Inspired to Improve

Getting off from over 20 hours of flying, I finally arrived at Tufts University in Boston from my hometown Shanghai, China. Visiting Tufts University opened up my mind to social issues and gave me the chance to peek at what life in universities in America would be like. The classmates, staff, peer leaders, and professors are more enthusiastic than I had expected. As a Chinese student, I fit into the groups very well and felt warm. To my surprise, they not only don't have any discrimination, but they are curious to know about things in Shanghai and China.

Our classes are tight, and I learned about 10 different topics in this 12-day-program. These classes strengthened my thoughts of changing the latest situation, and also let me learn about other issues I was unfamiliar with— especially ones that do not occur in China, such as segregation. Every professor did their best to explain clearly, and they were all very welcoming to questions. One time we even changed the lesson to a big discussion, but the professor let everyone who wanted to speak explain their thoughts, instead of disturbing them and continue on talking about what he prepared for the next section. I liked the three community organization visits to non-profits a lot. I don't have many chances to learn about non-profit organizations in Shanghai, so it was very interesting for me to learn about the purpose of the establishment behind these organizations, how they work, and what issues they work on. These visits made me interested in potentially working in non-profit organizations during my college years.

I am also really thankful for my TA, Kaila. Our homework began with 3 reflections, and my first two reflections both got a 7 out of 10 because I wrote them in the way I used to in China, not organized or related-to-myself as my TA wanted to see. However, she was really friendly when talking with me about my problems after class and encouraged me. I was proud of seeing a 10 out of 10 in the comment of my last homework. Our cohort, led by our peer leader, Biani, was like a big family as she made the daily cohort check-in and reflection fun and active. I can't forget how all of us, including Biani, engaged in the cohort competitions. I was truly affected by other cohort members' passions as we were the most energetic cohort!

This program taught me it is important to focus and begin with our small community to make our plans draw attention, rather than just starting with big structures. For my final project, I chose to do research on what schools can do to help the protection of the local language in Shanghai. While working on this project, I learned a lot about the local language and the history of Shanghai and became determined to work on the protection of the local language by creating a club in my school that can influence my schoolmates.

There are so many more things I still want to talk about: my life living in Miller Hall with my nice roommate and RC, the best pizza and ice-cream in the dining hall, the precious experiences of eating out with my friends, the very cute little animals like bunnies and squirrels on campus, the exciting prom, and so many other activities organized by the school. Just experience it yourself! I promise you will be satisfied and have an unforgettable experience in the Leadership for Social Change program and at Tufts University. Let me shout out our slogan one last time: L-S-C!