Staff honored with Distinction Awards

The combined expertise and dedication of Tufts' faculty and staff are felt across all its campuses. Their collective drive shapes the university’s culture and strengthens its mission. While some contribute directly to research and teaching, others lead essential work in areas such as technology services, communications, dining, and student life.

Since 2008, the Tufts Distinction Awards have recognized staff and faculty who exemplify the university’s values through outstanding contributions beyond the classroom and lab. The awards are co-sponsored by the Office of the President and Human Resources, with recipients chosen by a university-wide selection committee composed of peer colleagues.

This year, nearly 300 nominations were submitted. Of those, 13 individuals and three teams were selected for the 2025 Tufts Distinction Awards including two members affiliated with the School of Engineering: Elissa Milto and Emily Quigley.

Elissa Milto, Director of Outreach in the Center for Engineering Education and Outreach (CEEO) at Tufts, was recognized for her commitment to inclusive engineering education. She leads several impactful programs such as the Outreach Learning Fellowship (OLF) program— a Student Teacher Outreach Mentorship Program that brings engineering students into local K-12 classrooms to facilitate hands-on engineering lessons—and Novel Engineering which uses literature as the context for hand-on engineering design activities. She works with teachers and schools, both locally and internationally, as part of CEEO Outreach efforts and participates in research projects such as the Opportunities for Robotics, Building, and Inclusive Technology (ORBIT), a program for autistic middle school students that focuses on computational thinking practices (CT) and executive functioning skills (EF). Milto began working with the CEEO in 1999 and entered Tufts as a graduate student the following year. From there, she never looked back. Throughout her 20+ years of service, Milto has explored how open-ended, client-centered problems can make engineering accessible and exciting for young learners.

Emily Quigley, Assistant Director of Campus Life for Outdoor Education, was honored for her leadership in building community and fostering personal growth through outdoor programs. Serving both the School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering, she oversees Tufts Wilderness Orientation, the Tufts Mountain Club, and the Tufts Loj in Woodstock, New Hampshire. These programs use New England's outdoor spaces as a tool for community-building through activities like camping, backpacking, and canoeing. Quigley believes outdoor experiences offer powerful opportunities for students to co-construct spaces of trust, care, and leadership that allow them to come back with the tools to shape the world that can and should exist for them.

Both Milto, EG02, and Quigley, E15, are Tufts alumni whose work at Tufts continues to embody the spirit of the university. Their impact spans generations, reaching students just beginning their path to higher education in engineering, and those who leave Tufts prepared to lead, learn, and drive change.

Congratulations to Elissa Milto and Emily Quigley on this well-deserved recognition!