Author Archives: Ariana Hajmiragha

Learning Failure as an Overachiever

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Written by Ebru Ece Gulsan, Ph.D. student in Chemical Engineering

We have all heard horror stories about grad school. We knew advancing our research and coursework, while balancing our finances and life outside of grad school, would be challenging. But knowing and experiencing something is different. Maybe as an undergraduate, we were one of those students who seldom struggled with the assignments. Maybe our friends and family used to point at us as the overachiever of the crew. Maybe we played sports, planned events for social clubs, volunteered at animal shelters, or got straight A’s and graduated in Dean’s List of Honor. We know we were more than capable of overcoming the struggles of grad school. But, maybe we thought it would be just like a breeze, that we thought we would be an exception. But are we really an exception?

Maybe you come here as an overachiever and the very first experiment you designed fails. Graduate level classes are actually really hard, and now you have to assist undergraduates about a class that you took 3 years ago and barely remember the basics. Then maybe your second and third experiments fail, and your self-confidence falls through the floor. You realize you are not giggling while incubating your bacteria and start questioning if you are actually happy or meant to be in grad school.

So here is the deal:

It is OK to experience failure in grad school. You are literally creating knowledge and performing cutting edge research – and that science is built by figuring out what doesn’t work as much as by figuring out what does.

It is OK that your experiments take more time than you thought they would. There will always be bottlenecks and inevitable setbacks on your timeline and sometimes they are not predictable.

It is OK that some weeks you will have to work day and night, but some weeks there will not be much to do. You will not be burnt out every single day. Having ups and downs is completely normal. Steady state assumption only works for solving hypothetical chemical engineering problems.

It is OK that your initial hypothesis on your thesis proposal was wrong. It would be a miracle if you guessed it right on your first time. I know it can be frustrating to come up with a new idea, but do not forget about what you have learned along the way. You deep dove in the literature and read a tremendous amount of research articles, did numerous experiments, defended your ideas in rigorous discussions. You know much more than you used to – even though you are not aware of it yet! You will be surprised how natural it will be to come up with a new hypothesis.

It is OK that you mixed up the bottles when you were preparing your solutions. So what? You can make them again! I guarantee you that even the third year PhD student in your lab, who you think is very confident in their work, once made the same mistake.

Everybody fails.

Grad school is a place where pretty much everybody is brilliant. Your group members are brilliant, your faculty is brilliant, your classmates are brilliant, your advisor is brilliant (probably the most brilliant person you have ever met in your life). Everybody has certain personality traits that brought them to grad school: time management skills, dedication, organization; the very same skills that brought YOU to the grad school! So please remind yourself that there is no smooth way to achieve your goals.  Even the people you consider successful scientists have failed many times on their way to where they are standing right now.

Luckily, Tufts offers numerous resources we need to balance our countless responsibilities as graduate students. I tend to see exercising and fitness as a “binding agent” for all my other tasks; moving my body always gets me through my daily responsibilities smoothly. The Tisch Fitness Center provides a safe and healthy environment for those who would like to use the exercise studios and gym equipment upon reservation. Counseling and Mental Health Service (CHMS) understands the unique challenges of being a graduate student and offers short- and long- term counseling, group meetings, and telehealth services. The International Center always has an annual calendar filled with events for Graduate Students and all students, even in the middle of a pandemic, to assist us in our journey and increase the knowledge of immigration laws and international student rights.

Last but not least, it is crucial to build a supportive community especially with the folks who go through similar experiences with you. Along with the welcoming environment of Tufts University, the Graduate Student Council (GSC) is always there as a representative body and a priceless catalyst for us to meet other graduate students and engage in valuable conversations with our peers.

My advisor once said if he already knew everything he had learned throughout his PhD before he started, his PhD would have only taken 6 months. There is a reason why PhD takes 5+ years. Just because you struggle with this aspect of your work, that does not reflect on you as a person. Making mistakes does not make you a bad scientist; it makes you a human. We are here to learn; this is a part of the process and should not be locked out of the experience. Failure is natural. It is organic. It is expected. The only superpower we need to have is hard work. We just need to learn how to pick ourselves up and move along.

Why and How: An Introduction in Two Parts

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Written by Abigail Epplett, M.A. student in Museum Education

Hello, readers! My name is Abigail Epplett, and I’m a master’s candidate at Tufts University in the Museum Studies program with a concentration in Education. I also love American History, so I’ve taken classes about that as well. I actually entered the Museum Studies program through the certificate track, but I moved to the master’s track over the summer.

