LIVING

LIVING HOMETOWN SWAP

Hailing from different hometowns, these four pairs of roommates learned a lot from living together—about Midwestern gardening, the meaning of a mezuzah, chaotic Mondays, and a must-have dining hall sandwich.

Julia + Allison

Julia Proshan ’22 from New York, NY I’ve learned from Allison that it can be truly enjoyable to be busy. Since we have the same majors and some shared extracurricular activities, we turned out to have a nearly identical and equally packed schedule every Monday during the spring semester. We would be running around campus together, with virtually no breaks, from the morning into the evening; even our studying schedules were in sync. While this schedule was exhausting at times, experiencing campus life together allowed us to develop a new form of gratitude for it. Especially in the wake of this pandemic, I miss the chaotic nature of our Mondays. When Allison talks about her hometown, it reminds me of how we all associate our hometowns with memories. Allison often mentions going to Mitchell’s, her favorite ice cream place, with her friends. Now, I can picture what it looks like, and I know that when I go to visit her, it will be the  rst spot I want to see. Allison Cohen ’22 from Shaker Heights, OH I’ve learned so much from Julia about taking initiative and diving into my passions. Whether through encouraging me to apply for a leadership position or attending an interesting speaker or social event together, Julia always motivates me to make the most of all aspects of my time at Tufts. We actually have the same majors, psychology and civic studies, so we’ve really gotten to know each other academically and are able to bounce ideas off of each other, while also having fun together as roommates and really close friends. I love it when Julia talks about New York City. She is such a passionate person, and her passion for her city is prevalent in every conversation. As someone who has only experienced the touristy side of NYC, it is so interesting for me to hear her stories. It really is beautiful to see someone so in love with their home. Sam Brill ’23 from New York, NY Living with Jaden was an awesome experience, to say the least. He taught me that the smallest gestures can really go a long way. Within the  rst couple of days he would be reaching out to people we passed on campus, trying to extend himself as a resource, even though he was trying to get acclimated to campus life himself. Jaden baking cookies about twice a week de nitely contributed to my “freshman 15,” but it was a great way to meet new people, and I don’t regret eating a single cookie. I learned by watching his interactions that people from Rhode Island really look out for each other, mostly because it’s so small. All in one day, he can be working in Massachusetts at a summer camp and later gol ng in Narragansett by the water. Driving from place to place is de nitely different from growing up in New York City, where I can walk without thinking of using a car. Jaden Pena ’23 from Riverside, Rhode Island Before walking into my residence hall room on the  rst day of college, I found a small glass ornament hanging outside of my door. I would soon come to  nd out that this was a mezuzah, a symbol of blessing the room in Judaic culture. Throughout the year, I learned all about the Jewish traditions that my roommate, Sam, follows. Now, as we stay in touch, I hear all about the Jewish foods and pastries that he eats in his New York City home. I hear about foods like latkes, matzah balls, challah, and hamantaschen (yes, I had to look up how to spell all of those). Since I want to know more about his home city, I ask Sam hundreds of random questions about landmarks in NYC. Very few days go by in which I don’t learn something new, all because I stay in touch with my former roommate.

Jaden + Sam

Omnia + Anna

Omnia Eldoghry ’23 from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Cairo, Egypt Anna and I lived in room 205 of Carmichael Hall, which was quickly dubbed the Persian Palace. Growing up, I was always used to hanging out with people from similar cultures, and therefore when I came to Tufts all I could see were the differences I had with everyone around me. However, from Anna I learned about her high school experiences, life in California, and Armenian culture. This made me realize that even though we grew up in dramatically different environments we shared many similarities, some of which included cultures with amazing food and Middle Eastern moms! Anna also introduced me to her famous sandwich creations, which used to take her 15 minutes to make at the dining hall. Not only did this save me from having to eat the same salad every day, but it also gave me less of an excuse to order Uber Eats every night. I think the most important things I learned from Anna were to be balanced in every aspect of life, not be too quick when making a decision, and of course, to always have a collection of memes ready to use in every situation. Anna Minasyan ’23 from Montebello, California, and Yerevan, Armenia My roommate, Omnia, was born and raised in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, but she is Egyptian and spends most summers in Cairo with her family. Omnia grew up with a very close group of friends that became her family. For Omnia, life in Saudi and Egypt was exciting, and she was constantly surrounded by her friends and family. She told me of her summers in Cairo attending her cousins’ enormous weddings, sand sur ng in Saudi, and her graduation trip to Mykonos with all her friends. Moving to Massachusetts was a really big culture shock for her because it was so different from her life in the Middle East, but quickly she found a group that made her feel at home and made her laugh just as hard as her friends back home. Omnia  nds a way to relate to people no matter where they are from, and it helped that she and I had some cultural similarities already. Not only has Omnia taught me to be more extroverted and spontaneous, but she also taught me to laugh a lot more and not take things too seriously. Most importantly, Omnia introduced me to Love Island and added some fun Arabic slang to my vocabulary. John Button ’22 from East Brook eld, MA Keenan hails from a rather large family; he has three younger brothers and a younger sister (in fact, his brother Cyrus will be coming to Tufts this fall to study biology). Keenan and I met in Wilson House as  rst-years and roomed in Harleston Hall last year. Before our sophomore year started, however, I  ew out to Colorado, where Keenan and I went backpacking in the Rocky Mountains! While I was out there, we also drove to his house in Nebraska. Despite the fact that Keenan’s town has almost ten times as many people as mine, the next closest town to his is miles and miles away. Something wicked interesting about Keenan’s family is that they grow all of their own vegetables, living on the edge of their town by a massive corn  eld. While I was there, we went running together around that corn  eld and through his town—a “town” which is a grid city that looks like a sprawling metropolis compared to where I live. Keenan has taught me how to see more good in the people around me and that computer science is (apparently) very cool! Keenan Rhea ’22 from Lexington, NE John is from a small town in western Massachusetts called East Brook eld. During one visit, while we were running along the lake that the town is built along, I remember him telling me who lived in almost every house, which is something people in cities miss out on. Even though it is very small (like only a gas station and no grocery store small) it’s nice that it is not too far from Worcester. The surrounding countryside also has its own charm with the rolling hills, ancient stone fences, and lots of trees. John has helped me to get out of my work and projects and really interact with people—well, we’re still working on that. He has also really helped me adjust to the faster pace of life in Massachusetts.

