Tag Archives: Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

Your First Semester as an Occupational Therapy Student

Madeline Zarro, Occupational Therapy doctoral candidate

Photo credits: Occupational Therapy’s Instagram: @tufts_O

If you’re reading this as a newly accepted or prospective student of the Tufts Entry-Level Doctorate of Occupational Therapy, welcome! We’re excited to get to know you. My name is Madeline Zarro, and I’m currently finishing the final semester of my first year in the Tufts OT program. Having recently experienced the transition into graduate OT studies myself, I wrote this article to give you a sense of what to expect upon arrival. 

Your first semester at Tufts will occur over the course of two summer sessions, and you’ll take a total of three courses: Anatomy, Neuroanatomy, and Occupational Therapy Foundations. Though you won’t have class every day (at maximum, you’ll attend courses three days a week), this first semester is known for being fast-paced and academically rigorous. That isn’t to say that it’s not enjoyable—it is! The summer of your first year offers plentiful opportunities for connection and exploration. 

Here are five suggestions to help you effectively engage with your coursework, all while making the most of what your new community has to offer:

Use studying as an opportunity to explore.

Whether you prefer to stay local to Tufts or venture out to Boston, your options for intriguing new study spots are virtually limitless. Medford and Somerville have abundant cafes, restaurants, parks, and libraries. Middlesex Fells Reservation is easily accessible by bus, and can be a relaxing retreat for those who don’t mind studying outdoors—just pack a picnic blanket and your flashcards! With most people off campus for the summer, you’ll find available seats and whiteboards in nearly every academic building; moreover, exploring campus is a great way to start to feel at home at Tufts. Check out past blog posts and Joyraft’s The Boston Calendar to find your first destination. Or, wander out and find it on your own!

07/14/2022 – Medford/Somerville, Mass. – Mossab Al Saedi, doctoral candidate in Chemical Engineering, and Ryan O’Hara, doctoral candidate in Chemical Engineering, pose for stock photos in Tisch Library on July 14, 2022. (Alonso Nichols/Tufts University)

Organize a meal with new friends.

We all know the feeling: you’ve got a looming deadline, an intimidating amount of material to study, and though there are a million things you’d like to do, you can’t seem to make time to do anything else but study and eat. That’s okay—you’re not in this alone! Cooking a group meal with new friends from your cohort is a great way to relieve stress and make connections while still staying on track with your studying. Many hands make light work when it comes to cooking, and you can help each other study over the meal you share. 

Incorporate your interests.

You’ll be asked to learn a lot of material over the course of the summer, and to spend a great deal of time outside of class reviewing it. Finding creative ways to interact with the content can make a world of difference when you feel bored or burnt out, as well as boost your retention of information. As someone who loves to make art, I’ve found that I can always motivate myself to study when I use a nice set of pens. I taught myself the blood vessels of the heart by painting them in watercolor. This was a refreshing change of pace from my hundreds of flashcards! I highly encourage trying this for your own interests. Create a dance for learning the bones, practice muscle actions while working out, or write a story about nerve tracts as if they were people. Don’t be afraid to try something silly—you’re more likely to remember the information that way!

Take advantage of free & discounted experiences offered by the Graduate Student Council & local libraries.

Study breaks are important for both learning and wellbeing, so make sure you take them! Here at Tufts, we have a wonderful team of people (called the GSC) dedicated to enriching your time at graduate school with new experiences and friends. They organize frequent experiences perfect for new arrivals to the area. I was able to meet other new graduate students on a Duck Boat tour of Boston for only $5. Opening a free library card at the Somerville and/or Boston Public Libraries is also a great way to access new experiences. Your library card allows you to reserve free or discounted tickets at museums, the aquarium, and several other destinations.

Reach out within the program.

It can feel daunting to ask for help during your first semester at graduate school. Many of us feel that we need to prove ourselves, or don’t know who to go to when assistance is needed. Luckily, you’re entering a profession of people who have made it their life’s work to help others and to promote accessibility. Tufts OT is a community, and we’re happy to support you as you adjust to graduate school! You’ll be assigned a peer mentor from the second-year cohort (we call this a SOTA buddy, since the partnership is made by the Student Occupational Therapy Association). You’ll also have Graduate Assistants in your summer classes, and an academic advisor from the beginning of the program. Each of these people will be happy to help you—whether that means academically, socially, or otherwise. 

