{"id":479772,"date":"2021-05-18T08:23:30","date_gmt":"2021-05-18T12:23:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=479772"},"modified":"2021-05-19T13:07:34","modified_gmt":"2021-05-19T17:07:34","slug":"eden-thomas-21-fulfills-her-dream-with-rochester-degree-479772","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/eden-thomas-21-fulfills-her-dream-with-rochester-degree-479772\/","title":{"rendered":"Eden Thomas \u201921 fulfills her dream with Rochester degree"},"content":{"rendered":"

The first-generation student discovers that \u201cone opportunity opens a whole bunch of other doors and connections.\u201d<\/h2>\n

Eden Thomas \u201921 has literally been living the dream the past four years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI live right around the corner (Manchester, New York) and have wanted to attend the University of Rochester<\/a> since eighth grade,\u201d she says. \u201cMy cousin (Meghan Gray \u201915) went here, and I just fell in love with the campus once I stepped foot onto it. It\u2019s so beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n\"2021<\/a><\/p>\n

Celebrate the Class of 2021!<\/h2>\n

Visit the Class of 2021 site<\/a> for details about this year\u2019s Commencement ceremonies and for a downloadable toolkit of materials to share your support on social media.\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Thomas has been one busy senior: the business and philosophy double major is chair of the Students\u2019 Association administration and review team, Senior Night chair for the Class of 2021 Class Council, business manager for the Student Programming Board, and a residential advisor at Genesee Hall. This spring she received two Student Life Awards<\/a>—one for senior campus contributions and one for improving the experience of students living in residential halls.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I came to Rochester, I wanted to keep my options open,\u201d she says. \u201cAcademics come first, no matter what. But once I started getting involved, it was hard to stop. One opportunity opens a whole bunch of other doors and connections.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thomas initially thought she would only major in philosophy, with an emphasis on law and ethics. But because of Rochester\u2019s open curriculum, she was able to add business as a second major. This fall, she\u2019ll continue that path when she enrolls in an MBA program at SUNY Oswego. \u201cIt\u2019s very interesting how the two majors play together,\u201d she says. \u201cWhen I\u2019m in a managerial role in the future, I\u2019ll have my ethics and moral background to make sure I\u2019m being the best employer I can be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thomas was on a Caribbean cruise when the COVID-19 forced Rochester to move to remote learning in March 2020. \u201cI was numb when I heard the news,\u201d she says. \u201cMaking the adjustment from school to home was difficult, but it was an easy decision to return to school last fall. I love being on campus.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thomas lived in West Palm Beach, Florida, until moving to Manchester with her family at 12. That\u2019s when she was first introduced to the University by her cousin. \u201cI knew how strong the Rochester curriculum is,\u201d Thomas says.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thomas is a first-generation student, making commencement even more special. Her dream has come true, and so has her parents\u2019 wish to see their only daughter graduate from college. \u201cThey\u2019ve been a huge support for me even though they didn\u2019t attend college,\u201d she says. \u201cJust having their love and support has meant the world to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thomas remembers touring the River Campus with her family and crying at the prospect of not being admitted. \u201cI remember saying, \u2018I just love it here, and I can\u2019t see myself going anywhere else.\u2019 My mom said, \u2018If it\u2019s meant to be, it will be.\u2019 And it was very much meant to be.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The first-generation student discovers that \u201cone opportunity opens a whole bunch of other doors and connections.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":672,"featured_media":479792,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[26572,33362,4536,37592,21482,14,16072],"class_list":["post-479772","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-community","tag-arts-sciences-and-engineering","tag-class-of-2021","tag-commencement","tag-covid-19","tag-department-of-philosophy","tag-events","tag-school-of-arts-and-sciences"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nEden Thomas \u201921 fulfills her dream with Rochester degree<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"University of Rochester first-generation student discovers that \u201cone opportunity opens a whole bunch of other doors and connections.\u201d\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/eden-thomas-21-fulfills-her-dream-with-rochester-degree-479772\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Eden Thomas \u201921 fulfills her dream with Rochester degree\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"University of Rochester first-generation student discovers that \u201cone opportunity opens a whole bunch of other doors and connections.\u201d\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/eden-thomas-21-fulfills-her-dream-with-rochester-degree-479772\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"News Center\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-05-18T12:23:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-05-19T17:07:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/2021_commencement-rochester-graduate-eden-thomas.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jim Mandelaro\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jim Mandelaro\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/eden-thomas-21-fulfills-her-dream-with-rochester-degree-479772\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/eden-thomas-21-fulfills-her-dream-with-rochester-degree-479772\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jim Mandelaro\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/35537746af700f24d7e52e350d95b124\"},\"headline\":\"Eden Thomas \u201921 fulfills her dream with Rochester degree\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-05-18T12:23:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-05-19T17:07:34+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/eden-thomas-21-fulfills-her-dream-with-rochester-degree-479772\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":525,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/eden-thomas-21-fulfills-her-dream-with-rochester-degree-479772\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/2021_commencement-rochester-graduate-eden-thomas.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Arts Sciences and Engineering\",\"Class of 2021\",\"commencement\",\"COVID-19\",\"Department of Philosophy\",\"events\",\"School of Arts and Sciences\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Campus & Community\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/eden-thomas-21-fulfills-her-dream-with-rochester-degree-479772\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/eden-thomas-21-fulfills-her-dream-with-rochester-degree-479772\\\/\",\"name\":\"Eden Thomas \u201921 fulfills her dream with Rochester degree\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/eden-thomas-21-fulfills-her-dream-with-rochester-degree-479772\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/eden-thomas-21-fulfills-her-dream-with-rochester-degree-479772\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/2021_commencement-rochester-graduate-eden-thomas.