Editor’s note: The Daily’s editorial department acknowledges that this article is premised on a conflict of interest. This article is a special feature for Commencement 2026 that does not represent the Daily’s standard journalistic practices.
For graduating senior Estelle Anderson, journalism has played a significant role in her education. In high school, she was the editor in chief of her school newspaper, so upon matriculating to Tufts, she knew she wanted to join the Daily.
“I knew coming into college that I wanted The Tufts Daily to be … my main extracurricular activity, so I joined pretty much day one,” Anderson said.
Starting out as a news staff writer in the fall of her first year, Anderson wrote pieces on Somerville and Medford politics, quickly being promoted to deputy news editor her sophomore fall. She later became the executive investigative editor that spring and then executive news editor her junior fall before going abroad.
“This past year, I wrote an article for the Tufts Daily Magazine, [have been a] senior news editor and I was social [committee] chair last semester,” Anderson said. “I’ve worn a lot of hats at the Daily and it’s been a huge part of my experience [at Tufts]. I can’t believe it’s coming to an end. I just have so much love for all the people on the Daily, the organization and all the work that I’ve gotten to do.”
Despite this wide array of roles, Anderson shared that News has always been at the center of her attention.
“News is what I enjoyed the most during high school, and so I knew that I wanted to join the News section of the Daily, just because the style of news writing is just fast paced and very energizing, which I’ve always been drawn to,” she said.
Anderson recounted the experience of writing one of her first articles about a delegation of students and faculty Tufts sent to the United Nations Climate Change Conference and how that shaped her view on the Daily.
“I got to learn about a lot of very cool climate related projects that students in [The Fletcher School] and professors were working on,” Anderson said. “I got to interview Rachel Kyte, who was the dean of the Fletcher School at the time and an expert on climate change. It was my first high-profile interview for the Daily.”
This experience was one that solidified her decision to continue writing for the Daily’s News section.
Anderson went on to become the executive news editor and learned to manage a team of around 50 people, a skill that she says has helped her outside of the newsroom. She shared an anecdote about an impactful piece she worked on in her time as a member of the executive board.
“I think one of the most meaningful reporting experiences for me was probably spring of 2024, reporting on the encampments and the ongoing protests on campus surrounding the war in Gaza,” she said. “It was a very intense time to be a student journalist. My co-writers and I worked tooth and nail, just trying to be out there as much as possible and give these protesting encampments the most fair and comprehensive coverage that we could. We lost a lot of sleep over it.”
As her time at Tufts and the Daily comes to an end, she imparts a few words of advice to her peers both in the journalism field and fellow Tufts students.
“For incoming Daily writers, I would say, never be afraid to ask for help or support from your [editors] or other more experienced writers on the Daily. It’s such a collaborative group, everybody wants to help each other,” she said. “Don’t lose the relationships that you build throughout these four years, whether it’s with a professor or a mentor or your friends or your club members. I think relationships are the most important thing in this life.”