Keenan + John

“I understood that whatever I wanted to study and whatever I would engage myself in afterward would be involved in…advocating for equity.”

IMAN ALI

COMMUNITY HEALTH MAJOR

’22

A quick Google search of Iman Ali’s name reveals that the rising junior and community health major is also an accomplished Tisch Scholar involved in several extracurriculars that allow her to pursue her long-established passion for civic engagement. She recounts, “By the end of my high school career I understood that whatever I wanted to study and whatever I would engage myself in afterward would be involved in making sure that I was advocating for equity and learning about history and its systems of oppression.”

Growing up, Iman thought she’d pursue the path of becoming a doctor, undermining the fact that she was more drawn to the bigger-picture, socially driven questions asked by medicine and health care. In her rst year at Tufts, she nally found the eld of study she’d been looking for when she was introduced to the community health major by Seble Yigletu ’20. “[Community health] is thinking about how we can attack the root sources that are causing people to get sicker and aren’t allowing them to access the care that they need,” Iman describes. “On a larger scale, how can we prevent people from more vulnerable populations from being sick at a higher rate?”

In her research methods class, Iman studied the low infant birth weight amongst Black babies in Boston and researched community-based intervention methods to close that disparity. Through her strenuous coursework dissecting the macro perspective that is public health, Iman realized she is particularly passionate about Black maternal health. While discussing her major and the classes she’s taken, she reiterates that “this is the [type of] work I want to pursue in the future,” making it loud and clear that she has truly found a path that ts her interests. Aside from studying public health trends in Boston, Iman knows her communities—Tufts and beyond—inside out. As a Tisch Summer Fellow, she was given the opportunity to work with MIRA (Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition), where she was part of the community organization team, which frequently traveled to different parts of Massachusetts. Through this program—which she’s involved in to this day— Iman expanded her perspective on western Massachusetts, a region she states “has a lot of room to advocate for historically underrepresented communities,” and on the extensive process of promoting legislature. Some of her efforts include working to expand driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants and raising awareness about the 2020 Census, which she did by working closely with a Tisch College-afliated group, Tufts Census Action. Iman echoes a common saying, “It takes a village to raise a child,” when describing her experience working with advocacy and community-based organizations. “[These organizations] are working a year on end to pass legislation. For most people, they’ll see the bill get passed and they’ll see how it affects them in their life, but they won’t see all the intricate work that was done behind the scenes to make it happen,” she states, reafrming her passion for civic engagement. As etched into the institution’s mission statement, Tufts aims to provide an experience that will result in students distinguishing themselves as “active citizens of the world.” As a member of the Tufts Diversity Council, Muslim Students Association, Black Student Union, and University Chaplaincy (combined with her other pursuits), Iman is that mission. She’s a critical thinker fascinated by the world around her who doesn’t hesitate to take the opportunities that allow her to explore it.

Although it’s evident that Iman is the type of Tufts student who is always on her feet, her advice to prospective students is to slow down a little and do some introspective thinking. “People around you are going to be doing a lot of different things and learning in an interdisciplinary way. They’re going to actively be thinking about what’s beyond the campus bubble,” she says. “Tufts is not a place that is one-size-ts-all. Remember to not feel overwhelmed by what’s around you and really think about your path and your story in the business of campus life.” —VALERIA VELASQUEZ ’23