Pursuing Their Passions: Class of 2022

As the academic year begins, we welcome the class of 2022 by introducing just a handful of its members.

Olivia Alger is an English major from Lake Bluff, Illinois, just outside of Chicago. She says that despite getting rejection letters when she applied for college as a high school senior, she didn't let it discourage her. She took a gap year, part of which she spent in France teaching refugees, an experience that was not without its challenges, but one she loved. Having found a passion for writing from an early age, she came across Rochester and found immediate support for her goals and aspirations and is excited to find a new community from the diverse campus here.

Lucy Farnham grew up right here in Rochester, attending Wilson Magnet High School, where she took part in the International Baccalaureate program. She plans to major in Spanish, and possibly Japanese as a second major. The international makeup of campus and the Rochester Curriculum were big draws for her, allowing her to explore what most interests her and her love of different cultures. She says that although her mother attended college, she never finished, so being the first in her family to earn a college degree would be an honor for her, and for her parents who have been a huge support in getting here.

Adrian Jackson is from Austin, Texas and is a viola performance major at the Eastman School of Music. He didn't start playing the viola until the middle of his freshman year in high school, but with some hard work, he managed to land at the Interlochen Center for the Arts, and ultimately get accepted at Eastman. He's the first in his family to attend college and says coming to Eastman is a dream come true, to be able to perform the classical repertoire that has become his passion.

Befikadu Mekonnen is a biomedical engineering major from Nazaret, Ethiopia. His connection to the University goes back a few years when a mysterious illness left him and his parents searching for answers and not finding many, until he met Dr. RIck Hodes, a 1982 graduate of the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. Dr. Hodes lives and works in Ethiopia, and turned out to be one of the few people able to diagnose Befikadu with rhabdomyosarcoma of the orbit, a type of cancer in his eye. Thanks to Dr. Hodes and the tests done at the URMC pathology department, Befikadu got his life saving treatment in the US. He says that connection led him here, where he hopes to study medicine and help people, just like Dr. Hodes helped him.

Prajita Shrestha is an epidemiology major from Kathmandu, Nepal. She comes to Rochester as a Handler Scholar, hoping to learn more about public health and upon graduation, return to Nepal where she can help improve the healthcare system there and people's understanding of things like preventative medicine and overall health. She also sited the open curriculum at the University as a major factor in coming here, and the opportunity to study public health as an undergraduate. She is also considering a second major in either data science or economics.

Subscribe to the University of Rochester on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZRLVZGCUZWYUEj2XQlFPyQ
Follow the University of Rochester on Twitter: https://twitter.com/UofR
Be sure to like the University of Rochester on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/University.of.Rochester/