I hope this was helpful. I can’t wait to see you on campus!

PS– for a peek ahead into the second year in the program, check out this Instagram post from the OT department.

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A post shared by Tufts Occupational Therapy (@tufts_ot)

Student Organizations at Tufts UEP

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Tiffany Wu, Environmental Policy & Planning M.S. Candidate

Many exciting events happen in our department building at 97 Talbot Avenue, including seasonal celebrations and get-togethers. We also play volleyball outside when the weather is nice!
Photo Credit: Tiffany Wu

I’d like to highlight a couple of the graduate student organizations we have at the Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning!

1. Student Planning Association (SPA)

This group plans coffee chats, networking events, alumni panels, and campus activities related to the planning field. Each university accredited by the Planning Association Board (PAB) requires an ongoing planning group run by students, but SPA goes beyond that to create a welcoming community for students who would like the option to get more involved on campus and meet more members of our approximately 60-person cohorts. The organization is focused on professional development but also has ongoing plans for community-wide events, such as a proposed fall retreat. If you’re a student joining the program, chances are you’ll first get to encounter events organized by the Student Planning Association during the early weeks of fall semester onwards.

2. People of Planning (POP)

This group is intended to be a BIPOC organization for students of color who are in the planning field. Because students of color have historically had access to fewer opportunities in this field and may find it daunting to figure out next steps while pursuing their career path, People of Planning helps guide them through student events, presentations, and group activities. There are also exciting mixers with planning departments at other universities, such as get-togethers last semester with MIT DUSP and Harvard GSD at local breweries.

3. UEParty

This group plans the fun events that help students get to know each other and bond as a cohort. For example, there are holiday-themed events such as Pi / Pie Day and Palentine’s Day that are always a good time. There are also game day watch parties and monthly happy hours with snacks. Most events are held at the UEP department building, Brown House, at 97 Talbot Avenue. As a UEP student pursuing an MA/MS in Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning — one of the three “tracks” offered by the department, alongside the MS in Sustainability and the Master’s of Public Policy — these UEParty gatherings are often a good opportunity to catch up with other members of my graduate class I may not get to see as frequently.

A recent movie screening hosted by UEParty at 72 Professors Row, the UEP department building just up the street. Photo Credit: Diya Wheeler, UEP MS Student

All of these student groups work together closely with each other and faculty members to ensure events go smoothly and everyone is on the same page. If you are a potential urban planning, sustainability or public policy student, I would encourage you to learn more about these groups. There are also plenty of opportunities to start new student organizations at UEP, and we are also connected with the Tufts Graduate Student Council (GSC), which has its own slate of activities and monthly meetings.

I am involved with the Student Planning Association and it has been a fantastic experience. We meet twice a month and frequently touch base with POP and UEParty to catch up on ideas for upcoming events. No individual is an island at Tufts and neither are these student organizations!

Stay tuned for my next post about a curriculum feature that is unique to Tufts UEP — Field Projects!

Why Tufts?

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Elijah Mensah, Environmental Policy & Planning M.S. Candidate

Hi Everyone, my name is Elijah. I am an international student pursuing an MS in Environmental Policy and Planning here at Tufts! I aspire to acquire knowledge and practice in the field to contribute to the policy and planning of cities. First, I would like to speak briefly about where I am from.

A country located on the west coast of Africa, formerly known as the Gold Coast during British colonial rule, and now Ghana after independence in 1957, is one of the best places to live in Africa! The country was called the Gold Coast because of its vast Gold reserves and other minerals. This played a crucial role in attracting European businessmen to the country until the slave trade became the next lucrative commodity. Fast forward to modern Ghana, we are known for being affable, welcoming, and peace-seeking people. Today some of our most significant trading commodities remain gold, bauxite, diamond, manganese, timber, petroleum, and cocoa.