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-05-18T12:23:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-05-19T17:07:34+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/35537746af700f24d7e52e350d95b124\"},\"description\":\"University of Rochester first-generation student discovers that \u201cone opportunity opens a whole bunch of other doors and connections.\u201d\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/eden-thomas-21-fulfills-her-dream-with-rochester-degree-479772\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/eden-thomas-21-fulfills-her-dream-with-rochester-degree-479772\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/eden-thomas-21-fulfills-her-dream-with-rochester-degree-479772\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/2021_commencement-rochester-graduate-eden-thomas.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/2021_commencement-rochester-graduate-eden-thomas.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":600,\"caption\":\"A business and philosophy double major, Eden Thomas chairs the Students\u2019 Association administration and review team, is Senior Night chair for the Class of 2021 Class Council, business manager for the Student Programming Board. (University of Rochester photo \\\/ J. Adam Fenster)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/eden-thomas-21-fulfills-her-dream-with-rochester-degree-479772\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Eden Thomas \u201921 fulfills her dream with Rochester degree\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/\",\"name\":\"News Center\",\"description\":\"University of Rochester\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/35537746af700f24d7e52e350d95b124\",\"name\":\"Jim Mandelaro\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rochester.edu\\\/newscenter\\\/author\\\/jmandelaro\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Eden Thomas \u201921 fulfills her dream with Rochester degree","description":"University of Rochester first-generation student discovers that \u201cone opportunity opens a whole bunch of other doors and connections.\u201d","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/eden-thomas-21-fulfills-her-dream-with-rochester-degree-479772\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Eden Thomas \u201921 fulfills her dream with Rochester degree","og_description":"University of Rochester first-generation student discovers that \u201cone opportunity opens a whole bunch of other doors and connections.\u201d","og_url":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/eden-thomas-21-fulfills-her-dream-with-rochester-degree-479772\/","og_site_name":"News Center","article_published_time":"2021-05-18T12:23:30+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-05-19T17:07:34+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/2021_commencement-rochester-graduate-eden-thomas.jpg","width":1000,"height":600,"type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Jim Mandelaro","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jim Mandelaro","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/eden-thomas-21-fulfills-her-dream-with-rochester-degree-479772\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/eden-thomas-21-fulfills-her-dream-with-rochester-degree-479772\/"},"author":{"name":"Jim Mandelaro","@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/#\/schema\/person\/35537746af700f24d7e52e350d95b124"},"headline":"Eden Thomas \u201921 fulfills her dream with Rochester degree","datePublished":"2021-05-18T12:23:30+00:00","dateModified":"2021-05-19T17:07:34+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/eden-thomas-21-fulfills-her-dream-with-rochester-degree-479772\/"},"wordCount":525,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/eden-thomas-21-fulfills-her-dream-with-rochester-degree-479772\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/2021_commencement-rochester-graduate-eden-thomas.jpg","keywords":["Arts Sciences and Engineering","Class of 2021","commencement","COVID-19","Department of Philosophy","events","School of Arts and Sciences"],"articleSection":["Campus & Community"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/eden-thomas-21-fulfills-her-dream-with-rochester-degree-479772\/","url":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/eden-thomas-21-fulfills-her-dream-with-rochester-degree-479772\/","name":"Eden Thomas \u201921 fulfills her dream with Rochester degree","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/eden-thomas-21-fulfills-her-dream-with-rochester-degree-479772\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/eden-thomas-21-fulfills-her-dream-with-rochester-degree-479772\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/2021_commencement-rochester-graduate-eden-thomas.jpg","datePublished":"2021-05-18T12:23:30+00:00","dateModified":"2021-05-19T17:07:34+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/#\/schema\/person\/35537746af700f24d7e52e350d95b124"},"description":"University of Rochester first-generation student discovers that \u201cone opportunity opens a whole bunch of other doors and connections.\u201d","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/eden-thomas-21-fulfills-her-dream-with-rochester-degree-479772\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/eden-thomas-21-fulfills-her-dream-with-rochester-degree-479772\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/eden-thomas-21-fulfills-her-dream-with-rochester-degree-479772\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/2021_commencement-rochester-graduate-eden-thomas.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/2021_commencement-rochester-graduate-eden-thomas.jpg","width":1000,"height":600,"caption":"A business and philosophy double major, Eden Thomas chairs the Students\u2019 Association administration and review team, is Senior Night chair for the Class of 2021 Class Council, business manager for the Student Programming Board. (University of Rochester photo \/ J. Adam Fenster)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/eden-thomas-21-fulfills-her-dream-with-rochester-degree-479772\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Eden Thomas \u201921 fulfills her dream with Rochester degree"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/","name":"News Center","description":"University of Rochester","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/#\/schema\/person\/35537746af700f24d7e52e350d95b124","name":"Jim Mandelaro","url":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/author\/jmandelaro\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/479772","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/672"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=479772"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/479772\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":479782,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/479772\/revisions\/479782"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/479792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=479772"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=479772"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=479772"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}