Election Links
(must be online community member and AS&E senior)
Tufts Online Community
Register to vote online
How do I . . .?
Questions?
General info:
jonathan.kaplan@tufts.edu
Online voting help:
olchelp@tufts.edu
Senior Transitional Member Election
Register for the Tufts Alumni Online Community to vote online.
Each year the Tufts Alumni Council, the governing body of the Tufts University Alumni Association, welcomes four members of the graduating class to participate in positions referred to as "Transitional Member" appointments. The undergraduate senior class has the opportunity to elect four of their peers to serve in this volunteer capacity for a five-year term.
This year we have a slate of 8 senior candidates. Seniors may vote for no more than four candidates via the online ballot. You must first register for the Tufts Online Community, and then login to the ballot with your username and password. Once registered for the Community you can access the complete alumni directory, update your profile, sign up for alumni email forwarding and more.
During their tenure, transitional alumni council members will provide energy and leadership to improve young alumni programming and services, strengthen ties between alumni and students, and participate actively on committee assignments addressing relevant issues for younger graduates.
For more Tufts Online Community info visit the helpful how-to section.
Here are the 8 candidates who will be taking part in this year's election:
- Danielle Cotter
- Jonathan Danzig
- Kristen Davenport
- Kate de Klerk
- Leo Greenberg
- Joshua Kapelman
- Sharmaine Oh
- Matt Whitman
(must be online community member and AS&E senior)
Danielle Cotter
Statement: My name is Danielle Cotter, and I am running for one of the transitional member positions on the Alumni Council.
At Tufts, I have been involved with many different aspects of campus life. I am a member of student government and Greek Life, and have also participated in activities with LCS and TDC. While those experiences have certainly made my four years at Tufts more fun, it’s the people I have met who have made my time here so worthwhile. I want to be a part of the Alumni Council because I want to be able to keep our class engaged and excited about their role as alumni long after we have graduated.
The Tufts alumni network has been valuable to many of us throughout our college careers by providing us with job opportunities, hosting fun events like the tailgate at Homecoming and the Senior Class champagne toast, and even doing things as simple as offering us advice. It’s now our turn to carry on the torch and make future Jumbos proud to claim us as their alumni!
Jonathan Danzig
Statement: During my time at Tufts, I have been active in Greek life, student senate, Hillel, and LCS tutoring. I've come to appreciate the value of the alumni community and the positive impact that alumni have on their alma mater. I would be honored to represent the class of 2012 on the Alumni Council.
Kristen Davenport
Statement: I am a biochemistry major from rural New York, where I grew up on a dairy farm with my parents and younger sister. At Tufts, I have been involved in the tour guide program and admissions, JumboCast, pep band, the Student Ambassador Program, LCS tutoring, intramural volleyball and the Financial Aid Student Advisory Board. To mix it up a little, I spent a semester in Costa Rica studying global health and tropical medicine. I have applied to combined DVM/PhD programs and dream of studying zoonotic diseases in the lab and in the field. (Don't you?)
I would like to serve on the Alumni Council because I want to stay involved with Tufts. Through the Student Ambassador Program, I have interviewed nearly 60 alumni just to talk about Tufts, and many of them regret not being more involved. I hope to not only keep myself involved, but to help the Office of Alumni Relations develop programs to make it easier for alumni—especially (broke/busy) younger alumni—to participate. My experiences coordinating the tour guide program and working for University Advancement have given me a deeper understanding of Tufts as an institution, which will no doubt help me to understand the capabilities, limitations, and possibilities of the Alumni Council.
Kate de Klerk
Statement: In the spring of 2012, I will be graduating with a BA in International Relations focused in Global Health, Nutrition and the Environment. I would never have settled on this area of study had it not been for the formative experiences that I have had at Tufts. Both inside and outside the classroom, Tufts prompted me to explore different areas of study and carve out new paths for myself.
Throughout my time at Tufts, I have been involved with the Tufts community on many levels. I not only served as a TCU senator during my first three years, but was also the acting TCU Treasurer my junior year. I served the student body in a very different way as a member of the Tufts Emergency Medical Service (TEMS), working as an EMT, for four years. My senior year, I was promoted to the director of Finance by the board of TEMs and helped as a TA in training new EMTs in the Emergency Medicine class offered at Tufts. In order to give back to the school and encourage others to experience what I had experience, I began giving tours to prospective students as a freshmen. I felt that I could provide a unique prospective on the Tufts life as an EMT, rugby-playing Senate member.
