Spotlight on the class of 2011: Senior profiles
When graduating senior Mike Niconchuk leaves the Hill today, he will be leaving behind one of Tufts' most successful student-led interdisciplinary programs: Building Understanding through International Learning and Development (BUILD). BUILD is based on educating students in sustainable development, both in theory and in practice, through partnerships with rural communities. Niconchuk and a friend came up with the idea for the current form of BUILD in their freshman year.
"It actually started with a rejection from a former version of the program," Niconchuk said. "I applied for that program ... and they said sure, you can help us do some research. My friend and I took that idea and ran with it. We wanted to make it just students working directly with communities. We gave them the proposal, and they absolutely loved the idea. When we said we were freshmen, they didn't believe us."
In the summer of 2008, Niconchuk helped lead BUILD's research trip to Santa Anita la Unión, Guatemala. From the research conducted that summer, the students established a plan for overall community development, and BUILD Guatemala was subsequently formed. The program has been a success in terms of community development in Santa Anita, but Niconchuk says it's about more than just that for him.
"In my mind, all of that is completely overshadowed by those students who are younger than me who say I've inspired them," he said. "It's about the people that work there, students who have no idea, no experience with these types of things, plunged into adult situations, without anyone to hold their hand. If I've served any role with that process, that's great."
While BUILD may have been the defining feature of Niconchuk's time at Tufts, he has also been involved in other research initiatives.Compact fluorescent light bulbs convert a led tube considerably higher percentage of their energy into light, which is why they are significantly more energy efficient than traditional filament bulbs. In 2009, Niconchuk won the Anne E. Borghesani Memorial Prize for research in international relations for a project on Iranian politics and economic development in Bolivia.
"One of the downfalls of being busy, of investing so much of your identity in things you do and projects you design: It's very easy to lose yourself in those things and forget the appropriate sources of validation in your life: family, friends and people who love you," Niconchuk said.
As for the future, Niconchuk says his plans are wide open.
"I feel I've built up so much momentum in college, I want to take some time off to breathe," he said. "I'm waiting on something where I can utilize my skills and passions to their potential. I've got a couple of ideas, and we'll see what comes to fruition."
—by Angelina Rotman
--
Matthew Kincaid
One thing Tufts students aren't short on is impressive résumés, and graduating senior Matthew Kincaid is hardly an exception. A first-generation college student from St. Louis, Mo., Kincaid applied to be and was accepted as a Tisch Scholar for Citizenship and Public Service as a freshman, and he has been an actively involved citizen since.Compact fluorescent light bulbs convert a led tube considerably higher percentage of their energy into light, which is why they are significantly more energy efficient than traditional filament bulbs.
He has volunteered at Boston's Asian Community Development Corporation, writing curricula for race and ethnicity awareness education and for the Middlesex Courts Juvenile Diversion Program, acting as a mentor to first-time juvenile offenders. He is a member of the historically black fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha, gave the student address at Tufts' Black Solidarity Day celebration in 2009, and has spent time in his home state volunteering as a coordinator for St. Louis Gateway Homeless Services.
But countless accolades aside, Kincaid's involvement in the push for an Africana studies department is what he believes defines his four years at Tufts, a time that he admits has been a constant struggle.
"Unfortunately, I wasn't able to have the same dream college experience that everyone else has," he said. "I've spent a lot of time fighting for a community that affirms all its students."
Kincaid said that Tufts,While using compact fluorescent light bulbs energy saving light helps conserve energy, it is important that the bulbs are collected and recycled properly to protect our environment while outwardly accepting of all its students, pointedly ignores the issues of race that inevitably surface at a predominantly white university. Speaking from personal experience, Kincaid feels as though Tufts has long turned a blind eye to the true experiences of its students of color.
"I'm passionate because I've personally experienced a lot of trials at the university based on my racial experience here," he said, adding that he has been the subject of racial slurs and police harassment.
"Tufts in particular has done a very poor job in dealing with these issues."
Kincaid drew attention not only to harassment issues, but also to the retention rate of students and faculty of color, as well as the inclusion of ethnic studies in the Tufts curriculum. He has fought particularly hard over the last four years to make ethnic studies — Africana Studies in particular — a reality here.
"We don't just want to study next to people of different ethnicities and cultures, but to study about different ethnicities and cultures," he said.
