George Aquila is a sophomore currently majoring in International Relations and minoring in Computer Science. He has been an active member of PPRI since the fall of 2012 and plans on taking part in the groups spring research project. George joined PPRI as a result of his interest in international development and foreign aid and the role that corruption and poverty dynamics play in those areas.
Jon is a sophomore from the Mainline suburbs of Philadelphia who fields a wide variety of interests. An amateur historian, his favourite areas of interest are the Edwardian Era and the French Revolution. As well, he loves following up with geopolitics and studying languages, especially Spanish and Afrikaans. At Tufts he is an editor on the Tufts Historical Review and VOCES, secretary of Tufts History Society, and an incredibly mediocre player on the club water polo team. On campus, he can often be found reading the Economist on the Prez Lawn, trying to get the fledgling official Tufts Croquet Team off the ground, or shaking it out on stage with Tufts Dance Collective. He has a passion for learning more about whatever he can, whenever he can, and never says no to a fun fact or restaurant recommendation.
Hometown: Plainsboro, NJ
Bio: Having lived in India for 12 years, Athokshay is beyond excited to help find and get involved with local NGOs through BUILD:India, and make a difference in places that desperately need it. As a freshman studying Computer Engineering at Tufts University, he hopes to expand his horizons and challenge himself by undertaking this venture.
Hometown: Acton, MA
Bio: Janani Baskaran is a junior Biomedical Engineer with a minor in Engineering Management. Throughout her years from high school into college, Janani has gained lots of interest in sustainable development and working with NGOs that promote education, health, and sanitation. She travelled with BUILD India to Tamil Nadu in January 2017, and has been on the club since her freshman year. She is very excited to see where the journey of BUILD takes her, and looking forward to find a new NGO.
Rebeca Becdach is a member of the class of 2021 and is thinking about majoring in Environmental Studies and International Relations. She grew up in Huntsville, Al, but her parents are from Venezuela and Ecuador. Last year she participated in the Tufts 1+4 Program in Madrid, and this year she is part of the TCU Senate and Students for Environmental Awareness. She is excited to serve the country her father calls home and that she has visited often throughout her life. Her interests include sustainability, psychology, and global health.
Erin is a double major in international relations and Spanish. She has previously worked with educational development before with the Asian University for Women in Bangladesh. She is especially interested in the impact that the education of women has in developing countries and is interested in continuing this work in Latin America.
Joaquin was born and raised in Quito, Ecuador and moved to the United States during his first year of college. He is currently a sophomore at Tufts University, majoring in Quantitative Economics and minoring in Computer Sciences. Aware of the opportunities he has had throughout his life, he feels it is his responsibility to give back to his country and solve the problems it faces. He wishes to construct an Ecuador free of social inequalities and lack of opportunities.
Hometown: East Setauket, NY
Bio: Kristina Chu is a junir studying environmental engineering with a passion for public health issues and learning more about sustainable development. She visited BUILD: India's partner NGO Payir during the summer of 2016, when trip members assessed community needs through a village survey. She is looking forward to another year of insightful discussions on international sustainable development work in the non-profit sector.
Allie is a junior at Tufts studying International Relations and Spanish. She has been a part of Tufts International Development since her second year at Tufts, where she served on the Fundación Esquel team. Besides TID, Allie is co-captain of Tufts Tamasha and a troop leader with Tufts Girl Scouts.
Madeleine is a member of the Class of 2020, and is studying Community Health, Nutrition, and Anthropology. In the future, she hopes to work in a position focused on combatting nutritional insecurity. Growing up in an Army family, she never spent more than two years in one place. Thus, she is from nowhere and everywhere, and prefers to find the comfort of home in the people around her. She always looks forward to the intellectual and introspective conversations with her fellow Synaptic Scholars. She values the unique curiosities and passions of every member, and feels incredibly grateful to share in their journeys of learning.