My experiences at Tufts have shaped the person that I am today and have given me a great deal of respect for the university. It is because of this respect and appreciation for Tufts that I would like to remain actively involved with the university; to this end, I see the Alumni Council as the perfect way to stay involved and give back to the school that has given me so much.
Leo Greenberg
Statement: Hello everyone. My name is Leo Greenberg, and I am a political science and anthropology major originally from Stamford, Connecticut. During my time at Tufts, I have served as vice president and president of our Class Council, and as co-chair of Programming Board. I've also served as an orientation coordinator and a senior events coordinator, as well as treasurer and president of Theta Chi. I have a lot of experience planning programs and working with university administrators that I believe will be valuable on the Alumni Council. I am passionate about our school and our class and I will do my best to ensure that the concerns of young alumni are represented and our programs are a success.
Joshua Kapelman
Statement: Majoring in political science and minoring in entrepreneurial leadership, my route to Tufts was rather unorthodox. I joined as a 23-year-old sophomore with more business experience than college experience. At age 17, I launched my first business venture, an online server company. While that business failed, I took that experience and launched a large online gaming and gaming media company a few years thereafter.
Since my time at Tufts, I have been an active participant in numerous Tufts organizations and am a leader of the Tufts Culinary Society. Recently, I worked with the Tufts administration to create a state-accredited training institution for Emergency Medical Technicians. Additionally, I am an EMT and teach at Tufts, Harvard, and Boston University. I am also proud to serve the university as a trustee representative to the Academic Affairs Committee.
I am extremely interested in being elected to the Alumni Council for several reasons. Most importantly, Tufts took a big risk admitting a 23-year-old sophomore. The people I have met, the classes I have taken, and the experiences I have had, have shaped the person I have become. I therefore plan to give as much back to the university as I possibly can. Being on the Alumni Council is therefore a logical step to doing this.
Sharmaine Oh
Statement: 9,741 miles away from Singapore, Tufts has become my home away from home in the past 3+ years. It is here where I know I have made countless life-changing friendships—from my International Films Perspectives Orientation class, to housemates from Chicago and Boston to conversation buddies from China, Pakistan, Thailand and more! Here, I have undergone the most formative lessons, both inside and outside of the classroom. I will be heading back to Singapore upon graduation, and running for this position is my feeble attempt at keeping up with the lives of my 2012 class.
I am excited and confident that I will be able to serve the needs of my class as we all go forward into new worlds outside of Tufts! More importantly, I hope to maintain the connectivity and networks of our class, keeping our degrees of separation to a minimum.
Recently back from a study abroad stint at Peking University, Beijing, I am currently a senior majoring in quantitative economics and international relations, with a special interest in urbanism and all things cities! At Tufts, I have been a part of the Tufts Energy Forum, Tufts Christian Fellowship, Anchord, Singapore Students' Association and most recently, the EPIIC 2011-2012 community, and Sigma Iota Rho.
Matt Whitman
Statement: I'm a current Tufts senior majoring in political science. I came to Tufts unsure of my choice of school and I'll definitely be coming out with more than enough good things to say regarding Tufts. I can't recommend Tufts University enough, and I've grown to love every second here. I wasn't too involved around campus my first few years. I joined a fraternity my sophomore year, but other than that I didn't participate in many extra-curriculars. I went abroad for the fall of my junior year, but when I came back to campus I was presented with an opportunity. There were vacancies on the InterFraternity Council and the Junior Class council, and I ran for positions on both. Though I didn't stick with IFC, I've kept my position with Senior Class Council and Programming Board, and working for Tufts this summer as an orientation coordinator. I really enjoy working with and for the university—planning events for my fellow students and ensuring everybody's needs are addressed. I see the Tufts Alumni Council as a continuation of my recent efforts to plan events for my fellow students and see them carried out effectively, and there's nothing I'd like more than to continue that opportunity.
(must be online community member and AS&E senior)
