Senior spring to social security. On the hill to over the hill. Graduation to … grandchildren? Here's what seniors have to say before all is said and done.
Kella Merlain-Moffatt knows who she is. Her mother, and the world, often ask her to assess her identities. At this point, months from her would-be graduation, she asserted, “I’m Ghanaian-Haitian-American, or Haitian-Ghanaian-American. The order really doesn’t matter.”
With her senior thesis, Merlain-Moffatt is attempting to answer some lingering questions: “Why is it that people who are technically Latin American [particularly those from Belize, Brazil, and Haiti] don’t identify with being Latinx, and what are the things that are keeping them from being a part of it?”
Merlain-Moffatt continues to explore her Afro-Latinidad, both in her studies and in her very house.
“I’m IR and Africana Studies, and my concentration within IR is a regional concentration, which is Africa,” she said.
Before the coronavirus sent her back to her native South Florida, she lived in Capen House and called it home.
“I feel like Capen House, the Africana Center, in many ways has been the center of my Tufts experience. It’s given me a community; it’s forced me to have a lot of hard conversations,” she said.
Now, Merlain-Moffatt initiates those discussions herself. Earlier this year, she approached one of her classmates after he made a remark that stood out to her for its racial and sexist implications. He responded with defensive anger, but she remained calm and requested just to explain her perspective. She gave him his distance, and later, he messaged her, “If you want to talk, we can talk.”
They never talked.
On that occasion, Merlain-Moffatt decided not to pursue the matter any further. Reflecting on the situation, she said, “You have to choose your battles. All the times I have chosen to have that fight, I’ve found it to be worth it, even if the outcome initially may not always seem positive.”
The 100th anniversary of the Tufts Africana Center happens to coincide with the Class of 2020’s 50th reunion, and by the time Merlain-Moffatt returns to campus to celebrate those occasions, she intends to have established a prodigious reputation for herself. She anticipates that the top search result for her name will read: “Kella Merlain-Moffatt: Philanthropist, Founder, Diplomat.”
"One of the things that I’d really like to do in the future is to open up an arts education center that focuses on civic engagement for underprivileged youth,” she said.
Merlain-Moffatt believes in the power of words, and she hopes that her socially-aware, creative program will encourage its participants to use their voices.
“I think there is something about having a legacy that extends past you … I see that being an opportunity to really start new conversations and dialogues,” she said of her prospective life’s work.
Merlain-Moffatt is not yet a notable philanthropist. She has not yet defended her thesis, and the top search result for her name connects to the website for Tufts Admissions. Nonetheless, her expectations leave her undaunted.
“There are things I’m not concerned about,” she said. “I know I’ll be happy, I know I’ll be impactful, I know I’m destined for greatness.”
Correction: A previous version of this column included several errors. A previous version said Merlain-Moffatt lived in the Africana Center, which should have read Capen House. The column references an incident where Merlain-Moffatt spoke with a peer after he made a remark that stood out to her for its racial and sexist implications. Merlain-Moffatt did not in fact speak with this peer. The column has been updated to reflect these changes. The Daily regrets this error.
From seniors to citizens: Hard conversations