*Life in Accra Central, Ghana Credit: Muntaka Chasant, Wikimedia commons, 2019*

I was born and have lived all my life in Accra, the capital of Ghana. Due to school and other engagements, I have had the opportunity to travel around the country. I completed my elementary education in rural Accra, Senior High education in the Volta region, and my undergraduate degree in the Ashanti region of Ghana. Growing up, I was puzzled by the environmental issues making headlines in the news and radio discussions. I was interested in how I could contribute to addressing the notorious littering, poor waste management, and flooding in my community. I witnessed firsthand human actions that lead to garbage and plastic waste clogging waterways and flooding during the wet season, which caused destruction of properties and sometimes claimed human lives.

Research studies in the country have attributed poor waste management to the outbreak of cholera and malaria diseases, which has dire impacts on public health. All of these influenced my decision to pursue a BS in Natural Resources Management. Later I teamed up with friends and colleagues who found the current waste management and climate change crisis a significant threat to our country. We worked together to cofound a community-based nonprofit called “Keep Ghana Beautiful.” Our mission was to educate community members and school children on the issues of poor waste management and climate change and encourage them to reduce, reuse and recycle waste and plant trees to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Through my nonprofit organization, I was selected as a fellow for the Atlas Corps Program. It provided the opportunity for emerging nonprofit leaders around the world to come to the US to hone professional skills and develop hands-on learning in a national nonprofit for 12-18 months and then return to their home countries to utilize the skills. I was privileged to have been stationed at “Keep America Beautiful,” a US national nonprofit with over 65 years of experience in addressing the issue of littering and promoting recycling through its over 700 affiliates across the US and Canada. Throughout the role, I lived principally in Stamford, Connecticut and traveled briefly to 10 states across the US. My thoughts about going to grad school started sometime during the pandemic when I worked from home. I first started broadly researching via the internet in the field I wanted to develop and focus my skills. I then narrowed the search to MA or MS programs. I was fascinated by Tufts’ academic success stories and its location within the Boston Metropolitan area. I found the prospect of pursuing an excellent graduate program in one of the top-notch schools in the US an accomplishment to begin with living my American dream.

Upon returning to Ghana after my fellowship, I began an application to Tufts. After some months of waiting I was surprised with that sweet congratulatory email of admission to the MS in Environmental Policy and Planning. After the back-and-forth issues of immigration and securing a visa, here I am living the dream! I am currently taking four classes this semester and I feel great about it. I like the immersive learning culture where students engage weekly in small group discussions with instructors. I love the discussion forums on the course Canvas site where students share their weekly journaling to the class. These stimulate conversations among students to learn of other perspectives on a specific topic. I think it is creative and transformational. I can’t stop without talking about my department building- the Brown House. This is home where all of the bonding and fun happen. We use it to connect with colleagues, study, organize events, meet our professors and administrative offices for assistance. One of the best parts for me is always free sncks in the kitchen. I love the community!

I want to use this platform to thank and send a shout out to my mentor and professor Julian Agyeman, at the Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning (UEP), Tufts. He has been phenomenal in guiding and supporting me throughout my journey. Also, I would like to motivate someone out there that it is possible when you put in the hard work and seek the support you require. I tried many times to further my education but got rejected. On the occasions I gained admission, something may have changed in my life and stopped me from proceeding. 10 years after completing my undergraduate degree, I accomplished a near forgotten dream. Don’t be surprised to see me completing a PhD in the future.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog, stay tuned for more!

Why Tufts?

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Qi Pan, History M.A. Candidate

As a student in the humanities, I am a book lover who likes to read all kinds of books, and my entrance to Tufts was a result of serendipity because of two books. The first, a collection of prose essays by Haruki Murakami, refers to his time teaching at Tufts. It made me curious about Tufts, and led me to search for Tufts online. And I found out that the Tufts motto is Pax et Lux. The unique mention of “peace” in the motto—which I understood from my one year of Latin study—was attractive to me as a humanities student. The second book was recommended by my good friend who studied history in a famous Chinese university. My friend and I are both interested in feminism. In a women’s history course, her professor led them to discuss the book Crossing the Gate to investigate daily life of ancient Chinese women. Coincidentally, this book was written by Xu Man, a professor at Tufts. I was excited that a Chinese scholar could be so proficient in English academic writing about Chinese history while gaining a high reputation in China. This definitely motivated me to apply to Tufts. Ultimately, Professor Xu Man has become my current mentor in the Department of History at Tufts.