Hometown: Tampa, FL
Bio: Elizabeth Corn is a first year pre-med student hoping to study biology and international relations at Tufts. Elizabeth has had exposure to topics in sustainable development through her global studies track in high school, and completed her cumulative senior thesis on the subject of sustainable global health implementation. She is extremely excited to begin working with BUILD, gain new experiences in sustainable development, and collaborate with the other members of the club to find a new NGO and make an impact on struggling communities in India.
Hometown: Truckee, CA
Bio: Ayden is a freshman at Tufts and hopes to study International Relations or Global Health. He has experience with sustainable development in several clubs he participated in High School. He is also a member of Amnesty International at Tufts. He is excited to work with BUILD India to promote sustainable development in the region and he is also excited to be able to work in partnership with the Institute for Global Leadership.
Yanelle is a junior at Tufts majoring in sociology and political science with a Latin Studies minor. She was born and raised in Honduras and is excited to give back to her community through Tufts ID. She’s very passionate about public policy and using technology as a tool for social justice. Having completed a public policy fellowship at Google this past summer, she identified her love for policy and is committed to pursuing a career in policy making and analysis. Upon graduation, she hopes to enroll in a joint MPP/JD program and specialize in social and technology policy.
Hometown: Arcadia, CA; Hyderabad, India
Bio: Srinitha is a fourth-year student studying Political Science and Community Health. She has been involved in BUILD: India since her freshman year and has gone on the June 2015 and January 2017 trips to Thottiyapatti. BUILD has allowed her to gain new understandings of the ethical implications of development and the politics of 'behavior change' and reconceptualize definitions of 'sustainable development.' Most importantly, BUILD has given her the privilege of meeting people that live, think, and work differently.
Anna Del Castillo is a member of the Class of 2018 and comes to Tufts from the warm state of Mississippi. She studies International Relations, Spanish, and Colonialism studies. Anna engages diversity as a member of the Bridge to Liberal Arts Success (BLAST) program at Tufts. She is the Vice President of the Tufts Community Union Senate, an organizer of the Tufts Indigenous Peoples Day movement, a Career Fellow for the Tufts Career Center, a Civic Dialogue Fellow, a lead ambassador for the Andrew Goodman Vote Everywhere program, and a member of the Interfaith Student Council. As a Latina woman, Anna is passionate about pursuing social and economic justice and is currently interning for Centro Presente, an organization focused on immigrant rights, worker rights, and civic engagement.
Hometown: Munster, IN
Bio: Siddharth is a third-year student studying International Relations, Sociology, and Colonialism studies. He has been involved in BUILD: India since his first year and has gone on the Summer 2016 and Winter 2017 trips, the latter of which he led. BUILD has provided Siddharth an outlet to discuss the various ethical issues surrounding development (a field he is considering entering in the future) as well as experience abroad within a semi-familiar culture, as his mother’s family is from Tamil Nadu. He is excited about exploring opportunities with new foreign NGOs this year.
Anne is a junior at Tufts University and a senior adviser of this year's symposium. She is double majoring in Chinese and International Relations, concentrating in International Finance and Economics. Besides helping with the symposium, she spends her time tutoring local Medford residents in Chinese and co-coordinating the Hunger Project, a service program that sends student volunteers to various, local homeless shelters. Anne spent this past summer in New York City interning in the research department of China International Capital Corporation (CICC) writing reports on the political economy of China and the United States. She plans to spend next semester abroad at Peking University. Anne looks forward to sharing her interest and passion of the Chinese culture with the Tufts community.
Jorge Eguiguren is sophomore double majoring in computer science and quantitative economics. He is currently 19 years old, and was born and raised in Quito, Ecuador. He loves playing and watching soccer, and his favorite team is Barcelona SC (Ecuadorean team). His dream job would be a tech NGO focused on developing software to help third-world regions (specifically Latin America). His father’s name is Jorge, his mom’s Glenda, his sister is Genoveva, and his dog is Lilu.
