A Reflection on My Junior Year
In my first and second years of college, I was involved in different extracurricular activities at school, such as the student government and the National Society of Black Engineers. I also was developing my own platform, Kalimba Education, which connects low-income Rwandan college students to potential financial donors. I barely got time for myself, friends and family.
Before I started my junior year, I decided to opt out of every extracurricular activity I was involved in so I can take care of my spiritual, academic, and social lives. It was hard to make such a decision because I love being busy and contributing to my community. However, I needed a break to retain my connection with people because family and friends are very important in my life.
To take care of my spiritual life, I carried out monthly praise and worship nights at Tufts University’s chapel, Goddard Chapel, and invited Tufts students to worship and pray with me. For my social life, I made sure I had dinner with my friends weekly, and check on each of my family members regularly. Academically, I attended office hours with an aim of knowing my professors beyond class work.
Outside Tufts University, I was very happy to visit my friend in Miami during winter break, which was a great experience because I got to know her family more. During the same winter break, my SHE CAN mentors and I had a get-together in LA. It was our first time being together as the seven of us. I am so grateful to them for scheduling time to be with me. We had so much fun and grew our bond.
|
|
In a nutshell, my junior year was so much better than I expected, and I am happy for all the connections I made through intentionally making time for people. And although I had opted out of all my extracurricular activities at school, on April 18, 2019 I received the Tufts University 2019 Presidential Award for Civic Life due to the community work I did at Tufts University and in Rwanda during my sophomore year. The award motivated me to get involved again in my community, but also keep in mind to find time for close people in my life.