‘A Number of My Former Teammates Are Jealous’

I remember it was at a meeting early in my time as a member of the Tufts football team when I was first introduced to the chance to volunteer with Big Brothers Big Sisters. My teammates and I had a weekly routine of going to meet our “littles” [little brothers] at their elementary school and playing board games or soccer with them. In those moments, we would often forget about the stress of school or practice and end up having just as much fun as the kids.

I had a great relationship with my “little” all through my time as an undergrad. Now in my job, that has come full circle. At Tisch College, my work is to connect our student-athletes with service opportunities in our host communities. Sometimes that’s through sports or mentorship programs at local schools and other times, it’s through programs, like our recent National Girls and Women in Sports Day event, which we host at Tufts.

The service ethos is already deeply woven into the fabric of Tufts Athletics. In my experience, our student-athletes are highly motivated and uniquely able to balance all that Tufts asks of them on and off the field or court… and, at the same time, ask themselves, “What can I do for others?”

I help student-athletes and coaches answer that question. My job is to do all I can to increase and deepen the connections between our student-athletes and our community, to make it easier for our Jumbos to move beyond the Tufts bubble and experience firsthand their ability to make a difference.

What motivates me? All the coaches, teachers, and mentors who had such a positive impact on my life. I feel grateful to have a similar opportunity to help put people on a positive path. Plus, I have to confess that a number of my former teammates are jealous that I get to continue to work with student-athletes in this way. I feel so fortunate to be helping to contribute to this effort.

Frank Roche, A19, AG20, is the civic life coordinator for athletics at the Tisch College of Civic Life.

Our Tufts is a series of personal stories shared by members of the Tufts community and featured on both Tufts Now and Instagram.