Farley Flores Ramirez was born in Mexico and when he was 5 years old he moved to Honduras. He grew up with his grandmother because his mother immigrated to the United States. He then moved to Compton, California at the age of 15. Although he comes from a very dangerous community, he is a first generation student who is looking to find a path for his three younger sisters who will have him as an unconditional support. In addition to BLAST, Farley is also a One Voice scholar. Farley is a senior majoring in Economics with a passion for languages where he is studying his fourth language. After spending his junior year studying abroad in Madrid, Spain he interned with the Tufts European Center in Talloires, France. Farley is working for Admissions as a senior intern where he is in charge of planning and coordinating Open Houses, fly-ins programs for first generation students and diversity outreach with college fairs for high school students.
Gabe Gladstein is a Freshman, currently pursuing majors in Political Science and Chinese. Gabe is a dual-degree student with the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, and is there studying Contemporary Improvisation, a blend of jazz, classical, and many other genres including Indian, African, Middle Eastern, and Asian musics. Gabe is deeply interested in China’s political system, and hopes to travel to China during his Junior year in order to master the language (which he currently studies) and to conduct political science research on the growth of China’s nascent democracy. Gabe’s involvement in the CUS is a reflection of those interests, and Gabe hopes to continue working with the CUS in years to come. In the longterm, Gabe plans to combine his passions for music and politics to create a unique, dual-career path. In his spare time, Gabe teaches for the Tufts’ Peer Health Exchange program, traveling to high schools around the Boston area to teach classes on abusive relationships. Gabe also enjoys journal writing, and has thus far published in the Tufts Observer and the Tufts Daily.
Shoshana is a sophomore majoring in international relations. She is interested in pursuing a career in international development. She is especially interested in improving education and empowering women in underdeveloped regions. By being involved with Tufts International Development, she hopes to explore her ethical role as a global citizen who wants to make a difference in the developing world.
Hometown:Rhinebeck, NY
Bio: Shoshana is a sophomore at Tufts studying international relations and history. She is very interested in studying sustainable development and promoting education initiatives in underdeveloped regions. She is very excited to learn more about development, specifically in rural India, and to explore relationships with NGOs.
Franky is a sophomore planning to double major in economics and international relations. Growing up as a city kid, he spent his childhood in the bronx, new york. Outside of chasing his academic ambitions, Franky spends his time perfecting his rhetoric on the Tufts debate team. He is also a member of SWAT and an active participant of the Tufts economic society. Outside of the extracurricular world Franky actively writes and explores different types of music.
Hometown: Westwood, MA
Bio: Abinav is a junior studying Applied Mathematics and Biology. He has not yet gone on a trip to Tamil Nadu, but he hopes to go on one in the near future. He does not have a strong background in sustainable development, but through his interactions and discussions with BUILD, he has learned a lot about the topic. He is very excited to work together with his peers to find a new NGO to partner with.
Sean is a double major in International Relations, concentrating in International Security, and Chinese Language. He was born in Morristown, New Jersey, but grew up in Thousand Oaks, California. At Tufts, Sean is involved in the China US Symposium as well as ALLIES, and swam for Tufts during his freshman year as well as this year. After graduation, Sean intends to volunteer for military service, and eventually plans to return to school to pursue a graduate degree.
Nick Hathaway is a freshman from Palm Harbor, Florida considering a major in IR, Chinese, or Computer Science. As Section Editor for the Tufts Observer and Ambassador for SWAT, Nick has been able to explore his bourgeoning interests in journalism and performance poetry at Tufts. When not debating his major, he enjoys attending plays, researching drama therapy, and marveling at the strength and diversity of the slam poetry community.
