{"id":645432,"date":"2025-04-04T16:08:01","date_gmt":"2025-04-04T20:08:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=645432"},"modified":"2025-07-03T15:15:47","modified_gmt":"2025-07-03T19:15:47","slug":"alumni-connections-lea-thome-global-citizen-shapes-global-policy-645432","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/alumni-connections-lea-thome-global-citizen-shapes-global-policy-645432\/","title":{"rendered":"Lea Thome \u201922: A global citizen helps shape global policy"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; }<\/style>\n<div class=\"embed-container\"><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ASjd25JjpWI\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<h2><strong>At Rochester, the German native forged her path to a career analyzing international relations in an interconnected world.<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Lea Thome \u201922 has lived all over the world, but Rochester, New York, holds a special place in her heart.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRochester is where I found myself and discovered what I wanted to do with my life,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p>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 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu.\/\">University of Rochester<\/a>. After graduation, she returned to China for a year as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/college\/studentfellowships\/news-events\/schwarzman.html\">Schwarzman Scholar<\/a>, earning a master\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p>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 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aiddata.org\/people\/lea-thome\">analyzes Chinese development finance issues<\/a> and helps connect policymakers with data-driven research. Her work has appeared in such publications as <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/opinion\/4614060-why-american-students-need-to-get-back-to-china\/\"><em>The Hill<\/em>,<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/comment\/opinion\/article\/3253505\/china-betting-its-charm-offensive-can-turn-europe-away-us\"><em>South China Morning Post<\/em><\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/thediplomat.com\/2025\/02\/chinas-navy-steps-up-its-peace-ark-diplomacy\/\"><em>The Diplomat<\/em><\/a>. She also has written pieces for AidData on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aiddata.org\/blog\/chancay-port-opens-as-chinas-gateway-to-south-america\">a Chinese-funded megaport in Peru<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aiddata.org\/blog\/chinas-global-scanner-dissemination\">China\u2019s custom inspection scanners<\/a>, and on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aiddata.org\/blog\/chasing-copper-and-cobalt-chinas-mining-operations-in-peru-and-the-drc\">its mining operations in Peru and the Democratic Republic of the Congo<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_645512\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-645512\" style=\"width: 1000px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-645512\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/inline-2021-12-01_Lea_Thome_030_1000Wx1500H.jpg\" alt=\"Portrait of Lea Thome outdoors on a fall day.\" width=\"1000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/inline-2021-12-01_Lea_Thome_030_1000Wx1500H.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/inline-2021-12-01_Lea_Thome_030_1000Wx1500H-420x630.jpg 420w, https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/inline-2021-12-01_Lea_Thome_030_1000Wx1500H-768x1152.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-645512\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lea Thome \u201922\u00a0(University of Rochester photo \/ J. Adam Fenster)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Much of Thome\u2019s analysis has focused on critical infrastructure and technologies, such as ports. \u201cI grew up in Duisburg, home to one of the world\u2019s largest inland ports,\u201d she says. \u201cThat sparked my interest to study this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy 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\u2019s student,\u201d she says. \u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Two political science faculty members stood out: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sas.rochester.edu\/psc\/people\/view.php?fid=14\">Hein Goemans<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sas.rochester.edu\/psc\/people\/view.php?fid=29\">Randall Stone<\/a>. In addition to taking their classes focused on international relations theory and international organization, Thome performed independent research on China\u2019s rise in international relations under Goemans and worked at the University\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sas.rochester.edu\/psc\/CPCES\/\">Skalny Center for Polish and Central European Studies<\/a> under Stone. She also interned in political offices and with campaigns in Rochester, allowing her to explore those interests in real-world settings.<\/p>\n<p>Both professors have provided a lot of professional mentorship since I graduated,\u201d she says. \u201cHaving mentors who believed in me and my path forward is the number one thing that helped me in my time at Rochester and beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Finding Rochester through word of mouth\u2014while a world away<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Thome first heard about the University of Rochester while attending LEAF Academy, a boarding school in Bratislava, Slovakia, from school intern Bruno Djamilo \u201919, who was studying international relations. Then, in Thome\u2019s senior year of high school at LEAF, \u00a0she met another intern named Roland Naijuka \u201922 who was accepted early decision to Rochester and ended up in the same class as Thome.<\/p>\n<div class=\"pullquote\"><span style=\"font-size: 400%;\">\u201c<\/span>Having mentors who believed in me and my path forward is the number one thing that helped me in my time at Rochester and beyond.\u201d<\/div>\n<p>\u201cI literally found Rochester through word of mouth,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p>Once on the River Campus, Thome founded the <a href=\"https:\/\/ccc.rochester.edu\/isa\/home\/\">International Students\u2019 Association<\/a> (ISA) and became president of the <a href=\"https:\/\/ccc.rochester.edu\/upsirc\/home\/\">Undergraduate Political Science and International Relations Council<\/a>. ISA began as a Facebook group in 2020 when COVID-19 shut down much of the world. \u201cIt started as a resource for students to ask questions about visas and entering the US,\u201d she says. \u201cWe formally made it a student organization, and I\u2019m happy it\u2019s still thriving.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She also served as a senator in the <a href=\"https:\/\/rochester.edu\/college\/wcsa\/organizations\/sag.html\">Students\u2019 Association Government<\/a>, as student life committee chair, and as cochair of Senior Week, organizing the numerous activities leading up to Commencement. \u201cIt was important for me to be involved on campus,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>A time for exploration and introspection<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Thome took courses in a wide range of subjects early at Rochester, including economics, business, political science, and classics. \u201cUltimately, 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,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p>While Thome made much of her time at Rochester, she wishes she had explored even more fields. \u201cI took a lot of time to decide what I should major in,\u201d she says. \u201cI 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?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She urges students to take advantage of the University\u2019s signature <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/about\/curriculum.html\">flexible curriculum<\/a>, while also using this special time in life for introspection.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile some people may go on to do a master\u2019s or doctoral degree, you are only in college once living, eating, and attending classes with your peers,\u201d Thome says. \u201cIt\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At Rochester, the German native forged her path to a career analyzing international relations in an interconnected world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":672,"featured_media":645492,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[42,41852,35112,21462,19242,21822,24692,16072,41012],"class_list":["post-645432","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-community","tag-alumni","tag-alumni-connections","tag-class-of-2022","tag-department-of-political-science","tag-global-engagement","tag-hein-goemans","tag-randall-stone","tag-school-of-arts-and-sciences","tag-videos"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - 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