Why Tufts?

After graduating with a Bachelor’s in Public Health from UMass Amherst in 2021, what should have been a milestone of relief and excitement about the next step in my journey left me feeling more lost than when I started college. A year after graduating, I moved to Chicago in pursuit of adventure and self-discovery. Two years later, I could feel my time there coming to an end. To my surprise, I missed being home in Boston: the buzz of students and young professionals, its access to nature, the familiarity of my neighborhood, and the proximity to my family and friends. 

In my last year in Chicago, I had a job that made me miserable. And let me tell you: nothing provides perspective and motivation for change quite like working at a job you hate. The kind of job that fills you with dread each morning, making even the act of getting out of bed feel unbearable. In those moments, I asked myself the hard questions: How did I end up here? How could I ensure I never ended up here again? More than what could I get, what did I actually want?  

I knew I wanted to design and create. I had taken some user experience courses and found joy in crafting efficient and beautiful products that people enjoy using. Human-Computer Interaction initially caught my attention and seemed like the perfect path. As I dug deeper, I found that Human Factors Engineering was a broader field that encompassed Human-Computer Interaction. This offered the opportunity for specialization without being pigeon-holed into one niche, something I aim to avoid if I could help it.   

Defined as “a discipline that focuses on designing systems, products, and environments to be safe, comfortable, and effective for people to use,” Human Factors Engineering resonated deeply with me. As I considered graduate programs, I read Dr. Intriligator’s white paper on the future of Human Factors Engineering. As the director of Tufts’ HFE program, his exploration of the field and leadership in projects like the IDEA Lab and moonshot research group were inspiring. I learned about the impressive, self-directed work Tufts students were producing, all of which was motivated by curiosity and innovation. As I immersed myself in the possibilities, I found myself thinking, “Oh, I want to do this!” or “This is how I would approach that.” I was already envisioning myself at Tufts. 

The timing felt serendipitous. As my chapter in Chicago closed, this opportunity to return to Boston and embark on a more fulfilling path appeared. I knew it was the right move. 

One night, as I drove through the O’Neil Tunnel on my way to a meeting on campus, I was singing along to glitter pop songs that captured the essence of my new beginning. When “Put Your Records On” by Corinne Bailey Rae began playing, I hesitated. The song’s feel-good innocence had never truly resonated with me, yet something compelled me to let it play. As the first chorus came, the lyrics “You’re going to find yourself somewhere, somehow” hit me with unexpected force, and I found myself sobbing. Those lyrics felt like an optimistic promise and spoke reason into years I spent feeling lost and purposeless. They spoke to the contentment I had finally found through my decision to attend Tufts, to join the community of creative, talented, and engaged students, and pursue a completely new career path. 

That moment in the tunnel was a culmination of everything I’d experienced and overcome. It reminded me that even the choices I once regretted had led me to this turning point. Tufts represents the beginning of a journey to find myself, somewhere and somehow. And for that, I am profoundly grateful.