Hometown: Wilton, CT
Bio: Vivian Hong is a third year pre-med student studying computer science and cognitive and brain science. She has been involved with BUILD: India since her freshman year and visited Thottiyapatti and BUILD: India's partner NGO, Payir, in January of 2017. Her interest in sustainable development and non-profit work in general has been enriched in the past two years through important ethical conversations surrounding sustainable development work and through learning and understanding some of the struggles of this work when it comes to the intersections of mental/emotional well-being and cultural relativism. She looks forward to learning about and working through the portions of sustainable development work that focuses on phasing out of and entering into communities.
Jennifer a sophomore majoring in biochemistry with a minor in entrepreneurial leadership. She is passionate about the applying her education to worldly causes. She has experience in community development and engagement through working with the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative in Boston. She deeply admires the diversity of the world and hopes of having a career that encompasses her love of medicine with that of her desire to travel.
Adrienne Larson is a freshman from Washington D.C considering a major in International Relations. She is Belgian-American, and before coming to Tufts she took a gap year and worked in Senegal, Togo, Haiti, and Brussels. Outside of PPRI, she is involved with BUILD Nicaragua, Hemispheres, the undergraduate IR journal, and Alpha Phi. She is interested in exploring corruption issues with regard to foreign medical aid and electoral systems in developing countries.
Jake is a senior at Tufts from Dana Point, CA. He is majoring in Political Science, and has strong interests in cross-cultural communication and ethical community development. Jake joins the Tufts ID team with experience working for non-profits serving Hispanic communities, as well as studying Latin American politics at the University of Buenos Aires.
Daniel Lewis is a freshman from Washington, DC who is currently undecided on his field of study. As part of the inaugural Tufts 1+4 Class, Daniel spent the past year living with a host family in Florianopolis, Brazil and interning at a non-profit and a tech company. He has also participated in the Seeds of Peace conflict resolution program, which brings together kids from conflict regions around the world for an intensive, 3-week summer camp. He also spent a month this past summer researching Civil-Military relations in Japan. Daniel is also a published writer, with pieces appearing in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, The Hill and Newsday. He loves movies of all varieties and debating any topic that begets an opinion.
Hey! I am Nasrin Lin, a sophomore double International Relations and English major on the pre-law track. I was born and raised in Taiwan and moved to Fort Lee, NJ during freshman year of high school. As a Taiwanese American, I am proud of my cross-cultural, bilingual background because it drives me to be more conscientious of others' experiences and more grateful for my opportunities. Over the summer, I interned at the American Jewish World Service, a global nonprofit dedicated to realizing human rights and supporting grassroots activism in the developing world. My experiences at AJWS solidified my aspirations to pursue law, specifically immigration and international law, while finding consolation and inspiration in literature.
Joe Mark is a Junior at Tufts University, studying International Relations and focusing in Environmental Economics. Born in London, he lived there until he was 10, and then moved over to the US. He went to high school in Mass, and grew to love International Relations. At Tufts he has narrowed his focus to the global environment and sustainability. His involvement in the China-US symposium comes from a desire to learn more about the area, especially China’s continued growth. Will this growth come at the price of the health of its people and its environment? Joe also loves to ski with the club team at Tufts, take pictures, and play both soccer and tennis in his spare time.
Hometown: Southington, CT
Bio: Kristen Mathew is a freshman student who is current on the pre-med track. In high school, she had experience working with “Compassion International” NGO’s in Mexico that promoted health and sanitation in impoverished areas. She is excited to provide aid to such communities in India, as well as continue to develop her passion for sustainable development.
Hometown: Des Plaines, IL
Bio: Lawson is a freshman at Tufts University in the School of Engineering and is likely to pursue Mechanical Engineering as a major. He is a first-generation student who immigrated from India, and decided to join Build:INDIA as a way to help communities back in his nation of origin through the sustainable development model. He looks forward to helping the club in its path to expand and find more non-governmental organizations to work with.