Today, I’m going to talk about two important parts of my experience: why did I choose Tufts over other programs, and how do you transfer from the certificate to master’s track?

Part One: Why Tufts?

I was specifically looking for a museum studies program within commuting distance of my home and my current job. Tufts is about 60 to 75 minutes by highway from my house, depending on traffic and weather conditions, and I anticipate the traffic being much lighter in the coming semester because of COVID‑19. I enjoy taking on-campus classes, because it gives me the chance to talk with other people in my field before and after classes. Additionally, all the on-campus courses I have taken have been scheduled for a three-hour session once a week. This is super convenient for someone with a fairly long commute. Of course, I have to mention that the center of Tufts campus is so pretty, regardless of the season! I love the statue of Jumbo the Elephant in front of the Barnum Building, where I took my first on-campus class.

I also appreciated that Tufts had online learning options even before the pandemic. My first semester, I took an online class about Digital Technology & Museums, which was taught online using Canvas. I had experience taking online classes in middle school and high school, so this was easy for me to learn. Plus, the topic lent itself really well to being taught online. One tip to succeeding with online learning is to go into the course module as soon as it opens and look everything over. Every professor organizes the module in a different way, so knowing how to navigate the virtual space beforehand is super important.

The third reason I chose Tufts was because of the Practicum, which is required of both certificate and master’s track students. This is an opportunity for Museum Studies students to work with a museum or non-profit organization and hone the skills they have learned in class, along with making connections with other people in the field. I took my practicum over the summer with Blackstone Heritage Corridor, Inc., a non-profit organization that works in collaboration with the National Park Service to preserve the history and environment of my area. It was a great way to see how non-profits and public agencies can work together to support local communities.

Part Two: How do I move from a Certificate to a Master’s program?

Because of COVID-19, museums are currently laying off workers, rather than hiring them, so I decided that entering the job market was not a good idea. Once the market improves, a master’s degree will be considered more valuable to employers than a certificate. I had also made a lot of new friends and connections while in the program. Another important factor was that I was not going into serious debt to earn the degree, so the investment was financially feasible.

Moving from the certificate to the master’s programs is advertised on the Tufts Museum Studies website, but the actual process is individualized and takes some pre-planning and organization. I imagine that the process is similar for other departments. Here are some things to keep in mind during the process.

Start by talking to your advisor and/or the head of the department. These people are professionals and have helped many other students transfer between tracks. They can often connect you with whoever you might need to talk to in Graduate Admissions or Financial Services.

Make sure you know what tests you need to take. Some departments require GRE or GMAT scores to be submitted with the move to a new degree program. Because COVID-19 has stopped much of this testing, this requirement was waived for me. Your application also requires a final transcript, which you already submitted when applying to the certificate program. Email Graduate Admissions to make sure this document is transferred between applications.

Once your transfer is successful within Graduate Admissions, you still need to manually transfer your credits in SIS, the online database that controls all of Tufts billing, financial, class schedule, course selection, and feeding times for Jumbo. (Okay, I made that last part up…) This is also called “petitioning to the head of the department,” and it can be somewhat confusing. For example, Museum Studies operates within the spheres of Education, History and Art History, so I had to petition to the Chair of the Education Department even though I had taken all Museum Studies classes, some cross-listed in different departments. Just remember to transfer your credits, or they will look like they have disappeared from your account, not to mention that your billing will not be correct.

In the Museum Studies program, certificate classes were paid per credit at a discounted rate. Master’s classes are paid in bulk in the first two semesters of the program, while only fees are paid for the second (or third) year, although the amount of fees might surprise you. If you feel as though you cannot afford to pay for the entire program up front but find payments over four semesters more feasible, start with the certificate program and then move to the master’s program.

Another layer gets added if you are eligible for scholarships and federal work-study. When moving to the master’s program, be sure to ask your advisor if there are scholarships available. This can take a lot of money off your bill. Make sure you fill out your FAFSA ahead of time, even if you aren’t sure if you will receive aid, because this information is often required to receive scholarships. You also have a chance to receive Federal-Work Study hours. Once you receive your bill, make sure to look at it right away – if you are not understanding what you see, contact Financial Services. They are really good at explaining each item on the bill and explaining future billing. For me, my second semester bill will be pro-rated to account for the classes I took while in the certificate program. Please note that there is currently a three-day waiting list for Financial Services emails on account of COVID-19, so be patient and kind while emailing them! They will certainly return the favor.