Besides these two books, coming to Tufts was also out of practical considerations. My undergraduate program focused on liberal arts education, so I took many courses related to politics, philosophy, and sociology beyond my history major. Although my interest in a wide range of subjects enriched my experience and thinking, it also made me want to gain more skills in the area of historical knowledge acquisition. Therefore, when application season came, I decided to apply for the history master’s program to learn transnational history and historiography more systematically and improve my academic skills. At this point, Tufts’ MA in History program came into my consideration. Compared with the one-year programs in the UK and Singapore, Tufts’ two-year program gave me plenty of time, with more complete academic training. As one of the top universities, Tufts also holds rich academic resources and provides abundant opportunities in academia. My mentor from my bachelor’s degree also highly recommended Boston as a city to study the humanities in. Therefore, I finally decided to come to Tufts to experience this top academic training opportunity.

Although there are only ten new students in the History department, all of them have diverse backgrounds and different research interests, such as European history, women’s history, history of ideas, etc. In the mandatory historiography course, I have listened to the speeches of classmates from Harvard College and marveled at the questioning ability of doctoral candidates. As the only Chinese student, I was initially nervous in and out of class, but my professors and classmates were all friendly and open-minded. They have encouraged me, praised my presentations sincerely, and invited me to the party warmly. In addition to studying history, I’ve also taken part in a writing workshop held for international students from which I got to know some master’s and doctoral students from different disciplines.

Since coming to Tufts, I’ve been to Boston several times, taken a duck boat ride with friends, and gone whale watching. There are many opportunities to see musicals, concerts, baseball games, etc. in Boston, which made my Chinese classmates envious. Life in the suburbs of Medford is good and being at school is comfortable as well. As I am a liberal arts student, I am frequently in Tisch Library to read books and search for sources. When I am tired or stressed, I usually take a slow walk to enjoy the beautiful campus scenery, see the squirrels and rabbits on the lawn and take a nap in the chairs under the shade. The campus under the sun in September reminded me of summer dreams in many books, and the red leaves in autumn are also so pleasing. Thanks to my decision to Tufts, I am satisfied with my study-life balance in a foreign country.

Why Tufts?

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Christine So, Diversity & Inclusion Leadership M.A. Candidate

To be completely honest, I never imagined myself going to graduate school and furthermore to end up at Tufts.

Prior to being a graduate student here in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, I was at Michigan State University for my undergraduate degree doing a BA in Music with an Entrepreneurship minor. I originally thought I wanted to do a degree in Oboe Performance, but eventually found myself doing a BA in Music as I had a wide variety of interests within the classical music industry/fine arts.

My oboe professor at the time encouraged me to consider graduate programs as she felt I would be a good fit in the arts administration route. However, to keep my options open, I looked into programs that I felt also suited my other interests within music. Within the classical music industry, there are a lot of issues related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ). I became passionate in my undergraduate institution as a student leader advocating for DEIJ-related issues. As a marginalized person with intersecting identities, I became very passionate about bettering the communities I was a part of to better the student experiences. This passion continued into my career path, which leads to why I am here at Tufts.

When looking at graduate programs with a DEIJ focus, Tufts is one of the few in our country to have an actual master’s degree. Globally, the Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Program is one of 14-15 master’s programs. Most institutions offer a certificate in this field, which Tufts also offers, but very few have a master’s degree option. Despite Tufts being extremely competitive, I decided to shoot my shot and turn in my application. After about a month of feeling both nervous and excited, I got my acceptance into the program!

When I saw the class that was accepted into the program, which was about 15-20 students, I knew I had to come to Tufts. To be 1 of 20 individuals, I felt Tufts wanted me to be here because I deserved to. The work in DEIJ is never done and I was excited to see what the program could offer me to further my passions in being an advocate in the spaces I care for. I was also accepted to be a Resident Assistant in the Beacon Street dorms for first year BFA students at SMFA at Tufts as well as the SMFA Student Affairs Graduate Intern for Programming.