Mark is a sophomore at Tufts University, planning to double-major in Quantitative Economics and Biology. Originally from Connecticut, he lived nine years abroad in Tokyo and Beijing. Along with his work for the China-US Symposium, he is Vice President of Delta Tau Delta fraternity and signatory for Baseball Analysis at Tufts. In the summer of his freshman year, he interned at a lobbying firm in Washington, DC where he helped launch the US-China Smart Agriculture Leadership Group. Along with his interest in China-US relations, he loves baseball analytics, playing sports, and eating ethnic foods.
Marcia is a second-year master’s degree student at the Fletcher School, studying International Development and NGO Management. Prior to Fletcher, she worked three years as a professor of Brazilian Studies at the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in South Korea. She was also a Fulbright scholar at University of Massachusetts at Lowell, where she taught Portuguese language and culture. Before coming to the USA in 2014, Marcia completed her master’s degree in Applied Linguistics in Brazil, where she was born and raised. At Fletcher, she is focused on the role of grassroots organizations in International Development and how they can help the most vulnerable populations to have better economic opportunities. She spent the Summer of 2019 in Guinea-Bissau, Africa, doing research for her capstone entitled Pain and Hope in Guinea-Bissau. She has also served as a co-leader of the Fletcher Christian Fellowship for the 2019-2020 AY.
This summer she is working with MEBAR, a faith-based organization in the West Africa nation of Guinea-Bissau. MEBAR is planning to build an Innovation Center in the country’s main commercial route. The Innovation Center will provide courses on financial education, literacy for women, health and other relevant topics for Guinea-Bissauan society. Marcia is assisting MEBAR with the strategic planning, marketing and fundraising to take the Innovation Center from paper to reality.
Zhamilya is a sophomore from Kazakhstan studying Civil Engineering and Linguistics. As evidenced by her academic interests, she really enjoys learning and talking about languages. She also loves discussing politics, Russian literature, and philosophy. Zhamilya is very excited about advancing women in STEM and wants to pursue a career in engineering. She enjoys being a member of Synaptic Scholars because she can meet people who are passionate about things and want to share that passion with other people.
Santiago is a Junior Cognitive & Brain Sciences major from Mexico and Spain. He is really passionate about soccer, research, and global politics, which is why he joined European Horizons. For Santiago, European Horizons provides a great platform for people of similar backgrounds and interests and to talk about topics that may not regularly come up at Tufts.
Hometown: Somers, NY
Bio: Hannah Norowitz is a first year student at Tufts who is currently on the pre-med track and hopes to study biology. She has some previous experience with sustainable development but is excited to learn more and delve further into this field of work. She couldn't be more eager to work with BUILD, get to know everyone in the club, and begin researching major issues in India as well as new NGOs for the club to work with.
Ayotola double majors in clinical psychology and community health, with a minor in economics. She wants to transform her education into real impact. She is interested in international development, global health policies, and resourcing. She has experience with teaching, marketing, outreach, and grant proposals.
Hometown: Cleveland, OH
Bio: Morgan Parker is a first year student from Cleveland, Ohio, and she hopes to study community health and linguistics at Tufts. She hasn’t had a lot of experience with sustainable development, but she is excited to work with BUILD: India this year and help find a new NGO partner for the organization. She hopes to pursue her interest in global health, as well as learn more about other components of sustainable development, through BUILD.
Clemencia is a junior from Lima, Peru. She is double majoring in Biology and Environmental Policy, and very passionate about conservation and sustainable development. She is particularly interested in the value of education for development. Clemencia has worked with several NGOs that have a strong focus on education and is very excited to continue working on the Libraries Without Borders project to expand access to education in Ecuador. In her free time, Clemencia likes hiking, climbing and investigating the daily activity of spider monkeys in the Peruvian Amazon.