Conclusion

I hope that answers the questions you may have about why I chose Tufts for my master’s alma mater, and how to move from a certificate track to a master’s track. If you have any more questions about my experience or the process of moving to a certificate to a master’s program, feel free to reply in the comments, and I’ll try to answer you in a timely manner. Enjoy your time at Tufts!

Keep Calm and Stay Organized

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How I beat my inner sloth during self-quarantine

Written by Ebru Ece Gulsan, Ph.D. student in Chemical Engineering

I bet none of us imagined the rest of the semester going like this after Spring Break. We are slowly transitioning to distance learning and a home office routine not only as a community, but also as students from around the globe. Although staying at home gives us some extra time for our hobbies and self-care, eliminates our commute time, and maybe saves us some money, it could also hinder our productivity and motivation to maintain our routine.

Personally, I always need to be in an office, library or a coffee shop to get things done. Knowing that I’m 5 steps away from my bed and there are tons of snacks in the fridge is never helpful. I am sure other Jumbos are on the same page, so I wanted to share some useful apps that I use to keep myself on track, no matter how inclined I am to procrastinate at home. These apps are not only for your daily tasks like research or homework, but also for other productive activities like reading or exercising.

Having said that, you do NOT have to be productive ALL THE TIME. If you are failing to make the most of your time at home, this does not mean that you are not self-compassionate. Please do not feel pressured by the fact that Shakespeare wrote “King Lear” in quarantine, while you might have had cereal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner yesterday because you couldn’t bring yourself to cook. Everything is upside down now and you get to define what success is for you.

Be gentle to yourself, make time for your hobbies, relax, and do not forget to call your loved ones. In the meanwhile, there is no harm sharing what helps you stay organized during this time.

An all-in-one workspace for your notes

Notion provides you a workspace you can access through all your devices. This is by far my favorite productivity and organizational tool I have used. You can create and keep track of to-do lists, tasks, projects, notes, and ideas, and even enrich them with media, icons, webpages, publications, or any other useful reference you can imagine. The best thing is that when you add references to your lists, you have the chance of accessing them even if you are not online. It is also possible to share your lists and collaborate with other Notion users. The app operates on nested pages which saves us from messy folder organizations. Overall, for me Notion is a very versatile, smooth, user friendly and useful app that helps with my routine (and is free!).

Journaling App

Having weekly or daily to-do lists is great for productivity; but for me documenting long term goals and my progress towards those is key to staying motivated. Day One is an excellent journaling app not only for tasks and projects, but also for personal growth. It provides you a safe digital space to store your memories, thoughts and dreams, either with pictures or words.

Set Yourself a Reading Challenge

Is there a better time than a stay-home period to finish those books you had started months ago but have not had time to get back to? In theory, yes! But in practice, not really. I don’t know if it is just me, but I find it very difficult sometimes to reach to that book sitting on my nightstand although I have all the time in the world.

This app is such a life saver; you can use Goodreads to set a “reading challenge” and keep track of your progress. The app also sends you notifications and reminders to motivate you to get back on track. You can see what your friends are reading, where they are at their own challenge, how they felt about their books, what they want to read next. The app will also use an algorithm to give you recommendations for your tastes and interests over time, which motivates you even more to finish that book and start those new excellent recommendations.

Track Your Workouts

It is especially difficult for folks in Boston to stay home all day, considering the year-round 5 AM runners all around the city. I love being active, and have been lucky enough to have access to excellent athletic facilities provided by Tufts. I have been using the Strong app to keep track of my exercises, make customized workout routines, and record my progress. The additional benefit of Strong is that it allows the user to define details about their workouts.

You do not have to be outside to be active! There are plenty of exercises and reasonably priced weights to purchase online. My personal favorites are resistance bands, a kettlebell (preferably on the heavier side to use for full body exercises which engage bigger muscle groups, mine is around 20 pounds for reference) and dumbbells. They last a lifetime, are compact and easy to store. For inspiration, YouTube has some excellent free channels to safely guide you through creating your home exercise routine, and many yoga studios also started live streaming for their clients.

Please do not forget that this is stressful time for all of us, but we are doing our best. Extend some grace to yourself and appreciate how we adjust ourselves to a situation which seemed unimaginable a few weeks ago. The most helpful approach I took during this transition was to treat the day as a regular day in my office. I woke up early and got ready for the day, had my gear together, set up a workplace, and most importantly, I set boundaries for my work hours and leisure hours. But there were also days I did not get any work done, which I learned to be okay with.

