Volunteer Voice: David Backman, A94

January 10, 2008--David Backman has had several roles in the Tufts community. From 1994 to 1999, he worked in the Office of Student Activities at Tufts' Mayer Campus Center, counseling undergraduate student leaders and working to develop the next generation of Jumbos. He’s been running the San Francisco Bay Area alumni chapter since 2000, revitalizing the region and working to develop signature events and a consistent voice for the organization. In 2004, he was elected to the Tufts Alumni Council and has served in a variety of national roles, including co-leading the 2007 Regional Leaders' Symposium, co-chairing the Regional Programs Committee, and serving on the Nominations Committee to pick the next slate of Trustee and Council member candidates.

“I volunteer because I want to keep building on what I learned and experienced at Tufts, and to give back to my community. In addition to a stellar academic education, Tufts gave me room to develop my volunteer abilities. Eventually, I learned to manage a team of committed peers, collaborate with other student leaders, develop a range of event ideas, and build traditions. I took these lessons to the next level when working in the Office of Student Activities for the next five years, giving back to Tufts by helping the current student leaders with their own event logistics and budgets. One of my greatest accomplishments was co-developing a program for freshmen, teaching these students ways to enhance their own talents and grow into future leadership roles.

“When I moved to the Bay Area in 2000, I took on a new volunteer role for Tufts, strengthening my connection with the Hill from thousands of miles away as a regional chapter president. While I applied what I had learned in my previous roles, it became a time of revitalization for our chapter. We’ve incorporated a mix of social, educational, professional, and citizenship themes into our philosophy of programming. Why just celebrate Tufts at a Homecoming happy hour when you can ask everyone to bring a can for donation to a local food bank and provide hope to those in need? Why just host an a cappella concert when attendees can also donate to public schools with slashed performing arts budgets? Every event participant becomes a volunteer.

“When I started serving as co-president of the TUAA’s Regional Programs Committee with Elliott Lerman, E65, it was my chance to share these lessons on a national level. As we co-led a team to develop the fourth Regional Leaders’ Symposium, I thought back to the Office of Student Activities’ program for freshmen, and the focus of the 2007 Symposium became developing these emerging regional leaders’ skills. We brought the current and next generation of alumni leaders back to Tufts for a long interactive weekend, helping them explore their potential through the metaphor of building: creating a foundation of information, teaching the tools of the trade, giving them the blueprints to construct better events, and training them to be architects for their chapters. But we also taught them to know their constituencies, and to help all Jumbos in their regions find ways to give back to Tufts at every level.

“I hope that Tufts alumni everywhere will be inspired by the work that regional volunteers do and realize that their own commitment to the Tufts community shouldn’t end at graduation. Every time someone actively participates at an event, donates to the university, or shares their time with those in need, they’re enriching the Tufts community. My diploma increases in value whenever a Jumbo volunteers.”