Tufts is piloting a new initiative this spring break designed to bridge the gap between undergraduate education and professional careers. The Jumbo Undergraduate Mission for Personal Insight and Navigation program, spearheaded by Elise LaMotte, associate provost for student success, will offer approximately 100 first-year students hands-on experience across four different academic tracks, connecting them directly with the university’s graduate and professional schools.
The program emerged from University President Sunil Kumar’s vision to create an intentional student success initiative across all schools at Tufts. By looking at various studies and surveys, administrators identified key student needs: a sense of belonging, experiential learning opportunities and career exploration guidance.
The pilot builds on last year’s Pre-Med Connect program, which allowed 15 students to “live in the life of a doctor for a week” on the Tufts University School of Medicine campus in Boston, according to LaMotte. This spring, the initiative expands to include The Fletcher School’s Global Policy Lab, the School of Dental Medicine’s Dental Bridge program, the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy’s Beyond the Plate program and a problem design curriculum from the School of Engineering.
Marina Travayiakis, senior director of the Office of Academic Programs at Fletcher, described the content of what JUMP-IN at Fletcher might look like.
“We are still working on the content, but our thinking is identifying a policy challenge in the humanitarian space and having students work through the problem through the lens of international affairs, gender, economics, business, finance, security studies and the environment,” Travayiakis said. “We’re hoping to set up tabletop simulations and exercises so the students have a more hands-on opportunity to wrestle with the issue.”
The Fletcher track will likely also include visits to humanitarian organizations and sessions with the Office of Professional Development. Travayiakis plans to match faculty involvement with students’ stated interests.
“Fletcher is a school that’s devoted to international affairs and global business,” Dean Kelly Sims Gallagher of Fletcher said. “We really want to catalyze interest among the undergraduates in this domain and would love to take every opportunity to interact more with the undergraduate population.”
Clinical Instructor Jason Cummins explained TUSDM’s approach.
“I think it’s important that the dental school gets involved, because sometimes what I see in clinical practice is a lot of fear,” said Cummins. “I think the more exposure people may have, [the more] they may see how they want to help change that experience at the dentist, so people can get the care that they need.”
Hopes for the Dental Bridge program include an overview of dentistry and its specialties, a timeline for undergraduate preparation, an admissions presentation and hands-on activities including suturing.
“We are going to be working with some amazing teaching assistants who have partnered with us in the admissions office and Student Affairs to talk about strategies that they used in undergrad to not just get into dental school, but how to make their undergraduate experience enriching, whether that be research, volunteering or community service,” Cummins said.
Associate Dean of Admissions Riki Gottlieb emphasized the accessibility of the dentistry program.
“It’s important to know that it’s never too late to have a passion for dentistry. … Sometimes people feel like it’s too late, [or that they] should have started in high school,” Gottlieb said. “But the JUMP-IN program really allows students who haven’t had those opportunities to join in.”
Students will spend their days — roughly from 9:30 a.m. or 10 a.m. to about 4 p.m. — in their areas of interest. From 6–8 p.m. each evening, students will gather for shared programming over dinner, and while exact details are subject to change, LaMotte shared current plans for faculty discussions on mentoring, civic engagement with the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life, professional exploration with the Career Center and academic advising.
TUSDM emphasizes that this program may be useful in strengthening a student’s future dental school application.
“Any engagement that reflects on the student’s motivation to become a dentist or dental student is something that they would definitely benefit from in their application,” Gottlieb said. “When we review applications, we see the progress or the trajectory of someone starting from just finding out about the program and then building on this experience.”
The program will conclude on Friday with a poster session where students present their learning. LaMotte’s team plans to continue engagement after spring break for debriefing.
“We [don’t] want this to be a one-and-done,” LaMotte said. “We want [students] to continue to grow those tools, expand on those skills [and] create [their] network even larger, so that when it's time to get a job, if it’s time to go to grad school, [they] have a plethora of people that they can look to.”
“We would love to continue this work, to help as many students over the years, and just to keep this partnership with the students in the undergrad,” Cummins said.
Students found out if they were accepted on Jan. 30. With approximately 104 students total, the program represents a significant investment in early career exploration at Tufts.
