Like most Tufts seniors winding down their four years in college, Liz Manno is getting ready to jump into the world.
An American studies and child development double major, Manno has just finished her senior thesis and is making plans to move to New York City next year. She will spend the next two weeks bidding farewell to her college career - and, as of last Friday, she has a unique relic to take with her into the future.
Manno is the winner of Tufts' "Most Progressive Senior" award, which is given by the Tufts Progressive Alumni Network (TPAN) to honor "exceptional commitment to social justice, leadership abilities, and potential to be future change agents," according to the TPAN Web site. She received her award at an informal ceremony and alumni reunion last week at Oxfam Caf?©.
Manno, who was nominated for the award by American Studies Professor Jean Wu, said she "was very happy to get the award," but was surprised because she did not expect it.
Though she has never considered herself progressive in the sense of being politically "radical," Manno recognized that her involvement in community issues during her time at Tufts is just the kind of social commitment that TPAN was looking for.
"What stood out about me," she said, "was that I'd been so involved in local communities."
Manno's involvement began when she was a freshman, quietly wanting to get involved in Tufts' many extracurricular opportunities. She joined the Bias Education and Awareness Team (now BEATbias), which was in its second year of existence at the time.
Though she had little previous experience in race issues, she was excited by "the extensive training [in BEATbias] and learning about systems of oppression and issues on campus, and how to find your voice in them," she said.
Her work with BEATbias and the people to whom it connected her that inspired Manno to make race issues her primary extracurricular cause.
"It sparked a lot of interest in things that I didn't realize I was interested in until I got here," such as comparative race and ethnicity, Manno said.
Sophomore year, Manno interned in Chinatown at the Asian Task Force against Domestic Violence (ATASK). There, she volunteered at a safe house and raised funds for and renovated a children's room.
Manno's time spent in Chinatown was extremely meaningful. She said she learned the power of "seeing an issue that a community faces, even if it's really small, and channeling your energy into it," she said. Manno also continued her work at BEATbias and got involved in the Safe Colleges conference, which allowed her to participate in campus dialogue about race.
The summer before her junior year, Manno worked hard to revamp the BEATbias training system and networked with faculty, directors and administrators to build connections for the program.
That year, she was the recipient of the Ted Shapiro Award, an honor from the American studies department that awards funds to students wanting "to pursue summer travel plans that incorporate opportunities for personal and academic growth," according to the department's Web site.
She used this award to return to Chinatown, where she completed a photography project intended to represent the diversity of the community there.
"I called it my personal mapping of the Chinatown community, and tried to profile the multi-dimensionality of the community," she said.
That summer also found her working through the Tisch College as an intern with Groundwork Somerville, where she worked with children in Somerville to create gardens and plant vegetation around the city.
This year, Manno has been working to tie her extensive community work together with her thesis, titled "Models of Multicultural Education and Critical Race Theory." In it, she explores whether issues of racism can be confronted through multicultural education.
The 2006-2007 school year has been an interesting one for a student with such a deep academic interest in race issues.
"This year has been a very public year for dialogue" regarding race issues, Manno said, recalling reactions to the Primary Source's parody Christmas carol earlier this year. "I hope that the dialogue that was started this year doesn't stop there. It's upsetting when there's an incident, an outcry, and people don't continue to make progress."
Manno believes that such dialogue is a crucial part of activism.
"One thing I've really learned from Tufts is the importance of seeing an issue and raising your voice about it."
Manno's own ability to do this may come in handy as she transitions to the next phase of her life. This summer, Manno will move to New York City to become a member of the Teach for America corps.
"Education is really important to me," Manno said. "It's the civil rights crisis of our generation."
For an individual not completely sure of all that she wants to do in the future, this is a fitting next step.
"I need a little bit of perspective, to try something, get my hands on something," she said. "I think that I have a lot of energy to bring to a school and to bring to the kids."
