Tufts 1+4 Fellows

Hometown: Lutherville-Timonium, MD
High School: Roland Park Country School
Tufts 1+4 Location: Cuenca, Ecuador

Olivia grew up in Baltimore, Maryland where she attended an all-girls school for thirteen years. When she was not at school or doing her homework, she spent her time at Art with a Heart, a non-profit organization that brings art to underserved communities. There she discovered her passion for community engagement through the arts. Last summer she travelled out of the US for the first time when she went to Prague with a National Geographic program where she explored her love for photography. As student body president this school year, Olivia demonstrated her dedication to community activism by creating conversation about pressing issues such as the #metoo movement and the refugee crisis. Olivia is excited to spend her next year in Cuenca, Ecuador where she can be thrown into a whole new environment and embrace different experiences, forge new relationships, and learn more about the world.

Hometown: Baltimore, MD
High School: McDonogh School
Tufts 1+4 Location: Hyderabad, India

Jaime has lived in Baltimore, Maryland since she was 5 years old. She attributes a lot of the abundance of opportunities she has had to the McDonogh School, which she attended for ten years. Throughout Jaime’s ten years at McDonogh she realized the underrepresentation of faculty of color, the lack of resources and support systems for students of color at a predominantly white institution, and her intense passion for social justice and equity. Due to these realizations, Jaime was instrumental in establishing Sankofa club, a club that aimed to provide a space where Black students could talk about what they faced in the private school world and our nation, and all white students and teachers could come to listen and engage. Jaime was also a co-president of D4M (Diversity for McDonogh), a member of the Rollins-Luetkemeyer Leader program, and a manager for the girls varsity soccer team. Jaime hopes that her bridge-year experience in Hyderabad will not only improve her leadership skills, but will help her to expand her perspective on the way education influences children in an area where poverty and urban life meet.

Hometown: Goostrey, Cheshire
High School: Sir John Deane's College
Tufts 1+4 Location: Santa Catarina, Brazil

Laura is from a small village in England, and is looking forward to moving to another continent! She is a passionate artist and having travelled to Italy to study the Renaissance and Barcelona to study 20^th Century art and architecture as well as running music groups throughout high school, she wants to explore how art forms affect our relationship with the natural world. Laura is also a community engaged activist who has volunteered with Girl Guiding for four years to promote confidence in young girls and raised environmental awareness through involvement with the WWF. She has an avid interest in history and anthropology and will continue her observations made in Sri Lanka, and social history archiving performed in her community, to explore the remnants of colonialism in Latin America. When Laura arrives at Tufts she will enroll in a dual degree BFA+BA/BSc at the SMFA to further explore the connections between the arts and academia.

Hometown: West Sand Lake, NY
High School: Averill Park High School
Tufts 1+4 Location: Cuenca, Ecuador

Having grown up in a small town in upstate New York, Arlyss has grown a passion for seeing other cultures and parts of the world. She has worked with children in an economically-impoverished village in the Dominican Republic, and developed a club in her high school to raise funds and supplies to support them and their school. The Tufts 1+4 program will be a perfect fit for combining her love of cultures with the love of volunteering and helping the greater community. Arlyss is also interested in environmentalism and sustainability, and can’t wait to combine all these interests while learning Spanish!

Hometown: Concord, MA
High School: Concord-Carlisle Regional High School
Tufts 1+4 Location: Santa Catarina, Brazil

Hailing from Concord Massachusetts, David Jiang is passionate about foreign languages, the natural world, and global travel. He was heavily involved in his community through volunteering as the service pianist at the town church, presiding as captain of the business club, and serving/traveling as one of his high school's Global Ambassadors, among other activities. David's goals in Brazil are to fulfill some part of his three main passions: learning Portuguese, working in preservation efforts with native fauna, and living in a completely new country. At Tufts, David hopes to study either international relations or economics to further himself into a global business career. His favorite words of wisdom are from a fellow Concordian of two centuries prior, Henry David Thoreau: "The man {or woman} who goes alone can start today; but he {or she} who travels with another must wait till that other is ready."

Hometown: Mill Valley, CA
High School: Tamalpais High School
Tufts 1+4 Location: Cuenca, Ecuador

Cecilia values experiences that foster personal growth and allow her to explore new corners of the world. Her appreciation of adventure and passion for Latin American culture and Spanish led her to apply for Tufts 1+4 in Cuenca, Ecuador. Cecilia attended high school in Mill Valley, California, where she developed her interest in global issues, social justice, and cultural awareness. Outside of school, she played the violin in the Marin Symphony Youth Orchestra and practices piano and guitar during her free time. She also loves to travel, especially to Spanish-speaking countries! Cecilia participated in a student exchange through her high school, which included a trip to Pamplona, Spain and the opportunity host a Spanish student in her own home. She also traveled to Matagalpa, Nicaragua during the summer of 2016 through Amigos de las Américas, and is excited to continue with the program through Tufts 1+4 in Ecuador. Cecilia looks forward to experiencing a different culture, adopting new perspectives, creating meaningful relationships, and achieving her goal of fluency in Spanish during her bridge year.