It’s only been a month, but I’m excited to see how the rest of the semester goes. I have met amazing people in my program and at work and the Tufts campus is so cute. Coming to Tufts, I’ve realized more and more that I belong here with my peers and have worked hard to be a fellow Jumbo.

Why Tufts?

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Tiffany Wu, Environmental Policy & Planning M.S. Candidate

Hi there, my name is Tiffany and I am one of the new Graduate Bloggers this year. I’m a first year MS student in Environmental Policy and Planning and am excited to share a little about myself and my program!

I am from coastal Los Angeles and graduated from Cornell University in 2018. I spent two years working at a climate research lab at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy and knew I wanted to attend graduate school to strengthen my technical skillset in data science and econometrics. A yearlong internship with the Stockholm Environment Institute at their Tallinn, Estonia office cemented my burgeoning interest in GIS and smart cities, which I hope to pursue in depth at Tufts.

During the graduate school application process, I looked into a variety of programs at different institutions, including MS, MPP (public policy) and MSEM (environmental management) programs. I ultimately chose Tufts UEP because I wanted an interdisciplinary program that was well-established and involved working on real-world projects as part of the curriculum. This program is fully accredited by the Planning Accreditation Board and has a unique focus on sustainability and social justice.

Rainbow steps behing Carmichael Hall and the residential quad.

The Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning Department (UEP) offers an MA/MS in Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning, a mid-career Master of Public Policy, and an MS in Sustainability. While the core requirements for each program are different, students see each other in elective classes and at campus events. The Planning and Sustainability students also jointly participate in Field Projects during their first spring semester, where student groups partner with community organizations and agencies to come up with a proposal or solution. You can learn more about UEP’s programs from the Practical Visionaries blog (which is run by UEP faculty)!

Getting to learn from professors, policy experts and practitioners in my classes has been a great feature, with some bringing their research and academic expertise, and others their decades of experience in consultancies and design firms. I also liked the smaller cohort sizes at Tufts that I knew would allow me to get to know people better — I would categorize the atmosphere of UEP as friendly, close-knit, and collaborative.

97 Talbot Ave, Brown House. This is a central gathering space for students in the program and there are several common spaces, a classroom, and a kitchen. We also have snacks and a coffee machine 🙂

I have only been on campus for a month and a half, but it feels like longer as I already know my way around the buildings well and have gotten to know many of my classmates through our coursework, student organizations, and hanging out. I’m also starting to notice how UEP punches well above its weight and have met alumni in the Greater Boston area and beyond who are doing incredible work in the planning and policy fields. In fact, when I volunteered at the Southern New England Planning Conference in October — Professor Julian Agyeman was the keynote speaker — there were at least two dozen of us who were affiliated with UEP!

I’m looking forward to what these next two years at Tufts may bring and am thrilled to be spending them in the Somerville / Medford / Cambridge area. Thanks for reading!

Asking for Letters of Recommendation

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By Jennifer Khirallah, Biomedical Engineering Ph.D. candidate

Letters of recommendations are a key component in building your professional portfolio. They can make or break any application and leave lasting impressions. These letters unfortunately, need to be thought of months before you need them, so that you have the time to build connections with professors or professionals you wish to ask. Once you have chosen a list of professors to ask for recommendations you begin the daunting task of asking them to do this for you.

The key thing to remember is that you are asking a big favor of someone when you ask them to write you a letter of recommendation. Professors are busy and not all professors have the extra time to curate a special letter. It’s best to do everything you can to make their job as easy as possible.

When you email your professors asking for recommendations you should first explain to them why you want them specifically to write your letter. This includes what unique perspective they can offer. It is good to touch on some key points of your work with them and remind them of your relationship. Also, you want to tell them what aspects of yourself you want them to talk about (your independence, quick thinking, decision making, attitude, technical skills, etc.) so that each of your letters of recommendation touches on a different aspect of what makes you a great candidate.

An additional beneficial item to add in your email is an attachment of your resume or anything they could review when writing your letter. Another good thing to include is a small description of what you are applying for and a little information about the position so they can tailor their letter to your application.

