Class of 2014: Making Their Mark

Lendsey Achudi

A look at some of the students who, like so many of their classmates, have made the most of their experience at Rochester.
Lendsey Achudi: Securing the Global Village
By Julia Sklar ’14
Lendsey Achudi is like many college students, matriculating with one career path in mind and graduating with another, but what makes her unique was her journey to that end. As a Renaissance & Global Scholar from Kenya, Achudi had dreams of becoming an international diplomat focusing on security issues, so she chose an international relations major. A year in, Achudi began to wonder if, in the complex global world, whether textbook information from college would still be useful 10 years down the line in her career.
She obtained an internship at the United Nations’ headquarters in New York City in the hopes of gaining more practical experience. Achudi worked as the sole undergraduate and female intern for the Kenyan mission to the UN.
The work, drafting reports and preparing for meetings with high-ranking diplomats, turned Achudi into a veritably nomadic sophomore. She spent Wednesday through Saturday in New York City, flying back to Rochester for the remainder of the week.
“While [at the UN] I realized that there was a paradigm shift in the way international relations is being approached,” says Achudi. “Thanks to
the Internet, the world is now a global village. So for me to be an expert in international security, I have to understand how the Internet works. It is no longer about international security, but rather cyber security.”
Achudi’s aspirations have shifted again: she’d like to own a company offering cyber security solutions.
Looking back on her four years at Rochester, Achudi feels that she has gotten more out of the risks she has taken than anything else.
“There is a quote that a ship is safest in the harbor, but that is not what they’re built for—nothing could be more accurate,” she says. “There are risks that I take that lead to endless amazing opportunities. To me life is a huge experiment.”
In September, Achudi will begin work at Facebook. 



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