Hometown: Allentown, PA
High School: Allentown Central Catholic High School
Tufts 1+4 Location: Cuenca, Ecuador

Kamil Krukowski grew up in Allentown, Pennsylvania after emigrating from the village of Flesze, Poland at 7 years of age. He still occasionally visits, bringing a unique blend of both cultures with deep scientific curiousity and artistic appreciation wherever he goes. In high school he juggled his time between various performing arts, such as choir, theatre, and prop based dance. Through mentorship opportunities to help acclimate incoming members of a thriving international student community he gained a deep appreciation for the wealth of knowledge one can glean and share in cultural exchange opportunities, and is thrilled to be given such an opportunity in Tufts 1+4. A foundation in the spanish language from a thriving local community, a long history of volunteering, and personal vested interest in nature from leading an outdoor adventure crew cemented his decision to pursue biodiversity and environmental sustainability to preserve the gift of nature for posterity in Cuenca, Ecuador.

Hometown: Arlington, VA
High School: Yorktown High School
Tufts 1+4 Location: Cuenca, Ecuador

Sam grew up in Arlington, Virginia, just a 15 minute drive from the White House. During high school he captained his ultimate frisbee team over junior and senior years, and also volunteered at a local nature center where he helped care for a variety of animals such as turtles, frogs, and snakes. He hopes that his passion for animals and the environment translates to his time in Ecuador, where he plans to focus on environmental sustainability. Over the bridge year, Sam would like to gain a better sense of what he can do individually to help combat important environmental issues such as global climate change. He also hopes that his bridge year will help him decide what he wants to focus on during his four years at Tufts, as he is very interested in both international affairs and environmental science. 

Hometown: Portland, OR
High School: Catlin Gabel School
Tufts 1+4 Location: New York, NY

Ameya is an artist and activist from Portland, OR who deconstructs social injustice and biased behavior through art. Ameya was a finalist for the GLSEN Student Advocate of the Year award for her work implementing anti-bullying programs to protect marginalized students from targeted language in Portland Public Schools. In high school, she was a peer sex educator on the Planned Parenthood Teen Council and a suicide and crisis hotline operator at YouthLine. Currently, she is an artist in the #BlackLivesMatter movement and community organizer with Black Lives Matter Portland, connecting with families impacted by racialized violence and creating digital illustrations that neutralize the negativity of outdated mugshots and images of humans unjustly killed. Her work has been honored by the National YoungArts Foundation, US Presidential Scholars Program, the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards and featured in the Portland Art Museum, Williamson Knight Gallery, and US Department of Education. Ameya has a passion for social justice and is excited to spend a year with City Year closing the graduation gap in New York City. In Tufts’ Combined Degree program with the SMFA, Ameya plans to deepen her work in art and activism through concentrations in Visual Art, Psychology, and Ethnic Studies.

Hometown: Baxter, MN
High School: Brainerd Senior High School
Tufts 1+4 Location: Cuenca, Ecuador

Gus is from Minnesota and has lived there his entire life. Through the opportunity to study Spanish in high school, Gus developed a passion for learning about other cultures, and is excited to have the opportunity to do so this year. In high school, Gus was a captain of his soccer team and was also involved in community service through Key Club. Over his bridge year, Gus especially looks forward to improving his Spanish language skills as well as experiencing the culture of soccer in Ecuador. Upon returning to Tufts, he plans to study International Relations, and eventually hopes to pursue a career in international development with an NGO.

Hometown: Santa Rosa, CA
High School: Sonoma Academy
Tufts 1+4 Location: Hyderabad, India

Ashley has lived in Santa Rosa, California all her life, and from a very young age she began to realize that she had the ability to help others. Throughout school she began peer tutoring programs and participated in many organization throughout her community. She volunteered with Girls on the Run, Hearts with a Mission, and did local tutoring along with theatre and volleyball. She has also been intrigued by languages throughout high school as she grew fluent in Spanish and began learning French and Mandarin. Her volunteering took her places she would not have expected - Kenya, Cuba, and more local states like Kentucky and Pennsylvania. After working closely with a school in Kenya, getting to know the perspectives of those who lived under Castro, and being a part of the WPC in Kentucky and Pennsylvania, she knew that she wanted to continue helping out where work is needed, and looks forward to continuing helping others and expanding her world. Ashley plans to pursue a future career working with women's health through programs like Doctors Without Borders or Partners in Health, continuing her lifelong dedication to service. 

Hometown: Highland, NY
High School: Stanford Online High School
Tufts 1+4 Location: Washington, D.C.

Faizah has been fortunate to have her story shaped by a multitude of environments, but still hasn’t quite gotten enough of the world! She was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA and also spent time living in Atlanta, GA; rural Ohio; and upstate New York, where she currently lives. Faizah loves travelling and immersing herself in new environments, and has been to vibrant cities such as Istanbul, Beijing, and Jakarta. When not travelling, she also enjoys spending time with friends and family or sitting under a tree with her nose stuck in a book. Outside of her hobbies, Faizah also values working for others. At the age of 13, Faizah started volunteering in the ER Department of her local hospital, and since then has dedicated her life to community service, tutoring Arabic at her local mosque and serving on leadership for the Muslim Youth of North America, to name a few. In addition, she is passionate about providing education to all and is looking forward to furthering this passion by serving in Washington D.C. public schools with City Year in the coming year.