Furthermore, when asking them to write this letter, make sure to give them more than enough time, at least one month, and make sure to tell them the due date is a week before it actually is in case there are major issues with what they wrote, or they are running behind. And do not forget to follow up with them a week before you tell them it’s due!

Finally, keep in mind that some professors may ask you to write your own letter that they will sign or to make them an outline. This is completely normally since professors are so busy. Take your time to curate a letter/outline saying specifically what you want to say about yourself and if you need help just ask a friend. Also, if professors say “no” to writing your letter is it okay, they are likely only saying no to you it because they don’t feel they would write a good enough one that would actually help you due to either lack of time or memory of your relationship with them. One final thing to keep in mind is if you know your professors are not always timely, it may be beneficial to ask one extra professor, so you have an extra to choose from or enough if one doesn’t follow through.

Below is an example of an email sent to a professor asking for a letter of recommendation for a graduate school application.

Example:

Dear Professor Happy,

I hope you had a great weekend. I am writing to ask you if you would write me a letter of recommendation for my graduate school applications. I am applying for a PhD program in Biomedical Engineering at Tufts University. I would like you to write a letter as I worked in your lab for one year working on various projects including X, Y, and Z. You would be able to offer a unique perspective on my skills in a laboratory setting. I am hoping you would touch on how I have played a key role in the progress of projects A and B, how I work well independently, and how I have shown success in designing my own experiments.

The due date for this letter of recommendation is X/(X-7)/X. I am attaching my resume for your reference. Please let me know if this is something you are willing to do and if so if you have any questions for me. Thank you!

Best,
Jenn

Why Tufts?

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By Lan Anh (Bella) Do, Ph.D. Cognitive Psychology PhD Candidate

Applying to graduate schools, for me, was a process of searching for a P.I. whose research interests fit with mine. In other words, professors were the main motivation for all my applications, rather the schools themselves. At Tufts, I was interested in working with Dr. Ayanna Thomas who is currently the editor-in-chief of the journal Memory & Cognition. Her work in memory, learning, and metacognition was in line with my research experience and more importantly, she examines such topics in the context of stress, an important but understudied factor that is highly relevant to education. Fortunately, she offered me admission to Tufts, but it was not the only offer that I received. That was when I had to truly think about the question: Why Tufts?

Everyone has their own criteria when selecting a graduate school but perhaps the ultimate aim is to find a place that matches their needs and values. For me, an ideal program is the one that, first, allows me to work with not only my advisor but also other top-notch experts in the field of my interest, and second, financially supports me through the duration of my study. I see myself as a realistic person so typically I don’t need a beautiful story to back up my decision, but in this case I looked at the facts. Tufts is one of the R1 institutions that is well known for its high research activities. Also, at Tufts, the PhD in Psychology is a fully funded program, which allows students to work with payment as an RA and/or TA during the semester. Besides the stipend, Tufts provides a wide range of other funding for research related activities and travel grants for attending conferences. This is especially important for an international student like me because I probably wouldn’t be able to complete a 4- or 5-year PhD program if I had to worry about my budget.

When I think of Tufts, it feels like a tree to me – a huge oak with a big trunk and spreading boughs – a tree that can cover my head on both sunny and rainy days, but it also has a young vibe of a blue sky that allows people a lot of freedom to come up with new ideas. When I imagined myself flying away from South Korea, my second hometown, and moving to America, to live and study at Tufts for the next 4-5 years, I was not nervous, but rather excited. I listened to my instinct, and I picked Tufts to be the next destination of my journey.

After my first one-and-a-half months at Tufts, I have discovered many other advantages of being a student here, besides its prestige and generous financial support. Everyone is friendly and reaches out to me to ask if I need any help. I am able to call all the faculty in my department by their first names, so it is comfortable to communicate with them. This is a big difference and a nice surprise for me, a student coming from Asian cultures, specifically, Korean and Vietnamese, where there was always a hierarchy between students and professors, and such hierarchy forms the way we behave and talk to one another. There seems to be more room for open conversation and for students to express their opinions when they can talk to their professors in a more casual way.

