Mary Kayt Norris, A07
Major: Political Science, Arts & Sciences
Hometown: Quincy, Ill.
Photo by Alonso Nichols for Tufts University
My junior year in high school I traveled to Nashville to give a presentation on the non-profit I founded in high school. After my presentation, I was approached by a professor from Tufts who asked me if I had ever considered Tufts. I had never even heard of Tufts, but he spent the next thirty minutes telling me about Tufts and Tisch College. I was amazed to find there was a school that not only held my values but really integrated a commitment to public service into the very fabric of the school. I was then invited to Tufts to speak at a conference and later attended a dinner at the home of President Bacow at which his wife and he encouraged me to apply to Tufts. I can't tell you how shocked I was that a school like Tufts was interested in a student like me.
You see, I am not your average Tufts student. I always assumed I would go to a community college, as my parents made it clear that I needed to pay for college myself. I also always thought of college just as something you needed to get a job - higher education was never a real priority for me. It was that day at Tufts that I began to see higher education as something more. At Tufts, my education is a means to accomplish my goals and engage in public service in a more meaningful way.
a nurturing community where students feel a part of a greater vision and mission.”