Mikel was born in Brooklyn, NY, lived in Melbourne, Australia for 5 years, and then moved to the village of Clinton, in upstate NY. Mikel is a first generation American with a guiding focus on global citizenship. He has family on three continents and has lived in the US, Australia, Ecuador, and Spain. During the 2014-2015 school year Mikel was a Rotary Youth Exchange student in Quito, Ecuador where he was able to refine his Spanish and come to understand different perspectives about global events and cultures. Before starting his studies at Tufts, Mikel embarked on a gap year through the Tufts 1+4 Bridge Program and worked at a foster home in Madrid, Spain during the 2016-2017 academic year. Mikel is now starting his studies as a freshman in the school of Arts and Sciences and is planning to study International Relations, hoping to focus on the issues and topics of international development and immigration.
Gabriel Rojkind is currently a sophomore majoring in Political Science and Economics. With a particular interest in the countries of South America and Southeast Asia, he is greatly interested in exploring how corruption links with poverty in the context of poor and middle-income countries. Given that corruption occurs at the intersection of the public and private sector, its conjunction with "underdevelopment", entrenched and vested interests, and more generally the exploitation embedded in globalized capitalism makes corruption a dangerous force that simultaneously bolsters the power of elites while suppressing those with fewer recourses. This is what makes being a part of PPRI compelling for Gabriel. Otherwise, in his free time, Gabriel still enjoys politics, but also drawing, painting, reading, music, conjuring fond feelings for Chicago, and being outside.
Molly Rothschild is a member of the Tufts class of 2015, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is studying International Relations and is concentrating in Africa. In addition to PPRI, she is involved with Tufts Against Genocide and Peace Games, a program run through Tufts' Leonard Carmichael Society. Molly is really excited about the great projects that PPRI has done in the past and is looking forward to continuing PPRI's research.
Camila, as an Ecuadorian student, is committed to giving back to the country that she has called home for most of her life. She majors in quantitative economics. She is very interested in the role that technology plays in breaching the educational gap between developed an developing countries, and enabling a sustainable development. She has experience in consulting as well as working with NGOS both in the US and Ecuador. She has worked with NGOs such as Kids In Need of Defense (KIND), TECHO Ecuador, among others. She is very excited to continue her work with TuftsID and expand the reach and improve the content currently available for the community in Coaque
Jacob Rubel is a first year at Tufts University from Brooklyn, NY. He plans on majoring in International Relations with a minor in Entrepreneurial Leadership Studies. Jacob is interested in pursuing a career in government and international development. He has been a Bloomberg Arts and Culture Intern, worked on education consulting in the New York City DOE, and studied abroad in Spain during his sophomore year of high school as a student and volunteer English tutor. Jacob is involved in the Tufts Philosophy club, the Tufts History Society, Ethics Bowl, and also created the Philosophy Club at his high school which he is still involved in. In his free time, he likes to read, hike, and watch Spanish movies.
Hometown: Short Hills, NJ
Bio: Neel Sambamurthy is currently a freshman at Tufts. He has a lot of background doing community service work, ranging from volunteering with the Red Cross, organizing blood drives, and creating fundraisers for a local non-profit organization (Family Assistance Resource Center). His parents grew up in Tamil Nadu, and he has visited the state numerous times, so this is an organization that really matters to him. He does not have much experience with sustainable development, but he hopes that joining this club will build his knowledge in this area. He hopes to gain a leadership position in the club and take on the fundraising responsibility.
Hometown: Atherton, CA
Bio: Ashwini Shankar is a freshman studying International Relations. She has worked with sustainable development since middle school through the organization “Free the Children.” Through this club, she has coordinated numerous events and fundraisers for overseas campaigns. She is looking forward to being in an organization that continues this work in a familiar community and has the exciting opportunity to partner with a new NGO.
Naman Shrivastava (F’21) is an emerging markets enterprise scholar at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. He is the Founder of one of India's fastest growing social impact ventures - Global Governance Initiative (GGI). This summer he will be working on creating an ed tech platform and launching impact labs across Indian colleges to address the SDG goal 5 on gender equality, SDG goal 4 on quality education, and goal 8 on decent work and economic growth.