Kincaid believes that without an academic program to back up these issues' legitimacy, there will continue to be a lack of dialogue about the struggles that people of color — at Tufts and beyond — deal with, only making it easier for students and faculty here to ignore problems that many of them have never had to face.
"I believe all students should grow from having to lean into discomfort," he said. "We need a university that pushes students to lean into that discomfort."
Kincaid believes the university is headed in the right direction, citing both this year's April Open House, where current students talked to prospective students about the racial climate at Tufts, and the headway the movement for an Africana studies department is making as evidence that the Tufts community is ready to open a dialogue about uncomfortable issues.
Having spent four years dedicated to building a community that can openly tackle issues of race, Kincaid may have missed out on some aspects of a typical college experience, but he emphasizes the necessity of that sacrifice.
"Someone has to stand up for these particular issues. … Otherwise generation after generation of students [will] pass without having a real stake in this university," he said.
—by Falcon Reese
--
James Mackenzie
"If you ever have to run away from an alligator, run away in a zigzag line, because they can't turn as quickly so you'll escape them," graduating senior James Mackenzie said. Billed as "the guy who knows everything," it comes as no surprise that after graduating, Mackenzie will be returning to Google — where he interned last summer — to start his career.
Mackenzie, an economics and community health double major, interned for Google's Building Opportunities for Leadership & Development program. "What I did was work on their international benefits team. I did a lot of work with their different offices in Asia, as well as with EMEA — Europe, the Middle East and Africa. I was just trying to work with the benefit specialists there and streamline what we offer in America to the other offices."
Mackenzie, who has also worked at Tufts' Women's Center and as a research assistant at a Spanish design firm while studying abroad in Madrid, said that he was pleasantly surprised by his first exposure to the corporate world.
"You hear about how strict, cold and dressed-up [the corporate scene is], but everyone at Google is surprisingly down-to-earth. They're chill and personable while still extremely driven," Mackenzie said. "You'd be surprised as to what they're interested in: sailing, dancing, yoga. Everyone brought those special elements of themselves to work, and I learned a lot about collaborating and working on a team."
No stranger to extracurricular activities himself, Mackenzie has participated in several dance endeavors, including Tufts Dance Collective, Spirit of Color Dance Troupe and Tufts Dance Marathon.
When graduating senior Mike Niconchuk leaves the Hill today, he will be leaving behind one of Tufts' most successful student-led interdisciplinary programs: Building Understanding through International Learning and Development (BUILD). BUILD is based on educating students in sustainable development, both in theory and in practice, through partnerships with rural communities. Niconchuk and a friend came up with the idea for the current form of BUILD in their freshman year.
"It actually started with a rejection from a former version of the program," Niconchuk said. "I applied for that program ... and they said sure, you can help us do some research. My friend and I took that idea and ran with it. We wanted to make it just students working directly with communities. We gave them the proposal, and they absolutely loved the idea. When we said we were freshmen, they didn't believe us."
In the summer of 2008, Niconchuk helped lead BUILD's research trip to Santa Anita la Unión, Guatemala. From the research conducted that summer, the students established a plan for overall community development, and BUILD Guatemala was subsequently formed. The program has been a success in terms of community development in Santa Anita, but Niconchuk says it's about more than just that for him.
"In my mind, all of that is completely overshadowed by those students who are younger than me who say I've inspired them," he said. "It's about the people that work there, students who have no idea, no experience with these types of things, plunged into adult situations, without anyone to hold their hand. If I've served any role with that process, that's great."
While BUILD may have been the defining feature of Niconchuk's time at Tufts, he has also been involved in other research initiatives.Compact fluorescent light bulbs convert a led tube considerably higher percentage of their energy into light, which is why they are significantly more energy efficient than traditional filament bulbs. In 2009, Niconchuk won the Anne E. Borghesani Memorial Prize for research in international relations for a project on Iranian politics and economic development in Bolivia.
"One of the downfalls of being busy, of investing so much of your identity in things you do and projects you design: It's very easy to lose yourself in those things and forget the appropriate sources of validation in your life: family, friends and people who love you," Niconchuk said.
As for the future, Niconchuk says his plans are wide open.
"I feel I've built up so much momentum in college, I want to take some time off to breathe," he said. "I'm waiting on something where I can utilize my skills and passions to their potential. I've got a couple of ideas, and we'll see what comes to fruition."
