Meaningful connections with faculty and industry experts helped the Rochester graduate find her niche in the field of optics.

Sarah Bjornland ’17 fell in love with the field of optics in high school when her physics class did a special unit on the topic. She gravitated to the University of Rochester’s Institute of Optics because of its rich history as the nation’s first optics program, but she was initially unsure what her career would hold and whether she should pursue work in research or industry.

Through the institute’s tight-knit community and connections with industrial partners, Bjornland connected with mentors who helped her find a path. She recalls a particularly enlightening conversation with optics professor James Zavislan where she expressed doubt in her math skills, but he encouraged her to embrace her strengths.

“He told me that I have skills that can’t be put on a résumé,” recalls Bjornland. “What he meant by that was it’s okay that I’m not necessarily the best math student, that I’m not getting A’s in these very difficult classes because I have this other sort of skillset. And he really encouraged me to lean into that more. That was the first time I heard it was okay to be an engineer but also to have these other interests and this other career path to lean into.”

Bjornland’s strong interpersonal skills, meticulous attention to detail, and her technical background helped her secure an electro-optics internship with Elbit Systems of America through the institute’s Industrial Associates (IA) Program, which connects students and faculty with industry, academia, and government agencies. The experience served her well, and the IA Program helped her find full-time employment with Optikos Corporation as an optical metrology engineer.

“I got offered a job while I was still here on campus, and so before graduating, I already knew that I was going to go move out to Boston,” says Bjornland. “It turned out to be a great decision because while I was working, I got exposed to a different side of optics. I got to see the business side of optics, which led me to pursue my MBA online.”

She returned to Rochester in 2020 to work at Rochester Precision Optics as a manufacturing engineer, then moved to an assembly manager role in 2023 after completing her MBA.

“I’m responsible for making sure that we’re meeting schedule and meeting budget, and our technical problems are taken care of by an engineer,” she explains. “But I’m not necessarily doing that day-to-day engineering myself anymore. So, I was able to get my optics degree, understand the technical problems, and work in that for a while. Now I have this unique experience where, as a manager, I get to see what’s going on and help drive that, while not necessarily doing all of the work myself.

Bjornland now gets to impart the lessons she learned from Rochester faculty on a new generation of students, teaching classes at Monroe Community College’s optics systems technology program, chaired by fellow Institute of Optics alumna Alexis Vogt ’01, ’07 PhD.

The economics and music major found his path by embracing unexpected opportunities.

Bryce Davis ’20 arrived at the University of Rochester with a clear goal: major in economics, land a high-paying job in finance, and expand his horizons beyond his small hometown of Wellsville, NY. As a first-generation college student, Davis thought this seemed like the best way to secure a stable and comfortable future.

But a music theory class he took during his first year of college changed his mind.

“I immediately realized sitting in that classroom that I would so much rather be doing this [music] on a regular basis,” Davis says.

Inspired by his professors in the Arthur Satz Department of Music on the River Campus, Davis decided to embrace his musical background and, at Rochester, focus his studies on both economics and music. He says the University’s signature flexible curriculum and its connection to the top-ranked Eastman School of Music fostered an interdisciplinary culture that allowed him to explore simultaneous interests. Beyond the classroom, he joined the Midnight Ramblers—one of several a cappella groups on campus—and interned with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO). These experiences helped open the doors to a career that blends his analytical skills and passion for music. Davis was also the recipient of the Debra Dorfman Drumheller and Robert Drumheller Endowed Scholarship, which provides financial assistance to undergraduates in the School of Arts & Sciences.

Today, Davis is the associate director of institutional giving for the Orchestra of St. Luke’s in New York City. In this role, he manages foundation and government partnerships, writes grants, pitches corporate sponsors, maintains project budgets, develops case studies about the orchestra’s education programming, and supports the orchestra’s all-around fundraising efforts.

Looking back, Davis sees his career journey as a lesson in being open to what he calls “happenstance” and learning to listen to yourself.

“You have to be open to what the universe has given you,” he says. “You have to be adaptable and willing to take on an opportunity that you weren’t expecting.”

Beyond being open to opportunities, Davis emphasizes the importance of self-awareness and developing habits to help stay in tune with your own values and aspirations.

“The most important skill you can develop, not just to find a good job or have a nice career, but to live a fulfilling life, is to have some sort of practice where you’re actively listening to yourself,” he says. Whether through journaling, yoga, meditation, or regularly talking to people about larger questions, taking the time to reflect can help you stay true to what excites and motivates you.

“At the end of the day, the most important thing is that you’re true to yourself and that you can present yourself authentically and feel like what you do connects to you in a real way,” he says.

At Rochester, the German native forged her path to a career analyzing international relations in an interconnected world.

Lea Thome ’22 has lived all over the world, but Rochester, New York, holds a special place in her heart.

“Rochester is where I found myself and discovered what I wanted to do with my life,” 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 University of Rochester. After graduation, she returned to China for a year as a Schwarzman Scholar, earning a master’s 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 analyzes Chinese development finance issues and helps connect policymakers with data-driven research. Her work has appeared in such publications as The Hill, South China Morning Post, and The Diplomat. She also has written pieces for AidData on a Chinese-funded megaport in Peru, China’s custom inspection scanners, and on its mining operations in Peru and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Much of Thome’s analysis has focused on critical infrastructure and technologies, such as ports. “I grew up in Duisburg, home to one of the world’s largest inland ports,” she says. “That sparked my interest to study this.”

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.

“My 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’s student,” she says. “The 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.”

