Going Deep

I'm sure you haven't slept all night wondering (or for some people, worrying) who was going to be in the inaugural post of Going Deep. But one look at the above picture of Jumbo the Elephant and you've probably figured it out . . . it's John! Yay for John who involuntarily volunteered to go first!!! (Also known as a mother's prerogative.) And the topic is . . . his summer job!! This summer John is working for the Tufts Conference Bureau, where he has worked every summer since his freshman year. (Which means this is his fourth and final summer.) What exactly is the Tufts Conference Bureau? Well, it's basically a conference and special event service that the university runs throughout the year. During the school year most of the events are in-house for the university, and run by the full-time Conference Bureau staff. But in the summer when the students are away, the Conference Bureau becomes primarily a conference service, with most of the conference attendees staying on campus during their conferences. College students are employed to staff the operations side of things in the summer (most, but not all, are Tufts students), under the guidance of the year-round Conference Bureau staff. Whether they are hosting on an SAT-prep conference, a Russian youth hockey camp, a summer Masters program, or a business retreat, the Conference Bureau arranges the housing, accommodations, food, and facilities that the various conferences need, as well as attending to any alumni who wish to take advantage of the opportunity to stay in a Tufts dorm room during the summer for a nominal charge. This year John's job is Operations Supervisor.  Click here for a link to the Tufts Conference Bureau.

Brad and I were in Boston on Sunday. It gave us the chance to have lunch with John and to help him move a carload of stuff from his house to the dorm he'll be living in this summer. One of the perks of working for the Conference Bureau is getting to live on campus at virtually no cost, and also getting a daily meal in the dining hall.

This is John and me in front of his dorm. He lives on the first floor, and just outside his room is a large living room with a big screen TV (and cable!). Upstairs is a kitchen, so John can cook his own dinners. This year he is working an 8:00-5:00, Monday through Friday schedule, which will give him free weekends. (Whereas in prior years he worked varying shifts on varying days, rarely had two days off in a row, and never knew his schedule until a week or two ahead of time.) All of which means, I think John is set to have a great summer.