Also, probably due to its smaller size, people at Tufts are very responsive. Whenever I have a problem and email the school offices to ask for help, they always respond quickly with a proper solution. From an international student’s perspective, this is a huge advantage of Tufts. I have faced quite a number of troubles since I moved to America, from course registration, mobile phone number, payment and countless other situations I have had to handle to start a new life. I’m glad that there is always someone whom I can reach out to for help.

In this semester (Fall 2021), I’m taking three classes and one of them is Advanced Statistics I. There is homework almost every week and a quiz every month. It may sound like a huge burden for some students, but as an educational psychologist, I’m aware that it’s actually a good teaching and learning method. Repeated retrieval practice and rehearsal can strengthen our memory and help us remember more of what we learned and for a longer period of time. Making such activities, however, can be demanding especially for the instructor (Dr. Daniel Barch). Thus, I’m grateful for the effort he spent on creating all the learning materials, and I expect to learn a lot from this course.

One bonus point that I like about Tufts is the huge and beautiful lawns on campus. It’s probably the first time in my life seeing this much green around me and having the freedom to walk on it. Hopefully, this amount of freshness can help everyone, including me, make the best of our education at Tufts, given the pandemic situation.

Why Tufts?

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By Lindsey Schaffer, Museum Education M.A. Candidate

My whole life I have been torn between two passions: English and History. It wasn’t until I discovered museums that I realized the two could be combined. Because to me, museums are just another venue for stories, except instead of using words they use objects to convey a narrative. I knew that I needed an advanced degree to get my foot into the museum field which is why I decided to apply to multiple graduate programs. I wanted to find somewhere that was challenging traditional narratives and actively seeking to make museums a more inclusive space. After deliberating over six schools, I knew that Tufts was right for me. Their Museum Education program focuses on fostering community, confronting social issues, and creating innovative lesson plans, which set them apart from the other programs I was looking at. I know that upon graduation I will not only be prepared for a career in the field, but also for a life in an ever- changing world.

Before I confirmed my enrollment at Tufts I met (virtually) with a few second-year graduate students in my program. Although I was originally intimidated, I was quickly put at ease by how warm and supportive they were. It assured me that the dynamic at Tufts would be collaborative, not competitive. This has been reflected so far in all my classes. Everyone brings a unique perspective to class and I am always so happy to listen and contribute. Being an introverted person, I was nervous about participating in discussions. However, I have found it easy and worth-while to share with the class.

Another plus of my program is that Museum Education is a small group of people. This year’s cohort was only 10. This reminded me of my undergraduate experience at the College of Saint Benedict, which also had small, discussion-based classes. In this setting I can make deeper connections with my teachers and colleagues.

I have always had a dream of moving to Boston. Little did I think about the smaller areas outside of the city that could provide me with the same access at less cost. Living in Somerville near campus has allowed me to live near Boston without the noise and traffic of the city itself. It has been so fun to learn to navigate the MBTA’s Red Line and discover all the places it leads. I have not had that much time to explore yet, but what I have gathered so far is that each area of Boston has a unique feel to it. I have spent a day visiting museums in Fenway-Kenmore, walked along the Charles River and stopped at a brewery along the way, watched live music at an Irish pub in Davis Square, and so much more. Davis Square is about a mile away and it is where we go if we want to get coffee, dinner, or need to pick up some necessities. I know that regardless of what I need (directions or otherwise) the Tufts community will help me get me to where I need to be.

Why I Chose Tufts!

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By TJ Pinto, OTD ’24

For the past few years, my two cousins, my sister, and I have selected one weekend in October to travel to a new location for the weekend. Our first trip was to Washington D.C., where we stayed in an Airbnb with an incredible host on a street that just happened to be having a crazy block party on the exact weekend we were visiting. Our most recent trip was to a log cabin in the Shenandoah Valley, where we spent the weekend playing games and hanging outside on the deck in the middle of the valley as we laughed and talked until the sun came up. In 2019, our destination of choice was Boston. At the time, I was a recent college graduate who had just officially decided to pursue a career in occupational therapy. This weekend was a mini-vacation away from all the daily tasks that had transformed my Google Calendar into an abstract art piece of colored time blocks. At this point, my average week consisted of working as an exercise technician at an outpatient rehabilitation clinic, shadowing OTs in school, outpatient, and acute care settings, and taking my remaining prerequisite courses at a local college. When looking back on this weekend, I remember standing in front of the Old State House in Boston and being mesmerized by the contrast between this historic building and the modern high-rises surrounding it. As I walked the city, I found myself falling in love with it, actually being able to see myself living there at some point in my life. After a morning of sightseeing and walking the Freedom Trail with my cousins and sister, I remember everyone wanted to take a quick break to rest our legs and grab some coffee. As we sat in a little coffee shop, I pulled my phone out and quickly searched the American Occupational Therapy Association’s website and looked for programs that were near Boston. During this quick search, I found Tufts, promptly added it to the long list of schools I was interested in at the time and then continued on with my weekend trip in Boston.

