BEAST: Building Engagement and Access for Students at Tufts

BEAST provides participants support by acquainting them with useful resources, and skills to navigate the sometimes complicated social and academic aspects of college life, all while connecting them to members of our community who are instrumental in helping our students succeed. Additionally, we strive to promote the development of self-awareness and confidence among first years and provide opportunities for leadership development to participants and staff members. This program is aimed to empower students and enhance the student experience for those who are first generation college goers, low income, have undocumented status, or otherwise seek such a program. Our peer leaders will help guide and mentor incoming students, connecting them to the wealth of staff, resources, and communities available to them. Using their personal experience, each leader will share their solutions to overcoming some of the pitfalls common to the first year of college.

What to Expect

Our goal for BEAST is to engage students with the resources available to them and the staff and students they can support. As part of this, students will need to understand the structure of Tufts, Boston, and the local community. With that in mind, some events we may partake in include: exploring Boston and its various modes of transport , a financial workshop, and an in-depth discussion with experienced Tufts students sharing insight into their personalized journey as First-Generation/low-income. Although the exact details are subject to change, these activities can help give you a sense of our overall objective: enabling students to be their best selves.

Typical Day