The real world is a lot wider than the 150 acres of Tufts' Medford/Somerville campus. As senior Jumbos step off the deep end, prepare for life after graduation and adjust to the world beyond campus boundaries, the "Jumbos for life" mantra emblazoned on their 2006 orientation T-shirts still rings true.
Even as alumni trade term papers for client reports and pay off student loans with real paychecks, Tufts graduates are still connected with each other after leaving Tufts. There are over 100,000 Jumbos across the world, many of whom are involved with the Tufts University Alumni Association.
Much alumni activity centers around Tufts' 40 regional alumni chapters across the country, as well as 25 international groups in countries like China, France and Turkey. These regional chapters, in addition to shared interest groups (such as the Tufts Journalism Society and Dance and Drama Alumni), host events for Jumbos to reconnect with former classmates and foster new connections with other graduates.
For many recent graduates, alumni groups provide a bridge to extend current friendships after graduation or provide an established social group upon moving to a new city.
"After I graduated in 2002, I moved abroad for two-and-a-half years, then moved back to [Washington], D.C. where I only knew one or two people," Samantha Snitow (LA '02), assistant director for young alumni and student programming, said. "I joined the Tufts D.C. network and the intercollegiate softball network, and here were all these people asking, ‘What dorm did you live in? What did you major in? Did you run NQR?' I made a lot of really good friends. When someone from Tufts finds out that you're a Jumbo, people get excited."
Snitow now helps coordinate programming through the Office of Alumni Relations, ranging from the sophomore class Halfway There Celebration and senior dinners for current students to happy hours, community service events and sports game reunions for alumni from all years. Most of these events are free or cheaper than typical tickets that people could buy individually.
Just as students count on attending Homecoming and watching Tuftonia's Day fireworks every year, many alumni plan on attending similar events by returning to campus for a visit or celebrating with local Tufts associations.
"On Homecoming weekend, we run ‘Welcome Week,' which generally happens the week up to or after Homecoming in a bunch of different cities," Snitow said. "We encourage [Alumni Association] chapters to plan a program directly at recent grads or people who recently moved into that area. These chapters are automatic groups of people that you have something in common with and who can give you insights about that area."
In addition to Welcome Week programming, there has been a stronger emphasis in recent years to engage "young alumni" to help with the post-graduation transition and encourage Jumbos to connect with each other before drifting too far from their college ties.
"People have realized that [young alumni] are the future of the Alumni Association. We've tried to change the way we target young alumni and their lifestyles," Alumni Relations Officer Ryan Earley (LA '99) said. "Young alumni might need help when they're getting settled somewhere new, they might need professional networking or career advice … A lot of these recur later on; it's common for older alumni to consider these resources, too. Regardless what life stage you're at, you can keep in touch with Tufts. As your life changes, your interactions with Tufts changes, but at any point in your life, you should be able to bond with your school."
For many recent graduates, alumni associations are an easy way to stay in touch with friends from college. Young alumni have embraced alumni events and connections in different capacities, from jumping in and planning events to simply stopping by occasional alumni bar nights in their area.
Amy Rabinowitz (LA '09) joined the executive board of the Boston Tufts Alliance within months of graduating. "I stayed in Boston and the Davis Square area after graduation, and it was pretty easy to be involved with the Alumni Association since Boston is one of the biggest [regional groups]," Rabinowitz said. "I sent an e-mail to someone on the exec board and was invited to a meeting in September and started helping plan events."
Rabinowitz said that her favorite events have been Third Thursday Socials, bar nights held in different neighborhoods in Boston once a month. With Facebook.com, she said that it is easy to promote and publicize the events, and alumni can see who else is planning to attend.
"Bar nights are great to bring people together, usually for happy hour after work," she said. "You end up going with a lot of your friends but also see people you wouldn't have sought out or people who graduated a year above you."
"Another fun one was a family event in the winter with ice skating and hot cocoa by The Charles Hotel," she continued. "A lot of alums in their 30s came with their families."
Outside of Boston, other young alumni have connected with regional chapters in their new cities. For Anjali Nirmalan (LA '09), a graduate student in fine arts at University College London, the Tufts London Alliance was a nice resource to have.
"Moving abroad means that I haven't been able to take advantage of the Tufts-heavy Boston network, or … attend the one-year reunion coming up," Nirmalan said in an e-mail to the Daily. "However, I was happy to get involved with the London Tufts Alumni group ... At a recent afternoon brunch, Tufts alumni of all ages were entertained by the story of how Jumbo the elephant spent 17 years giving rides to British children at the London Zoo before being sold to P.T. Barnum."
She said that she had not found her involvement in the alumni network beneficial yet, but emphasized the value of friends' informal connections. "Being able to take advantage of the knowledge of one's Tufts friends and their friends in turn (whether it's finding the best Mexican food in London or getting a personal tour on a day trip to Oxford) is invaluable," she said.
Jeff Holzberg (LA '07) also found it easy to catch up with fellow Jumbos when he lived in New York City after graduation, even though he has not attended a formal alumni association event since moving away from the Boston area.
"A lot of people that I graduated with moved to San Francisco; Washington, D.C.; and New York City … When I moved to New York, it was awesome to have an immediate connection with friends from Tufts who had also moved," Holzberg said. "I went to a few alumni bar nights which were fun, and I saw so many people in New York that I didn't know were there."
After spending a year in New York, Holzberg went to India for a year, then returned to the United States for medical school in Atlanta. Although Tufts has a regional group in Atlanta, Holzberg has not attended an event yet. "It's hard because I don't know anyone from Tufts [here] yet, and it's hard to show up to an event as the solo guy," he said.
Holzberg added that he knows many friends who have taken advantage of and gotten involved in alumni groups. "They provide a good way to keep in contact with people you might not have gone out of your way to contact, and I could see it being valuable if I was ever looking for a job," he said.
Otherwise, everyone keeps in touch in his or her own way. "I hate to say it, but you don't stay in touch with friends as much you plan to when you move away … My advice is to plan trips to visit friends," Holzberg said. "The best way to stay in touch with people [is] in person. I have a friend who plans about two trips a year to visit friends, and it's such a good idea."