—by Angelina Rotman
--
Matthew Kincaid
One thing Tufts students aren't short on is impressive résumés, and graduating senior Matthew Kincaid is hardly an exception. A first-generation college student from St. Louis, Mo., Kincaid applied to be and was accepted as a Tisch Scholar for Citizenship and Public Service as a freshman, and he has been an actively involved citizen since.Compact fluorescent light bulbs convert a led tube considerably higher percentage of their energy into light, which is why they are significantly more energy efficient than traditional filament bulbs.
He has volunteered at Boston's Asian Community Development Corporation, writing curricula for race and ethnicity awareness education and for the Middlesex Courts Juvenile Diversion Program, acting as a mentor to first-time juvenile offenders. He is a member of the historically black fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha, gave the student address at Tufts' Black Solidarity Day celebration in 2009, and has spent time in his home state volunteering as a coordinator for St. Louis Gateway Homeless Services.
But countless accolades aside, Kincaid's involvement in the push for an Africana studies department is what he believes defines his four years at Tufts, a time that he admits has been a constant struggle.
"Unfortunately, I wasn't able to have the same dream college experience that everyone else has," he said. "I've spent a lot of time fighting for a community that affirms all its students."
Kincaid said that Tufts,While using compact fluorescent light bulbs energy saving light helps conserve energy, it is important that the bulbs are collected and recycled properly to protect our environment while outwardly accepting of all its students, pointedly ignores the issues of race that inevitably surface at a predominantly white university. Speaking from personal experience, Kincaid feels as though Tufts has long turned a blind eye to the true experiences of its students of color.
"I'm passionate because I've personally experienced a lot of trials at the university based on my racial experience here," he said, adding that he has been the subject of racial slurs and police harassment.
"Tufts in particular has done a very poor job in dealing with these issues."
Kincaid drew attention not only to harassment issues, but also to the retention rate of students and faculty of color, as well as the inclusion of ethnic studies in the Tufts curriculum. He has fought particularly hard over the last four years to make ethnic studies — Africana Studies in particular — a reality here.
"We don't just want to study next to people of different ethnicities and cultures, but to study about different ethnicities and cultures," he said.
Kincaid believes that without an academic program to back up these issues' legitimacy, there will continue to be a lack of dialogue about the struggles that people of color — at Tufts and beyond — deal with, only making it easier for students and faculty here to ignore problems that many of them have never had to face.
"I believe all students should grow from having to lean into discomfort," he said. "We need a university that pushes students to lean into that discomfort."
Kincaid believes the university is headed in the right direction, citing both this year's April Open House, where current students talked to prospective students about the racial climate at Tufts, and the headway the movement for an Africana studies department is making as evidence that the Tufts community is ready to open a dialogue about uncomfortable issues.
Having spent four years dedicated to building a community that can openly tackle issues of race, Kincaid may have missed out on some aspects of a typical college experience, but he emphasizes the necessity of that sacrifice.
"Someone has to stand up for these particular issues. … Otherwise generation after generation of students [will] pass without having a real stake in this university," he said.
—by Falcon Reese
--
James Mackenzie
"If you ever have to run away from an alligator, run away in a zigzag line, because they can't turn as quickly so you'll escape them," graduating senior James Mackenzie said. Billed as "the guy who knows everything," it comes as no surprise that after graduating, Mackenzie will be returning to Google — where he interned last summer — to start his career.
Mackenzie, an economics and community health double major, interned for Google's Building Opportunities for Leadership & Development program. "What I did was work on their international benefits team. I did a lot of work with their different offices in Asia, as well as with EMEA — Europe, the Middle East and Africa. I was just trying to work with the benefit specialists there and streamline what we offer in America to the other offices."
Mackenzie, who has also worked at Tufts' Women's Center and as a research assistant at a Spanish design firm while studying abroad in Madrid, said that he was pleasantly surprised by his first exposure to the corporate world.
"You hear about how strict, cold and dressed-up [the corporate scene is], but everyone at Google is surprisingly down-to-earth. They're chill and personable while still extremely driven," Mackenzie said. "You'd be surprised as to what they're interested in: sailing, dancing, yoga. Everyone brought those special elements of themselves to work, and I learned a lot about collaborating and working on a team."
No stranger to extracurricular activities himself, Mackenzie has participated in several dance endeavors, including Tufts Dance Collective, Spirit of Color Dance Troupe and Tufts Dance Marathon.
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