So, do not overwhelm yourself and find what works for you. Stay in touch with your co-workers, classmates, and principal investigator. Organize get-togethers with that friend who you studied abroad with, who you never get a chance to FaceTime anymore. Call your parents. Treat yourself with some self-care. Most importantly, be gentle to yourself and to your loved ones.

Historical Happenings in Tufts University’s Backyard

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Written by Ruaidhri Crofton, History and Museum Studies M.A. student

Most Tufts students will likely know of the Boston Tea Party, Paul Revere’s Ride, and the Battle of Bunker Hill, just a few of the many significant historic events that have taken place in and around Boston throughout the city’s nearly 400-year history. However, many are surprised to find out just how many cool and quirky historic claims to fame can be found in their own backyard. Though Boston may often overshadow its smaller Medford and Somerville neighbors, these two cities are themselves home to a number of interesting historic sites. With many within walking distance or a short bus ride of the Tufts campus, a visit to any of these sites is not only a great way to get to know your new community, but a fun opportunity to do some exercise in the process!

Please note that given the ongoing COVID-19 public health emergency in Massachusetts and around the world, I would strongly advise against planning a visit to any of these sites until the situation improves.

Jingle All the Way…to Medford Square! (Medford)

Inspired by popular sleigh races that used to take place on Salem Street in Medford in the early 1800s, James Pierpont is said to have penned the now iconic Christmas song “Jingle Bells” at Simpson’s Tavern in Medford Square in 1850. This seasonal claim to fame is rather dubious as the city of Savannah, Georgia, where the song was copyrighted in 1857, also claims to be the where the song was first composed. However, a small plaque now marks the site of Simpson’s Tavern as the site of the song’s birthplace and is sure to bring some holiday joy to Tufts students looking to take a short stroll from campus to see it.

Walking Distance from Tufts: 0.7 miles, 14 minutes

Just Call Me #1! (Somerville)

Charles Williams, Jr. arguably had the easiest phone number in the world to remember: 1. In April 1877, the Williams family home at 1 Arlington Street in Somerville became the site of the first permanent residential telephone line in the world. The owner of a telegraph manufacturing facility in Boston, Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Watson experimented with the telephone in Williams’ shop and eventually installed a phone line connecting his house in Somerville to his office in Boston. What was the first conversation held over this line? A brief message from Williams to his wife after work: “Caroline, I’m coming home!”

Walking Distance from Tufts: 2.4 miles, 49 minutes

“To Grandfather’s House We Go!” (Medford)

In yet another claim to lyrical fame, Medford is also home to the Paul Curtis House, said to be the “Grandfather’s House” in Lydia Maria Child’s beloved poem “Over the River and through the Wood” written in 1844. Originally published as “The New-England Boy’s Song about Thanksgiving Day”, the work recounts the author’s childhood memories of visiting her Grandfather’s house during Thanksgiving. An unknown composer eventually set the poem to the tune that remains popular today.

Walking Distance from Tufts: 0.7 miles, 14 minutes

Powder House to Pickle Factory (Somerville)

First built as a windmill c. 1704, the Old Powder House in Somerville was eventually converted into a gunpowder magazine in 1747 by the colonial government of Massachusetts. In the lead up to the American Revolution, Governor Thomas Gage ordered the removal of military stores from arsenals like the Old Powder House in an attempt to prevent the outbreak of war amongst colonists. On September 1, 1774, a force of approximately 260 British Regulars removed all of the gunpowder held in the Old Powder House before returning to Boston. This led to panic amongst colonists throughout the countryside amid rumors that bloodshed had occurred, resulting in thousands of militiamen mobilizing and streaming toward Boston in response. Since then, the property surrounding the Old Powder House has been used as a farm by the Tufts family, a carriageway, and even a pickle factory. Today, the Old Powder House stands in Nathan Tufts Park near several restaurants popular amongst Tufts students and next to another eccentric landmark: the “Museum of Modern Renaissance”.

Walking Distance from Tufts: 0.5 miles, 10 minutes

The Royall House and Slave Quarters (Medford)

The Royall House and Slave Quarters preserves the 18th century home of the Royall family, the largest slaveholding family in Massachusetts, along with the only remaining slave quarters in the northern United States. Visitors are welcome to visit the site from mid-March to mid-November where they can take a guided tour of both the mansion and slave quarters to learn more about the property’s role in the history of race, class, and slavery in North America. Though the stories preserved and interpreted by the site can be troubling to hear, a visit to the museum provides an impactful means of learning about this country’s past and its significance today. Admission is typically only $10, but Tufts students are able to visit for free.

