Tiff

The Student Diversity Committee was a political way to get involved at NMH, and being a Global Ambassador helped me realize my role in society. The idea of being a bridge, I tend to use that now in my relationships.

Tiff

Growing up, Tiff heard her mother, Maria, talk fondly of her experience at Northfield Mount Hermon as a postgraduate student back in 1990. 

“It was a place where she met so many different people,” Tiff said. In El Paso, Texas, where her mother grew up, the population was not nearly as diverse as NMH’s campus. “Being here, it opens you to expand your thoughts – it’s really a thought-provoking place. My mom really likes that, and I like that, too.”

From the very first time she toured the NMH campus herself, Tiff felt a sense of excitement and belonging. She remembers chatting with a student tour guide and discovering common interests and instant camaraderie. “We even had our favorite football team in common, the Dallas Cowboys, which I thought was funny because we’re on the east coast.

“Meeting similar people like that, but also having diverse opinions, that just drew me here instantly,” Tiff added.

Over her four years at NMH, not only did Tiff gain perspective from her peers, but she also grew and learned in her extracurriculars, academics, music, dance, and athletics.

As a member of the Student Diversity Committee, Tiff was involved in conversations around racial, social, and economic issues impacting the NMH community. Meanwhile, as a Global Ambassador, she supported the school’s commitment to a globalized community and curriculum by supporting international students and families and raising awareness about international issues.

Tiff was able to draw connections between those two leadership positions, “in the sense that I needed to expand my knowledge on the outside world, not just Massachusetts or the United States, to be able to connect and help international kids transition to NMH.

“The Student Diversity Committee was a political way to get involved at NMH, and being a Global Ambassador helped me realize my role in society. The idea of being a bridge, I tend to use that now in my relationships with my friends, my family, and everything.”

In the classroom, Tiff studied a broad range of subjects, from advanced math to writing to painting. “All these classes have helped me grow as a person, and especially pushed through that boundary of being scared to try new things,” she said.

Tiff was also involved in a wide range of extracurriculars at NMH, including dance, softball, piano, painting, the Latinx Affinity Group, and the school paper, The Lamplighter. Fitting all that into her schedule, she said, wasn’t as difficult as one might expect. “The NMH schedule really does help to structure your day and find time for everything.”

In the fall, Tiff will attend Texas Tech University. Reflecting back on her experience as a Global Ambassador, she said the overarching impact she hopes to have as she enters college is “to be a bridge. “I want to be a place where people can feel they can rely on me and feel stable,” she said.

The people she met, the classes she took, and the activities she was involved in at NMH played a role in who she is today. “NMH shapes people into being a better person and having a better mindset,” Tiff said. “If you come here, I think NMH will change you for the better.”

— By Maddie Fabian