A native of Indonesia her whole life, an Indian citizen on paper, and a resident of Medford, Mass. for the school year, Tufts senior Avantika Tenja is bent on saving the world both locally and globally. Of course, Tenja's double major in anthropology and child development is a big help and a bigger inspiration. "I feel like it's a very save-the-world type of discipline," Taneja said. "They're more people-oriented majors."
Most recently, Taneja's knowledge of youth development and anthropology helped her aid tsunami relief efforts. One of her newest endeavors aims to build "trauma recovery into the curriculum for community-based preschools in the affected province" of Aceh.
A native of Indonesia, Taneja was back home in Jakarta when the quake that caused the disaster occurred. "Geographically, we were far enough that we weren't affected at all directly...but emotionally, it was still pretty proximal," Taneja said.
Living in the island nation's capital, Taneja was able to directly observe relief effort coordination. Upon returning to Tufts, she found the campus different than when she had left: "I've felt more like an ambassador to Indonesia than I've ever felt at Tufts before," she said.
Taneja is "wary" of representing Indonesia, though, due to her status in the country as a foreigner. "I went to an international school and was part of an international community," Taneja said. "Our school was very Westernized."
The jump to Tufts after a Westernized education was not very difficult, Taneja said. Her decision to attend Tufts was based largely on an intuitive feeling. "I mean, Jumbo's the mascot, come on!" she said, laughing about Tufts' own Indian heritage.
Now a senior, Taneja has worked extensively in the community at and around Tufts. "I'm so married to this school!" she joked.
During her junior year, Taneja coordinated a program within the Leonard Carmichael Society (LCS), Girls Interaction Raising Levels of Self Esteem (GIRLS). She describes it as a "big-sisters" program involving after-school sessions with middle school girls.
Although she loved the program, Taneja stopped being involved in GIRLS this year in order to focus on something else: "I wanted to concentrate on some of the internal organizational aspects of LCS," she said. "I'm really interested in building program assessment."
Working in LCS is not the only thing Taneja has done throughout her Tufts career. Last semester marked the recognition of the Anthropology Collective, which Taneja founded and now coordinates. Taneja and a friend thought that it would be nice to know all the other anthropology majors, "and it kind of snowballed from there," she said.
The organization now has multiple objectives, including recruiting speakers and becoming more involved with the faculty. "We participated in the search process for a new anthropology professor," Taneja said. The collective also helps with forums for student research.
Taneja herself has been involved in research in both anthropology and child development. During an anthropology course entitled "Urban Borderlands," Taneja researched youth programs and how they address the needs of Latino youths in Somerville.
She also conducts research at the Institute for Applied Research and Youth Development, which is sponsored by Tufts' Child Development department. "The idea is that research in Child Development should be applied," Taneja said. "It shouldn't just generate the knowledge, but should be very much embedded in what's going on in communities."
Taneja is on the Institute's advisory board as an undergraduate representative. She also had plans to be a TA for a youth development class this semester, though it was cancelled due to low enrollment. Instead, Taneja and her fellow intended TAs have turned to working on a lecture series, recruiting speakers about the topics on which the class would have focused.
This spring was not the first time Taneja's plans have fallen through - she also had hoped to go abroad to Sweden during her junior year. "I was all set, and then my program got cancelled," she said.
Despite the missed opportunity, Taneja maintains a positive attitude. "I think I had a good momentum here," she said. "It would have been win-win."
Although unsure of what her exact post-graduation plans are, Taneja knows she will keep up her high level of social consciousness. Even though she has "no idea what turn [her] life is taking," Taneja is sure she wants to help people.
"I'm really keen in the long run about going back home and doing humanitarian work," she said.
