When junior year rolls around, plenty of Jumbos pack a suitcase and board a plane to Paris or Accra. Some though, keep their passport in the dresser drawer and choose to jet to a U.S. school to explore a passion or take advantage of a unique program.
According to Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Jeanne Dillon, applying to spend a semester at another institution within the United States is very similar to applying to take part in a regular study abroad program.
"If students wish to, for whatever reason, study within the United States, they just need to know that they have to choose a four-year bachelor's degree- granting program," Dillon said.
Senior Eliza Earl spent the fall of her junior year at the National Theater Institute (NTI), an intensive theater program at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Conn. The Institute is a prestigious hands-on experience that deals with almost every aspect of theater, including acting, directing, playwriting, design, dance and voice.
"It's basically just a really rigorous conservatory-based approach to theater training," Earl said.
Rigorous may be an understatement. The 20 or so students accepted into the program work around the clock developing their theatrical talents and do not have a day off between the beginning of September and Thanksgiving, according to Earl.
"You work seven days a week, basically from sunup to sundown. Classes start at 7:30 a.m., and they go until 10 p.m. every single day," she said. "You really just don't get a break."
Earl's lifelong passion for theater led her to apply to the Institute rather than a typical study-abroad program.
"When I went to NTI, I was going with the hopes that by the time I graduate from college, I will have gotten a really well-rounded liberal arts education, but I would have also been able to attend some great conservatory programs to really just sort of work on my craft and work on my skill as an actor," she said.
Earl said that in addition to providing her with the opportunity to refine her craft, the program broadened her horizons in regard to theater.
"I definitely honed my craft, really got better as an actor, but also emerged with more knowledge of the other creative aspects of theater. I'm really into playwriting now. I wasn't before," she said.
Not only has Earl gained a wealth of theater experience from this program, but she also made a number of connections through the Institute's strong alumni network. Earl plans to move to Los Angeles next fall after she graduates from Tufts.
Junior Maya Grodman is another student currently spending the fall semester at the NTI. Since Grodman lived most of her life in Geneva, Switzerland, the NTI program appealed to her more than the traditional route of spending a semester abroad.
"The reason I chose NTI specifically is because there's really no other program like it anywhere in the world, and I think if this program were anywhere, I would still be at it, regardless of whether it was in the U.S. or not," Grodman said. "The fact that the program is in Connecticut is neither a plus nor minus," she said.
A double major in drama and peace and justice studies, Grodman hopes to use her training at the NTI to eventually merge her loves of theater and social justice into a career. She already feels that the program is affecting her path in life.
"It's changing my life. I'm learning an incredible amount about theater in general," Grodman said.
On the opposite coast, two Jumbos are experiencing Hollywood firsthand through the Boston University Los Angeles Internship Program. Junior Austin Bening and senior Jasmien Vancollie are both taking classes and working on internships in the Los Angeles area.
"In terms of making my connections and deciding what I want to do, it took getting outside of the theoretical, leaving Medford and getting to the place where everything happens. It's made me realize that this is what I want to do," Bening said. "I think that this has been one of the single most influential moments in my college experience."
Although he is taking filmmaking classes, Bening is also working two internships, one with Radar Pictures, the company behind films such as "The Invention of Lying" (2009) and "Jumanji" (1995) and another as a personal assistant to Randal Kleiser, who directed "Grease" (1978).
Vancollie, the other Jumbo currently on the West Coast, does not feel that she is missing out on much by not studying abroad.
"I felt that, because I went to high school in Belgium and because my family is Belgian, I had the abroad experience," she said. "I wanted something that was going to help me in the future, and I know that I want to move to L.A. after college, so I thought I could scope it out and get experience."
Opportunities for Tufts students within the United States are not limited to those interested in arts and entertainment. Some students also take advantage of the Tufts-in-Washington program, which partners with American University to set up students with special classes and an internship in the nation's capital. Junior Katherine McManus is studying through the program and working as an intern for the publishing company Congressional Quarterly.
"Writing for Congressional Quarterly … is probably the highlight of my semester. I'm treated just like any other reporter at the organization and I'm in Congress with my press pass. I kind of get free reign," McManus said.
McManus' passion for American politics and her desire to have a career in a related field drew her to the program.
"Unlike most people that I've encountered at Tufts, I'm interested in domestic policy much more than international relations, and I wanted to really expand that area of interest," she said.
McManus spent this past summer in Washington as well as a part of the Tisch Active Citizenship Summer Fellowship Program. She said that she does not mind not having a traditional study-abroad experience.
"I've been abroad other times independently ... so I didn't feel like I was missing too much of an experience," she said.
Despite having found exceptional opportunities outside of Tufts, these students do not seem to be straying away from their Jumbo pride. Many have said that their fulfilling experience only make appreciate their education at Tufts even more.
"It does make me miss Tufts a lot … being here, and also talking to other students who go to other schools, just makes me appreciate the opportunities and the great experiences I've had so far," McManus said.