Just a matter of months later, the world had changed drastically, as we had entered the beginning of a pandemic. After being furloughed from my job in March, my day-to-day life was pretty repetitive. I would make avocado toast in the morning, finish all of my schoolwork for the week by Tuesday or Wednesday each week, go for a bike ride around the neighborhood in the afternoon, and color in my anatomy coloring book while simultaneously bingeing any and every Netflix series I could find in the evening. With OT applications opening in just a matter of months, I decided to sign up for as many virtual information sessions as I could, taking notes and trying to narrow down the number of schools I would actually apply to once applications opened in July. At one point, I must have attended ten separate information sessions in a three-week period. On one evening in May, I closed my bedroom door, adjusted the lighting in my room, and opened Zoom like I had done for the numerous other information sessions before this one. I remember Jill Rocca starting the meeting and introducing herself as a Tufts OT graduate and a current Admissions Coordinator. She was so genuine and happy to share her personal experiences from the program while also allowing current OTD students to talk and answer questions about their experiences as well. I could feel myself becoming more and more excited by the idea of joining this program, as I loved how many opportunities there were for hands-on learning, from the service-learning opportunities that take place in your first Fall semester to your fieldwork experiences. As someone who is particularly interested in the idea of working in hand therapy and wound care down the road, the fact that students in the OTD program could take upper extremity and hand rehabilitation courses alongside practicing OTs overjoyed me. Most importantly, all of the current students expressed how approachable the OT faculty was and how supportive everyone in the program has been from the very beginning, from the faculty to their fellow classmates. I remember going downstairs after the information session concluded and walking straight up to my mom and saying, “I have to go to Tufts.” It just felt perfect.

Fast forward to November. I had submitted all of my graduate school applications and had been back to working as an exercise technician for a few months. I had the poor habit of refreshing the email app on my phone approximately eighty times a day, just hoping that I would eventually see an update about my Tufts application. At this point, I knew that decision letters could be sent out at any moment, but I just didn’t know exactly when. However, on November 17^th, 2020, at 10:02 am, the email notification popped up on my home screen. I immediately felt my stomach drop and a sense of panic overwhelmed me. After weeks and weeks of trying to convince myself (and others who asked me about it) that I would be completely fine if I was not accepted at Tufts, it all flew out of the window the second as I received this email. Without even taking a second breath, I rushed to open my phone and clicked on the email. I then read the one word that I truly was not expecting to see, “Congratulations!” I fell to the ground and started quietly screaming to myself, “Oh my gosh! I can’t believe it! I CAN’T BELIEVE IT!!” Later, when my mom had gotten home from work, I shared the news with her and she immediately burst into tears. After listening to me gush over this program for months and share how much I would love to attend, it was now a real option for me. It truly was a feeling like no other.

This past April, my mom and I drove up from Delaware to Massachusetts together in order to visit Tufts for the first time. My mom is the reason I wanted to become an OT in the first place. After a tragedy that had occurred back in 2017, she was in critical condition and was bed-bound for months, requiring intense physical and occupational therapy to get back to living her life independently. Years later, my mom and I were sitting together at Tufts, enjoying a beautiful day on campus together. As we sat on campus together on this cool Friday afternoon, we both experienced such a huge feeling of relief. After the long two-year journey that I had taken on following my graduation from the University of Delaware, I finally knew where I would be taking the next steps in my professional journey and it was exactly where I wanted and needed to be.