Walking Distance from Tufts: 0.2 miles, 5 minutes

Fluff (Somerville)

Although not exactly a historic landmark you can visit, Somerville is the birthplace of perhaps one of the most famous guilty pleasures in the Northeast: marshmallow fluff! In 1917, Somerville confectioner Albert Query began marketing the sweet, sticky concoction door-to-door before selling his recipe to candy makers H. Allen Durkee and Fred L. Mower in 1920. Today, the Durkee-Mower factory in nearby Lynn, Massachusetts continues to produce marshmallow fluff to be enjoyed on its own or as a key ingredient in a New England take on the peanut butter sandwich: the fluffernutter. Every September, Somerville hosts the annual “What the Fluff?” festival in Union Square to celebrate the local invention. While you’re there, be sure to check out The Mμseum – perhaps the smallest art museum in the world!

Walking Distance from Tufts: 2.4 miles, 50 minutes

Amelia Earhart’s House (Medford)

Before she became the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean in 1932, Amelia Earhart worked as a teacher and social worker at a Boston settlement house during the 1920s. During the week, Earhart worked to teach classes and hosted programs for new immigrants and their children at Denison House. During her time off on weekends, she gained experience doing what she is now most famous for: flying. Originally from Kansas, from 1925 to 1928 Earhart made her home in Medford with her mother and sister in a small house on Brooks Street. A small plaque in her honor can be found outside the private home today.

Walking Distance from Tufts: 1.5 miles, 31 minutes

Moving to Tufts

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Don’t know where to start in your move to the Greater Boston area? Check out posts by graduate students and alumni in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering, all whom came to Tufts from afar.

Boston skyline

Making Friends and Building a Community when Moving to Boston, from an international student’s perspective

Written by Ebru Ece Gulsan, Ph.D. student in Chemical Engineering

When Home is 2,500 Miles Away

Written by Alia Wulff, Cognitive Psychology Ph.D. Candidate

So you think you want to move to Boston… Now what?

Written by Lennon Wolcott, M.F.A. 2017

Moving to Tufts

Written by Michelle Connor, Music M.A. 2017

Committing to Fun

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By Audrey Balaska, Ph.D. student in
Mechanical Engineering: Human-Robot Interaction

Graduate students are known for their passion, enthusiasm, and dedication to working hard.  When I decided to apply for Ph.D. programs, I started hearing jokes and comments about how I was going to have no life because I was going to spend all of my time working. 

Now, I love my research, and I really have no issues with occasionally doing research on the weekend, or working late into the night on my homework.  At the same time, I also enjoy having friends outside of my classes and lab.  When I first came to Tufts, I found myself wondering:

How am I going to prevent my program from taking over my entire life?

Some people in graduate school have families nearby or other commitments that automatically force them to have some semblance of a work-life balance.  But as a single woman who is the only member of her family living in Massachusetts and who knows very few people who live in the area, I had no commitments except to my program when I first moved to Medford. 

Graduate students often do not work from 9:00am-5:00pm, or even have a set schedule at all.  Some days I have classes in the morning, while other days my classes start as late as 6:00pm.  With such an irregular schedule, how do I recognize if I am working too much, or not enough? 

I have two strategies:

One thing that I do is document my hours that I work on my research in a spreadsheet.  This helps me keep track of how much I am actually working.  I hold myself accountable both so that I’m working enough, and also not overworking myself.

The other thing that I did is I took up social dancing lessons (for those of you who are unfamiliar with social dancing, think Dancing with the Stars but without the routines).  A few days a week I practice ballroom and Latin dancing for 45 minutes at a time. 

Social dancing has led to so many benefits in my life: I get more exercise, I’ve made friends outside of the Tufts community, and I force myself to take a break from being a graduate student.  I’ve also found that I’ve become more productive at work since I’ve started taking the mental breaks that I needed.

I’m not saying that all graduate students should take up social dancing, but I think that graduate students benefit from making “fun” commitments that are difficult to get out of.  Maybe you make a pact with some friends from your classes that you will all go out together once a month.  Or maybe you buy a ski pass for the winter.  Or maybe you make a deal with a friend that the two of you will go for one hike a week. 

Whatever it is you decide to do, it is important to commit to fun, rather than just treating it as an afterthought. I promise it will make your entire graduate experience more productive and more balanced!

