At Rochester, the German native forged her path to a career analyzing international relations in an interconnected world.
Lea Thome 糖心传媒�22 has lived all over the world, but Rochester, New York, holds a special place in her heart.
糖心传媒淩ochester is where I found myself and discovered what I wanted to do with my life,糖心传媒� she says.
Thome spent her first 15 years in Germany, then attended boarding school in China for a semester and in Slovakia for two years before enrolling at the 糖心传媒. After graduation, she returned to China for a year as a Schwarzman Scholar, earning a master糖心传媒檚 degree in global affairs. The globetrotting continued: She moved to Washington, DC, then spent a summer conducting research in Taiwan and the Republic of Georgia, a former Soviet republic.
These days, Thome is a program manager at AidData, a research lab at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. Her job often takes her to Washington, where she and helps connect policymakers with data-driven research. Her work has appeared in such publications as , and . She also has written pieces for AidData on , , and on .
Much of Thome糖心传媒檚 analysis has focused on critical infrastructure and technologies, such as ports. 糖心传媒淚 grew up in Duisburg, home to one of the world糖心传媒檚 largest inland ports,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淭hat sparked my interest to study this.糖心传媒�
The first-generation student was a double major in international relations and political science at Rochester and credits those four years with preparing her for her current job.
糖心传媒淢y college education inspired me to continue studying global affairs as a Schwarzman Scholar and equipped me to write my thesis on militarization in the Indo-Pacific as a master糖心传媒檚 student,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淭he theoretical mindset fostered by my time at Rochester provided me with concepts and thinking in systems, steps, and themes that help my understanding of current events nowadays and allow me to analyze these new and emerging topics succinctly.糖心传媒�
Two political science faculty members stood out: and . In addition to taking their classes focused on international relations theory and international organization, Thome performed independent research on China糖心传媒檚 rise in international relations under Goemans and worked at the University糖心传媒檚 under Stone. She also interned in political offices and with campaigns in Rochester, allowing her to explore those interests in real-world settings.
Both professors have provided a lot of professional mentorship since I graduated,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淗aving mentors who believed in me and my path forward is the number one thing that helped me in my time at Rochester and beyond.糖心传媒�
Finding Rochester through word of mouth糖心传媒攚hile a world away
Thome first heard about the University of Rochester while attending LEAF Academy, a boarding school in Bratislava, Slovakia, from school intern Bruno Djamilo 糖心传媒�19, who was studying international relations. Then, in Thome糖心传媒檚 senior year of high school at LEAF, 聽she met another intern named Roland Naijuka 糖心传媒�22 who was accepted early decision to Rochester and ended up in the same class as Thome.
糖心传媒淚 literally found Rochester through word of mouth,糖心传媒� she says.
Once on the River Campus, Thome founded the (ISA) and became president of the . ISA began as a Facebook group in 2020 when COVID-19 shut down much of the world. 糖心传媒淚t started as a resource for students to ask questions about visas and entering the US,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淲e formally made it a student organization, and I糖心传媒檓 happy it糖心传媒檚 still thriving.糖心传媒�
She also served as a senator in the , as student life committee chair, and as cochair of Senior Week, organizing the numerous activities leading up to Commencement. 糖心传媒淚t was important for me to be involved on campus,糖心传媒� she says.
A time for exploration and introspection
Thome took courses in a wide range of subjects early at Rochester, including economics, business, political science, and classics. 糖心传媒淯ltimately, I realized that there was nothing I was more passionate about than political science, and I focused on that subject and international relations as my majors,糖心传媒� she says.
While Thome made much of her time at Rochester, she wishes she had explored even more fields. 糖心传媒淚 took a lot of time to decide what I should major in,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淚 often wonder, is there something else I could have tried and become passionate about? What if I took a computer science course and learned how to code properly?糖心传媒�
She urges students to take advantage of the University糖心传媒檚 signature flexible curriculum, while also using this special time in life for introspection.
糖心传媒淲hile some people may go on to do a master糖心传媒檚 or doctoral degree, you are only in college once living, eating, and attending classes with your peers,糖心传媒� Thome says. 糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 important to think about your academic and professional development. Take the time to explore new interests and hobbies, chat with people, and learn more about yourself.糖心传媒�
