Earning Her Stars and Stripes

Rohrer shared her experience gaining U.S. citizenship, a process that included waiting for a green card, receiving approval from the German government to take on dual citizenship, plenty of waiting, and a reading, writing and U.S civics test before being sworn in in Philadelphia this past December.

Rohrer is an international relations and politics double major and is also active in other politically affiliated organizations on campus such as the Model U.N., International Relations Club and Ursinus Democrats Club. She is also one of the first 10 Melrose Fellows, joining at the group’s inception in her sophomore year. Melrose Fellows share a goal of fostering an ongoing service commitment that puts the ideals of global and civic service into practice.

As someone who grew up and was educated in Europe and the United States, Rohrer has a unique perspective on the political landscape of the world.

“I think politics is the number one thing that impacts our lives and most people don’t realize it. Everything that we do and everything that is in the world has to do something with politics, your healthcare has to do with politics, education has to do with politics, it all comes down to people that make the decisions about it,” Rohrer shares, “I want to get more into advocacy. I don’t want to say that I can solve all these problems, because most of the time you can’t solve them yourself, but I want to help spark change.”

While her day-to-day life hasn’t changed much since becoming a U.S. citizen, Rohrer has made one major difference since gaining citizenship.

“I was not able to vote, and I immediately signed up when I could,” she explained, stressing the importance of others being well-informed and active voters.

Rohrer is now looking at jobs in Washington, D.C., as well as some back home in Germany and in Switzerland in hopes of launching a career in politics. –By Mary Lobo’15