TUFTS PARENTS AND FAMILIES (TPF) NEWSLETTER | November 20, 2024
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Dear Parents and Families,
Whatever your student's plans are for Fall Break, I hope it's restful and restorative. And I hope you enjoy time catching up with your student, whether in person or virtually.
In this edition: Tufts' Jumbo Spring Break opportunity for students; Career Center provides timely tips; consider Sink Coffee Shop vouchers for your students; and in the "Student Spotlight" video, Kylie McNulty ’25 and fellow seniors reflect on the essays they wrote when they applied to Tufts.
Best wishes,
Carole McFall
Family Engagement, AS&E
carole.mcfall@tufts.edu
Direct: 617-627-2797
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Jumbo Spring Break offers students an opportunity to be civically engaged, travel, and have fun (spaces are still available for 2025) |
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Spearheaded by Associate Dean of Students Kevin Kraft and student coordinators Lenka Smiljanic and Julian Chun, the creation of Jumbo Spring Break was guided by Student Life’s Strategic Plan, Tufts’ strong civic engagement tradition, and the commitment to creating fun, meaningful experiences for students. Those who participated in the inaugural program took part in several different events during the week, including spending three days on a Habitat for Humanity build site. Based on student feedback from that experience, this year’s Jumbo Spring Break will focus completely on a Habitat for Humanity project.
“This kind of civic engagement is very much in our DNA at Tufts,” said Kraft. “Students enjoyed making a difference they could see right away, each day on the build site, building a home for a family. Sometimes there is an opportunity to meet the family because it’s part of Habitat’s model that the family who will live in the home also spends time working on the project, alongside volunteers.”
Kraft and Smiljanic have been holding information sessions this semester, where students this year expressed interest in traveling out of state. “They had a few locations to choose from and they collectively wanted to make sure it was somewhere that they’d never been to before,” said Kraft. Students have narrowed down their choice to finalist locations, including Amarillo, Texas or Taos, New Mexico, and will find out in the new year which of these locations they’ll be traveling to based on Habitat for Humanity’s projects and where they most need support.
For this year's Jumbo Spring Break, there are a couple of returning students, but most are new participants who don’t know each other. “We’ve started getting together already to get to know each other before the trip,” said Kraft, who will travel with the students this year, but imagines that as the program continues returning students will lead the trip.
Kraft highlights that construction schedules are roughly 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., leaving time in the afternoon and evenings, as well as some weekend time, to learn more about the area and have fun together. According to Kraft, students who met during last year’s Jumbo Spring Break bonded during that time. “Experiences like this create lifelong memories and connect our students to each other in a really special way.”
Spaces are still available. If your Jumbo is interested, the deadline to sign up online and submit a deposit is December 2. Cost of this year’s trip will be determined based on the location, lodging, and flights, but is estimated between $1000 - $1500. Some financial assistance may be available. For more information, visit the Jumbo Spring Break website. Students can also reach out to springbreak@tufts.edu.
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Student Spotlight ... Seniors reflect on their application essays
by Kylie McNulty ’25
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Recently, the Tufts Class of 2025 registered for classes for the final time, for their final semester at Tufts. It has led to a strong feeling of sentimentality as our time at Tufts comes to an end, which led my friends and I to think about where it all started ... college applications. Every person who applies to Tufts has to write an essay about why they want to go to Tufts and how they see themselves within the community. This video captures live reactions from a few seniors reading excerpts from their "Why Tufts" essays—reflecting on the accuracy of their predictions and if their hopes have been realized!
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Career Corner: Treat Career Development Like a Course (Plus … Actual Career Courses!) |
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| Which do you take more seriously: obligations or optional activities? When students view career development as a required piece of a Tufts education, they are more likely to take the necessary steps to reach their career goals. Here are three strategies:
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- Put it on the calendar (in pen!): Encourage your student to set aside non-negotiable time to work toward career goals, much as one would block out time for a class.
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Resist the urge to cram: Attempting to pack career-related tasks into a single day or week becomes overwhelming, just like cramming for exams.
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Take advantage of resources: Career advisors help students with timelines and objectives that align with their individual goals and stages of career development, much as they work through academic course requirements.
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Speaking of courses, we have two 7-week, 1 credit courses available through the Tufts ExCollege for Spring 2025: Designing Your Career Journey (EXP-0068-S) and Financial Literacy: Understanding Personal Finances (EXP-0067-S).
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| Sink Coffee Shop Vouchers |
Located in the Mayer Campus Center, The Sink Coffee Shop, is Tufts’ only student-run café. Bookmark the link to buy your student a voucher and keep them well-caffeinated throughout the fall semester while supporting our student run business.
Vouchers are sold in blocks of $10. After you add the voucher to your online cart you can choose the dollar amount of your purchase ($10, $20, or $50). Your student will be able to pick up their voucher at the Sink coffeeshop. Please email tuftssink@gmail.com with any questions—and thank you for your support!
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Plan Ahead for Break Periods
Information about all your student's breaks during the academic year is available online.
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Senior Portraits
Remind your senior to sign up for a free portrait sitting with Legacy Studios. A portrait session with the on campus photographers is the only way for your student's photo to be in the portrait section of the 2025 Senior Memory Book (Tufts version of a class yearbook).
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Dates to Remember
Nov. 27 – No Classes, Fall Break
Nov. 28 – No Classes, Thanksgiving (University Holiday)
Nov. 29 – No Classes (University Holiday)
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WEBINAR TONIGHT: Supporting Your Student's Study Abroad Experience
Wed., Nov. 20 at 6:30 p.m. ET.
Registration is required and questions can be submitted in advance.
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VIRTUAL SPEAKER SERIES: Leadership in Higher Education
Discussions with Tufts administrators and faculty: their journeys to their current roles, what they find rewarding, what they find challenging, and how they feel a liberal arts education can help to address the challenges and inequities in society.
All sessions start at 12 p.m. ET.
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Calling all Lifelong Learners
Registration for winter courses at Osher Lifelong Learning at Tufts opens Nov. 25. Join the vibrant OLLI community and explore classes tailored for lifelong learners.
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| Bárbara Brizuela named dean of the School of Arts and Sciences. Read more in Tufts Now.
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Communications Archive
Emails and other communications to parents, families, and students are archived online.
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TuftsAlert
Enroll in the TuftsAlert system to be notified directly by text, phone, and/or email in case of significant emergencies affecting the Tufts University community.
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Autumn scenes from campus: |
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