Big man on [and off] campus

Mike Ferenczy, last year's winner of the Wendell Phillips Memorial Prize, appeared often on the pages of the Daily and the Primary Source and left his mark, as well as a significant absence, upon graduating in the spring of 2002.

Far removed from campus politics, Ferenczy is now working as a sixth grade science teacher at West Baltimore Middle School in Maryland. He was hired through the Teach for America program, which recruits recent college graduates to teach in underfunded, underprivileged, inner-city and rural schools for two years.

At Tufts, Ferenczy double majored in Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology and chaired the Tufts Community Union Judiciary (TCUJ). Ferenczy often expressed opinions that opposed the views of the majority of the Tufts student body. In March of 2002, Ferenczy participated in a panel on racial issues in which he made many bold statements, including a remark that he "...was frustrated by a lack of respect for straight white voices on campus."

Teach for America chooses from the most qualified college graduates in the country and strives to address the inequities facing children growing up in low income areas to succeed academically.

The program's mission statement explains that it aims "to provide excellent teachers who will help... effect the systemic changes needed to truly realize our vision of educational opportunity for all."

Ferenczy wakes at 5:30 a.m. every morning in order to arrive at work on time. While many recent college graduates spend the year after commencement behind a desk, either working or in graduate school, Ferenczy's job is very different. More than half of his sixth grade students read at a third grade or lower level, and about a quarter of them have a learning disability or what he calls an "emotional issue."

"Last quarter I didn't have enough books for all my kids. I'm not only responsible for teaching them science, but reading and some life skills as well," Ferenczy said. "This job is... the real world, and a side of the real world that most Tufts grads never see. Most days when I go to bed I feel like I've accomplished something useful."

While Ferenczy says that he never took an education course at Tufts, and most of his engineering courses were more likely to deal with numbers and microorganisms than with people, he believes that his Tufts education is serving him well.

"The coursework did prepare me for the critical thinking aspect that most jobs require," Ferenczy said, elaborating that, "evaluating problems and solutions to these problems is a large part of teaching, and Tufts definitely prepared me to do that."

Inner-city Baltimore is very different from the environments in which Ferenczy has lived, but the diversity of the Tufts student body helped prepare him. "While not actually preparing me for urban culture [it] did give me the skills [that allowed me to] be able to interact with people from different races and backgrounds without committing too many missteps," he explained.

At Tufts, Ferenczy was a Resident Assistant for three years -- a position in which he took great pride. "[My job as an RA] prepared me for positions of leadership and responsibility, and allowed me to see my residents grow and mature from a perspective different from your normal Tufts student," Ferenczy said. "Plus, I got to work with some truly amazing people."

He also played the drums in the orchestra for the Torn Ticket II musical Zombie Prom.

While Ferenczy is now far from the Hill, he remains connected to the University. He is a transitional member for the alumni council, "which means that I have a five year term, during which I'm supposed to help bridge the gap between older alumni and recent graduates," he said. "The idea is to have about twenty of these transitional members at a time...right now it's my first year, so I'm still learning the ropes."

Ferenczy hopes to either attend law or graduate school upon completing the Teach for America program. Despite his academic drive, Ferenczy took advantage of opportunities to relax while at the University. "I miss the sheltered little world of Tufts...especially the days when I didn't have any classes before noon," he said. "I'm glad I took advantage of sleeping in when I had the chance."

But Ferenczy's pride in his job is evident when he speaks, displaying that, as when he was in college, he likes a challenge: "Teaching is a tough profession, especially in the environment in which I teach, but it's also very fulfilling," he said.