#ThrowbackThursday: Why Jiali Chose Tufts

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Written by Jiali Liu, Philosophy M.A. 2017

Coming to Tufts for philosophy was no minor deviation from what I was doing in college. I majored in English and International Relations as an undergraduate and my school offered no philosophy class (it was a petite institution affiliated with the Chinese Foreign Ministry and it was highly specialized in diplomacy studies). I came to formal contact with philosophy when I was a visiting student at Barnard College in New York. It was a short semester, but that one Intro to Philosophy class intrigued me enormously.

In retrospect, I still could not pinpoint the exact reasons for how that happened—to be shaped by one single class and then make a two-year, or even longer, commitment to the subject matter. Graduate schools are different from college in significant ways. They are more expensive. They are more specialized. They bear more relevance to and influence on one’s future career path and prospects. To make a decision about what to do at when and where for a Master degree sometimes calls for a deep soul search. My own guess is that I was exposed to philosophy in a myriad ways much earlier than Barnard, only that I was not fully conscious of its presence and power of osmosis with time in my thinking and action. I probably felt dissatisfaction with only an answer to how things are and wanted to seek why they are such.

But Tufts? First of all, I knew the program because I had a professor who graduated from here back in 2003. The continuity of tradition and legacy presented itself beautifully and ignited my initial interest in knowing more about Tufts. On the other hand, I did not want to mass-produce a dozen of applications (interestingly graduate schools do not work the same way as colleges in this aspect either: to apply for more places barely increases one’s chance to get into any of them). So I had to concentrate on a few programs that are (1) academically top-notch; (2) not discriminating against non-philosophy majors; and (3) cost-efficient.

According to the Philosophy Gourmet report, Tufts’ Master in Philosophy program is number one in the country. It has the highest faculty quality. It actually invites different majors who are interested and determined in making a career in philosophy and helps them to prepare for a PhD program. And it is generous in money and TA opportunities! I doubt that anyone who has received the Tufts’ offer would decline it unless she has a PhD letter of acceptance from somewhere else. There was another reason equally important to me. I like intimate communities and a close work-together spirit with my cohort. In total, Tufts’ program has around 20 people, including both first and second years. People have plenty of chance to invest in friendships and intellectual connection and graduate students are treated as peers by the faculty and staff.

Choosing Tufts was not nearly as hard a decision as the one on philosophy. It felt almost natural for what has happened to unfold the way it did once I knew philosophy was what I wanted.

#ThrowbackThursday: Why Rachael Chose Tufts

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Written by Rachael Bonoan, Biology Ph.D. 2018

Post-doctoral Researcher, Tufts University and Washington State University

There are two main reasons why I chose Tufts: collaboration and community. When picking my graduate school, I chose based on the Biology Department specifically. Now, after having been at Tufts for four years, I can say that these two reasons also apply to Tufts in general.

Collaboration: I loved that the Biology Department was collaborative, not competitive. Since we are one Biology Department, there is a range of expertise: from DNA repair to animal behavior, there is likely someone that can help with any project you propose. There are grad students that are co-advised and many labs collaborate. I am currently working on a project with the Wolfe Lab, a lab that studies microbial communities in fermented foods! I am working with the Wolfe Lab to determine if honey bee diet affects the community of microbes that live in the honey bee gut.

In general, I find the atmosphere on the Tufts campus to be a collaborative one rather than a competitive one. There are opportunities for grad students to collaborate with labs outside of their own department. Tufts even has an internal grant, Tufts Collaborates, which is specifically for this purpose! In my department, I know of biologists who work with chemists, engineers, and computer scientists.

Students enjoying talks at the 2017 Graduate Student Research Symposium.

Community: Even though we are divided into two buildings, the Biology Department strives to stay united. Every Friday, we have a seminar with cookies and tea before, and chips and salsa after. After seminar, I have the chance to catch up with faculty, staff, and students that work in the other building.

Outside of my department, the Tufts Graduate Student Council (GSC) strives to create a sense of community within the grad students. There are monthly GSC meetings where you can meet other grad students, hear about things going on, and voice your own opinions. The GSC also hosts academic, social, and community outreach events. Just last month, the GSC held their annual Graduate Student Research Symposium (GSRS). This symposium is for all grad students on the Tufts University Medford/Somerville campus and School of the Museum of Fine Arts. The GSRS is not only a place to meet other grad students, but it’s a place where you can learn about all the cool research happening at Tufts, and maybe find a collaborator!

