ll find an unexpectedly good view of Boston and a handful of very comfortable bright blue chairs.

SCP-0031: 3D Foundations: Wood, Welding and Plaster

The Sunshade by William John Leech. I highly recommend visiting this piece at the National Gallery of Ireland if you visit Dublin, particularly if you’re a fan of modern art!

“Every day, someone realizes a dream. I believe dreams help light our darkness and give us the push we need to move across the rink of life”- Kristi Yamaguchi, 1992 Olympic Gold Medalist in Women’s Figure Skating.

The Sink

Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat

Elephants can’t jump! Even when moving at their maximum speed of 25 miles (40 kilometers) per hour, they still keep at least one foot on the ground at all times.

The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali

Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain

The top floor of the Campus Center