Two political science faculty members stood out: Hein Goemans and Randall Stone. In addition to taking their classes focused on international relations theory and international organization, Thome performed independent research on China’s rise in international relations under Goemans and worked at the University’s Skalny Center for Polish and Central European Studies 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,” she says. “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.”

Finding Rochester through word of mouth—while 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 ’19, who was studying international relations. Then, in Thome’s senior year of high school at LEAF,  she met another intern named Roland Naijuka ’22 who was accepted early decision to Rochester and ended up in the same class as Thome.

“I literally found Rochester through word of mouth,” she says.

Once on the River Campus, Thome founded the International Students’ Association (ISA) and became president of the Undergraduate Political Science and International Relations Council. ISA began as a Facebook group in 2020 when COVID-19 shut down much of the world. “It started as a resource for students to ask questions about visas and entering the US,” she says. “We formally made it a student organization, and I’m happy it’s still thriving.”

She also served as a senator in the Students’ Association Government, as student life committee chair, and as cochair of Senior Week, organizing the numerous activities leading up to Commencement. “It was important for me to be involved on campus,” 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. “Ultimately, 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,” she says.

While Thome made much of her time at Rochester, she wishes she had explored even more fields. “I took a lot of time to decide what I should major in,” she says. “I 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?”

She urges students to take advantage of the University’s signature flexible curriculum, while also using this special time in life for introspection.

“While some people may go on to do a master’s or doctoral degree, you are only in college once living, eating, and attending classes with your peers,” Thome says. “It’s 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.”

Krager shares takeaways for students and graduates who want to land a dream job after college.

As communications director for House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, Ian Krager ’22 interacts with the national media on a regular basis.

“My job is to be the spokesperson for an incredibly high-profile Member of Congress,” he says. “If any reporter wants to talk to Nancy Pelosi, they go through me.” He also pens all of Pelosi’s speeches and social media posts.

Krager, who grew up near Canandaigua, New York, and majored in political science, credits the University of Rochester with paving the way for his professional advancement. “I wouldn’t be where I am today if not for Rochester,” he says.

He shares these takeaways from his University experience to guide fellow Rochester students and graduates who are eager to forge successful careers after college.

Take advantage of Rochester’s flexible curriculum to explore opportunities.

Krager says one of the main attractions of Rochester was its signature flexible curriculum, which allowed him to study subjects that were appealing without getting bogged down by core requirements.

“It allowed me to take stock of what I was interested in beyond academics,” he says.  “I was really involved on campus in things like  Student Government, the Committee for Political Engagement, and also did a lot of work with the Admissions office. And in those roles, I built a lot of soft skills that were really applicable to the job that I have now —public speaking and collaborative skills, and even negotiation tactics in student government. Looking back, I don’t know how I would be successful now if not for those involvements.”

Keep your options open—even if that means zigzagging into a new career.

“My biggest advice is to not silo yourself into a career that you think you want without trying other things,” Krager says. “Be open to other things.”

He was a sophomore at Rochester when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020. “I had internships lined up, and everything just went away,” he says. “So, I reached out to several congressional offices. I said, ‘Hey, I’m around, and I’m not doing anything other than being a student online. I’d love to do anything for you that I can.’”

Krager ended up working as a press intern for US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) for six months. That experience opened the door to his first job with Pelosi. “It introduced me to the world of political communications in a way I hadn’t understood before because it was the first time I got to contribute to what goes on behind-the-scenes in an elected official’s press operation,” he says.

“You always think your career will be a linear path. Sometimes, the best opportunities come from a path you thought would be a step backward.”

Connecting with fellow alumni can mean tapping into their networks, too.

Krager recommends that students find common ground when reaching out to alumni to build their network.

“It’s harder to connect with people you have little in common with,” he says. “It’s much easier to say ‘You went to Rochester, I go to Rochester,’ and go from there.”

But, he advises, don’t just talk about the jobs they have. “Look at all the jobs they had before. They’ve met people in those jobs that they probably keep in touch with, and that could help you build your network.”

One University resource is The Meliora Collective, an online platform that allows members of the University of Rochester community—including alumni—to bond and explore opportunities for personal and professional development.

When it comes to networking, remember: Interested is interesting.

Krager adds that the best way to form a connection with someone is to be genuinely interested in the other person’s life, choices, perspectives, and career paths.

“The number one rule about networking is that everybody loves talking about themselves,” he says. “If you sit down with someone and say, ‘I would love for you to talk to me about your life and what you did to get to where you are now,’ they’re going to enjoy that. And then you ask them, ‘Do you have any advice for me at this stage in my career? I’m really hoping to get to where you are today.’”

Go beyond the job boards during your job hunt.

Students may think the only jobs available are ones that are posted. But Krager says that’s not always true.

“A lot of jobs aren’t advertised,” he says. “My current job was not advertised. It’s all about the network, because once people have you in mind for certain positions, they will keep you in mind for openings that aren’t necessarily ones that are going to be advertised.”

When you do apply for a specific opening, Krager says to pay attention to the job description. “What they’re saying in the job description is what they want you to say in the interview,” he says. “If they say they want a team player, give examples of when you worked within a team. If they want someone who works in high-intensity environments, talk about experiences you’ve had like that.”

Kindness goes a long way—in the professional world and beyond.

Being courteous to all could lead to good things down the road, according to Krager.

“Be kind, because you never know how anyone’s careers might progress,” he says. “The office intern you meet today could be the person who interviews you for your dream job in five years. Making every effort to bring kindness and respect to any professional relationship leaves a lasting impression on those you meet and will never be a bad approach.”