At the Fletcher School, he is focusing on Business for Social Impact and Development Economics. He has previously worked as a strategy consultant in the Government of India, and is working at the United Nations - office of internal oversight services. Naman is also a recipient of the prestigious Harry Ratliffe Memorial Prize - awarded by the Fletcher Alumni of Color Executive Board.
His experience has been at the intersection of Management Consulting, Political Consulting, and Social entrepreneurship.
Naman is also a trained western classical guitarist, and has played state level professional cricket in India. He wants to use his education to create a world - that is better led, better served, and better governed.
Alfred is a first-year Master’s in International Business candidate at The Fletcher School, studying business for social impact. His goal is to figure out how to influence and drive change towards socially impactful decision making. Prior to Fletcher, he worked in the human capital consulting industry. Over the summer, he will be conducting research on Albania’s job market, with a goal to ultimately solve the untapped talent problem there via an innovative business model. When he is not studying, he loves visiting coffee shops around the country, hiking in the mountains, and practicing meditation.
Ben began studying Chinese his freshman year. He continued through sophomore year and studied at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou the first semester of his junior year. His interests include China’s grassroots democracy, current urbanization project, and the security situation in Xinjiang province.
Yee Hui studies Peace & Justice, Religion and African Studies at Tufts University and is on the cusp of graduating, big decisions, and new adventures. She lives in Singapore and Somerville, but can usually be found chasing buses, trains, and sunshine. In spite of her terminally itchy feet, she is trying to learn to appreciate the art of sitting still. When she’s done with school, her goal is to make her city more happy and inclusive for everyone through community-building, a loving reclamation of spaces and public art projects.
Sawyer Uecke is a first year student at Tufts University who plans to major in astrophysics. While living in Nicaragua as part of the Tufts 1+4 program, Sawyer developed a life long passion for cross cultural communication, sustainable development, and youth leadership and education. He hopes to further enhance these skills while working with Tufts International Development while simultaneously exploring new areas of international development such as fundraising. He is becoming an active member on Tufts campus and is involved in the salsa performance team "La Salsa," Engineers without Borders, and United for Immigration Justice, to name a few. Sawyer plans to continue being an active citizen on and off the Tufts campus through volunteering at events similar to Tufts Community Day and with the Boys & Girls Club.
Maya is passionate about advocacy and making meaningful contributions to her communities and larger ones. She comes from a Colombian family and has a special love for Latin America that she is excited to pursue further. She is considering the fields of Community Health, Latino Studies, Peace and Justice Studies, and whatever else she may find along the way.
Ezgi is a member of Class of 2020 from the beautiful Istanbul, Turkey. She is pursuing a double major in International Relations and Middle Eastern Studies, while also learning Arabic. Beyond that, she loves to work with children and young adults and has served as a camp counsellor for children from Turkey and Afghanistan. She occasionally dreams of working for UNICEF in the future."
Tasfia is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy degree from the Fletcher School, Tufts University. Her academic concentrations are Development Economics and Labor and Workforce Development (self-designed). Tasfia is passionate about policy work on labour and social protection of women and youth as well as women’s financial independence. Prior to coming to Fletcher, Tasfia worked as a consultant for the Government of Bangladesh on workforce development projects and on a variety of research consultancies for the Brookings Institution in Washington DC and United Nations in New York. In her spare time, she loves watching Bon Appétit cooking videos as well as tennis and football matches. Tasfia is proficient in English, Bangla, and French.
This summer, Tasfia is working as a research consultant for the International Labour Organization on a research project pertaining to skills development and employment through Information Communications Technology (ICT) training.
Olive is a member of the class of 2020 from Tibet who came to the U.S when she was 13. She is pursuing a major in International Relations and minor in Entrepreneurship Leadership Studies. She is passionate about human connections, learning about different cultures and traveling. She is also an avid weightlifter and Reggaeton music lover. Currently, she is on campus trying to start a chapter called TableTalk and her own startup Ammi that is aimed to connect Tufts students on personal levels.