Rachael hiking Mt. Monadnock in New Hampshire, equipped with her Tufts Jumbos winter hat!

A couple other reasons specific to me: I grew up in a small town and while I enjoy visiting the city, I am not much of a “city girl.” The location of Tufts is great for the small-town girl in me: it’s easy to visit the city but it’s also easy to find beautiful places to hike and enjoy nature. Just about an hour south of New Hampshire and an hour east of Central Mass, there are plenty of gorgeous hiking trails and mountains within a manageable driving distance.

Since I would one day like to teach at a primarily undergraduate institution, I also like that Tufts has unique teaching opportunities for grad students. There is the Graduate Institute for Teaching where grad students attend workshops on teaching during the summer, and then co-teach a class with a faculty member during the fall. There is also the ExCollege which awards Graduate Teaching Fellowships for students who want to create and teach a class on their own. This coming Fall, I will be teaching my own class on insect pollinators and applying basic science to conservation practices!

Was 2019 Your Golden Year?

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Written by Ebru Ece Gulsan, Ph.D. student in Chemical Engineering

“This year I will be very productive and organized”.

“This year I will lose those extra 10 pounds”.

Does this sound familiar?

It’s been a little bit more than one year since I made the big decision to enroll at Tufts and open a new door for my career, but it still feels like yesterday to me. Did time really fly? Why do I still tend to introduce myself as “Hi, I’m a first year PhD student in…” although I’m approaching to the middle of my second year here? Why do I still have the same resolutions as last year? Was I not supposed to work harder to achieve these goals? Did I not do anything in 2019? 

No, I did plenty of things in 2019! I traveled to a new country, kayaked in an abandoned bay at midnight to watch bioluminescence, learned a new programming language, completed my first winter hike (yay!), successfully drove a manual car in Powder House Square’s circle (yay! #2). I went to a small village in Slovakia to be the bridesmaid in a very good friend of mine’s wedding. I also was late to the wedding because I missed a turn while driving up to Slovakia and ended up in a different country. No, I did not attend a scientific conference this year (which I wanted to so badly), but I learned how to apply to one. I did not publish an article, but I started writing the “methods” section. I lost someone very special to me and I learned (or I’m still learning) how to tackle it. I made huge mistakes in my research which seemed irremediable at the time, but  I still figured out how to make a great come back. I did not start writing the travel blog that I have always wanted to. Instead, I made a portfolio for my photography archive. I picked up a new hobby. Then I decided not to pick up another hobby. I did so many things, either planned or unplanned, but 2019 was full of things!

This photo is from December 2018, in my favorite bakery, good old Tatte, located in my favorite neighborhood, Beacon Hill. I remember exactly how I was feeling when I took this photo. I was cold (obviously), pretty homesick, overwhelmed by the amount of responsibilities I had, but also incredibly grateful, proud and euphoric. I could never know that I would find my home away from home in this city, establish lifelong friendships, meet eminent scientists and even work with them, fall in love, then cry over a man, cry over a failed experiment, and cry over a lost Python script. Then I fell in love with another man, tried that experiment one more time and fail again, and then wrote that lost script once more from scratch only to find that it was easier this time. I cried over the same experiment again, but this time it was because I finally figured it out.

2019 was full of things, but why do I still have this feeling that it was not enough? 

Sometimes we lose ourselves in the big picture and forget to check the boxes for our smaller achievements. Success should not be described as an end point. Instead, every single step towards this goal should be counted as success. Success is not always tangible. Sometimes not giving up is a lot more difficult and important than achieving the actual goal. But if we keep focusing on and glorifying our end points, what we do on the way to those points start to seem insignificant. We find ourselves questioning our ability to reach our goals and think that we are not enough. 

So just remember, you achieved so many things in 2019 – even though you are not aware of it yet. Every single decision you made and every single action you took brought you a little bit closer to your New Year’s resolution, be it starting grad school, publishing that paper, or learning how to drive a manual car. 

I want to close the year with a realization in how we tend to evaluate ourselves. I have an ideal self in my mind that I strive to be. But I should keep reminding myself that this ideal self did not appear out of nowhere. She worked hard to be that person. If I want to be her, the first thing I should do is to realize that I am already her. Maybe 2019 was not the golden year, but it definitely laid the base for 2020 to have a chance. And if 2020 becomes that golden year, it owes everything to 2019.

Making Friends and Building a Community when Moving to Boston

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from an international student’s perspective

Written by Ebru Ece Gulsan, Ph.D. student in Chemical Engineering

Congratulations! You made it!

