Open Menu Close Menu Open Search Close Search

CAFE, the University Chaplaincy's Pre-Orientation Program

CAFE is currently paused for the 2024 Pre-Orientation year, and will not be running in summer 2024. 

Coming to a new campus can be both exciting and overwhelming. The CAFE Pre-Orientation program smooths the transition to college by connecting first-year and current students who have a shared passion for understanding and creating change in ourselves and communities. CAFE seeks incoming student participants from diverse religious, non-religious, spiritual and ethical identities. All are welcome.

About CAFE

Connect with other students and staff who have a shared passion for understanding and creating change in ourselves and our communities!

You will meet inspiring Tufts faculty, peer leaders, local leaders and service organizations while and exploring identity, antiracism, interfaith understanding, and community organizing. We will travel to nearby neighborhoods such as Davis Square, Cambridge, and downtown Boston to visit important organizations and spiritual centers. You will also have the opportunity to strengthen your leadership skills.

"CAFE attracts an exceptionally kind, welcoming and interesting group of people, and they broadened my world view and taught me so much every day of my experience. I am now a better person with a stronger support system because of CAFE, and I highly encourage anyone to give it a shot." - Lisa Meehan, CAFE alum

There will be time for meaningful conversation, skill-building for dialogue and connection, exploration of local neighborhoods, good food, and fun! Over the program, we hope to create your first community at Tufts - one that is caring, thoughtful, diverse, and passionate.

CAFE seeks incoming student participants from diverse religious, non-religious, spiritual, and ethical identities. All are welcome to join this award-winning program!

The CAFE Pre-Orientation Program was first offered in August 2009, and was offered in summers 2010 and 2011. It resumed in August 2015. CAFE is currently paused for the 2024 Pre-Orientation year, and will not be running in summer 2024. 

You can email CAFE@Tufts.edu with any questions.

Photos from CAFE 2022

 

six students sitting on a picnic blanket, they are talking

8/28/22 – Medford/Somerville, MA – Sunday during Tufts CAFE pre-orientation hosted out of the Tufts Interfaith Center on August 28, 2022. (Photo by Nicholas Pfosi)

 

 

“The CAFE and interfaith community is the first one I became involved in as a first-year, and still three years later it is the group that grounds me at Tufts. I credit CAFE and those I have met through the program with helping me grow spiritually, socially, and intellectually. It has been a gift to start each year at Tufts with CAFE as a participant, peer leader, and staff member.” – Ari Navetta, A24

 

four students walking in a neighborhood, side profile

8/28/22 – Medford/Somerville, MA – Sunday during Tufts CAFE pre-orientation hosted out of the Tufts Interfaith Center on August 28, 2022. (Photo by Nicholas Pfosi)

 “CAFE transformed my college experience through providing a warming community who constantly encourages growth and reflection. Each day, you learn something new about yourself and the world around you, and you’ll relearn how you interact with/interpret everything too. Every time I come back to CAFE, I feel more fulfilled and grateful to be part of this life-changing experience :)” – Heidi Nguyen, A25

 

8/28/22 – Medford/Somerville, MA – Sunday during Tufts CAFE pre-orientation hosted out of the Tufts Interfaith Center on August 28, 2022. (Photo by Nicholas Pfosi)

 “CAFE was such a warm and welcoming space to be a part of as soon as I stepped foot on campus freshman year. I was a little nervous since I am not personally the most religious, but the CAFE community values diversity of viewpoints so much. I got to learn a lot about different faiths through my fellow CAFEers’ as well as the sites and people we met through the program while at the same time being valued for my own experiences and point of view. The friendships and mentorship I have gained in CAFE have lasted and inspired me throughout my experience at Tufts until now in junior year!” – Sam Chock, A25