Meet the Student Communications Group!
All that jazzy content you see in Jumbo and on our social media? These are the folks behind it. They're real, live Tufts students with a flair for making videos, podcasts, and articles, a great sense of humor at our weekly meetings, and a desire to share their experiences with you. Meet them below, and in every issue of JUMBO Magazine!
Blake Anderson is a junior at Tufts pursuing a degree in English & Civic Studies. Originally from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Blake moved to Tufts in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic without ever visiting the campus before. He loves being a member of the Student Communications Group because he loves sharing what makes Tufts so special: the people. In capturing their stories and experiences, Blake hopes to show future Jumbos why Tufts is a remarkable place to call home. His favorite things are iced coffee, Tufts' premier sketch comedy group (The Institute), and the Oxford comma. Go Jumbos! 💙🐘
Hi! I’m Josh Cohen, a junior from Sarasota, FL studying community health. Apart from contributing to the SCG at Tufts Admissions, I am a first-year resident assistant (RA) and clinical research intern at Massachusetts General Hospital studying brain health across the lifespan. More recently, I’ve had the opportunity to apply my interests in several brain stimulation centers in Florida administering Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) therapy. In my free time, I enjoy exploring the Boston area and watching trivia game shows. I’m so excited for my third year on the SCG and the opportunity to share my Tufts experience with you all!
Hi, my name is Valeria Velasquez and I’m from Columbia, Missouri, but my family and I are from Nicaragua. My academic interests lay in psychology, computer science and European history. In my free time, I enjoy sketching portraits and writing screenplays and short stories.
Maddie Cortesi is a sophomore from Springfield, Virginia, studying Sociology and STS (Science, Technology, and Society). At Tufts, you can find her on the Cheerleading Team—Let’s Go ‘Bo’s!—and playing flute and piccolo in the Wind Ensemble. Maddie loves museums, Medieval French literature, creating mixed-media art, and waving to people around campus. She’s excited to share some school spirit with prospective Jumbos through the SCG!
Jed is a sophomore studying Chemical Engineering and
Biotechnology. Eager to travel to places near and far, stream
Spotify music nonstop, and trying out new flavors and
dishes, he enjoys learning more about the power of science
and drug/therapeutic discovery in a world recently marred
by COVID-19 from cancer immunology to protein engineering. Originally from San Diego, CA and the Philippines, Jed is currently obsessed with badminton, anything tropical, ramen, acai, and boba. He hopes that through storytelling, prospective students can learn more–and potentially relate–on what it is like to be a Jumbo. He is also involved with the FIRST Resource Center, CMHS Mental Health Reps, the Center of STEM Diversity, and Tisch Library.
Hannah is a junior from Massachusetts majoring in Psychology and possibly minoring in Child Studies and Human Development. This year, outside of being in the Student Communications Group, Hannah is a research assistant at the ICoN (Integrative Cognitive Neuroscience) Lab, looking at the effects of musical rhythm in people with Parkinson’s Disease. She has also been involved with the Asian American Center as a peer leader and the pre-orientation program CREATE (Cultivate Relationships by Engaging with Arts at Tufts Experience) as a leader. In her free time, she likes to read and watch movies or hang with her lovely dog. She can’t wait to share what makes Tufts great with prospective students!
Raga is a senior studying English and Economics with a minor in Film and Media Studies. She’s from Sharon, MA, a Boston suburb known for its berry farm and Crescent Ridge Dairy, which is, in Raga’s opinion, the world’s best ice cream shop. At Tufts, she’s a leader in the Tufts Wilderness Orientation, a graphic designer for Tufts University Social Collective, and a member of the club women’s ultimate frisbee team (when she remembers to go to practice). She’s interested in multimedia journalism and has been an assistant features editor and columnist in the Tufts Daily. She loves watching reality TV with her housemates, roasting things in an air fryer, and finding excuses to read on Prez Lawn.
Luiny is a junior in the dual degree program majoring in Archaeology and Fine Arts at SMFA. Her interests lie in the restoration and conservation of art and the history of multiple cultures (hence why it is hard for her to choose a single area of study). This past summer, Luiny worked as an artist assistant at the two-story mural entitled The Sum of Ostrom, Common Pots, and Persistence at Joyce Cummings Center. Luiny usually spends her free time drawing, reading, exercising, and watching movies (and she is currently obsessed with Robert Eggers’ films because of their historical accuracy).