You are moving to the Boston area and are possibly even coming from the other side of the world.

Your parents are proud, friends are jealous.

As time goes by, maybe they start to be more bittersweet. They think you are too busy living the dream life to FaceTime with them as often as you used to, but they have no idea how difficult it is to wake up at 5 am to make sure you call them at a reasonable time since there is a 10 hour time difference. You sound “annoying” or “displeased” when you complain about the tremendous amount of grad school work-load because your loved ones think you do not appreciate your opportunities enough. It looks so easy when you see the third-year international students, because they all seem settled down and have already built their communities. They are all incredibly fluent in English while you still take your time to construct your sentences in the most grammatically perfect way not to be judged by native speakers, and sometimes give up on speaking up because you are exhausted of overthinking.

I get it.

I moved to Boston from a country where America is only known for its fast food, huge cars, and “drive thrus.” Maybe also for TV ads of prescribed medications (like seriously?).

Even though I traveled abroad a bunch, lived in different countries and went to an English medium university, it took me a long time to feel comfortable with my new first language. I still remember the first time I landed at Boston Logan Airport and not understanding a word the security guy said to me. I was freaking out about writing a scientific article or a textbook chapter in English. The first research group meeting I attended was a nightmare – leaving aside the scientific content of the discussions, I could barely understand the language that they spoke. There is a difference between “native speakers who speak English” and “internationals who speak English.”

Language shock is not even the first challenge you face when you move in from another country. Yes, we live in a more global age and all of us are exposed to other cultures and understandings, but this does not necessarily mean that we will immediately adjust and things will go smoothly. There are so many small cultural differences and nuances, such as different gender roles, work ethics, and gestures that are not visible at first. You will learn how to write e-mails, how to flirt, or what to say someone who has lost a significant other in another language. Health insurance, contracts, financial agreements, leases; all these small things work differently, and now you have to read everything before pressing “I agree to the terms and conditions.” It is like learning how to walk again, although you thought you had expertise in it. On top of all these challenges, there is also the time you realize you came to this country all by yourself and you have to make friends and build your own community to survive.

The first big step to take is to accept the fact that you will need to put in effort. You probably will not find yourself in your perfect friend group spontaneously without making the first move. Luckily, Boston is such a diverse and international city. It is easy to blend in. It might feel strange or new to hang out with people with different backgrounds at the beginning, but Bostonians have been doing this for such a long time. Plus, you speak their language! This makes a huge difference because if you were to move in another country where the first language is not English, it would be much more difficult to befriend locals. Despite the fact that they can speak English if they want to, people will hardly give up on the comfort of speaking their first language to have you around. Are you not confident about your accent? Well, think about it as an ice breaker because you will notice that the question “where is your accent is coming from?” is a classic pickup line. So, own it!

There is a metaphor I really like: it is called “Peach People vs Coconut People.” You can look it up for more details, but briefly, it defines certain people as “peach people” and others  as “coconut people”. Peach people are easy to approach, love small talk, yet they still have the core that they will only share with their core group of friends or significant others (this does not mean that you will never be a part of it). Coconut people are the opposite, with an annoyed resting face; but once you get to know them, they are ready to tell you about their aunt’s new boyfriend or why they chose a particular medicine. Just remember that people will be different, and keep this in mind to understand different reactions when approaching others and getting to know them.

Obviously, it is easier to connect with other expats. You will receive plenty of e-mails from Tufts International Center about upcoming events – attend them. If you want to bond with people from your country, find their communities and show up at their gatherings. But please remember that balance is the key. Keep your conversations and friend groups diverse. Of course you will feel homesick and will need your own people, but try not to call home every time you find yourself in this situation. Actually, you know what? You will soon realize that you see home in a different light. It will take time, but once you get there home will not be “where your heart is,” but instead might be where you can connect to the VPN.

Last but not least, know what you like to do and keep doing more of it. Pursue your hobbies and find others who share the similar interests. If you like scuba diving, become a member of New England Divers. If you enjoy photography, go take a course about it and meet others who enjoy it too. Do you need people to hike together? Just invite them and get to know each other during the hike while there is no distraction except the nature.

Do not forget that flux has no season in a diverse and international city like Boston. People come and go all the time. They all feel like a fish out of water at the beginning. Everybody needs friends and there is not a “more normal” thing than the desire of being a part of a community. Just be yourself, show up and bring your beautiful unique accent and slightly broken English with you wherever you go!