En Garde! A Top Fencer and Student Forges Ahead

By: Maisie O'Brien

Lea Levi, A24, AG25, loves working at the edge of what is possible. As a graduate student in the Math Department, a classically trained pianist and composer, and captain of the fencing team, she has found countless opportunities to test and develop her many talents at Tufts.

She is earning a fifth-year master’s degree in math, a subject she has always been drawn to. “I love solving complex problems and looking at things in an analytical way,” she says. “Math can answer so many questions; it can explain the world to you.”

Levi has particularly enjoyed her courses in applied math, which involve using mathematical formulas to solve problems in a variety of fields. For example, she took a course entitled Mathematical Neuroscience that involves modeling brain waves. “It expanded my understanding of what math can do,” she says. Levi also enjoyed her courses in bioinformatics, cryptography, and quantum computing.

“One thing that’s great about Tufts is you can take these really fascinating electives that professors teach just because they’re interested in the topic,” she says. “We get to learn about their research and work outside of the classroom. It’s really fascinating, innovative stuff.”

As a graduate student, Levi is focusing on data analysis. She is employing predictive modeling, statistical analysis, and computer programming to solve real-world problems. “Academically, I don’t think there’s anything I love as much as looking at data,” she says. “It’s like solving a puzzle and trying to uncover stories hidden in the numbers.”

Levi has completed three internships during her time at Tufts, all of which focused on data analysis. As part of an internship at Liberty Mutual Insurance, she worked on an AI chatbot and an AI tool to determine fault in car accidents. After graduation, she hopes to secure a data science position working with new technologies.

Throughout her time at Tufts, Levi has received support and guidance from her academic advisor, Professor of Mathematics Christoph Börgers. “I met Lea when she was a first year in my introductory calculus course,” he says. “It was a huge class, so I didn’t know every student, but I knew Lea because she was very talkative and a very good student.”

Last fall, Levi approached Börgers about writing a thesis. She hadn’t planned to write one, but an impromptu debate with her housemate about boiling eggs piqued her curiosity. “We were discussing different heating and cooling methods for making the perfect boiled egg, and I realized there’s math to be done here. It’s funny to me that this could be a math problem. Math is all around us!”

She was weeks behind the deadline to declare a thesis and Börgers cautioned her it would be difficult to catch up. “Lea is smart though and she was able to get up to speed,” he says. “It is the most charming master’s thesis topic. She is using differential equations of heat transport to solve the problem and a lot of complex math, while running experiments from her kitchen. She is an extraordinarily independent student. It’s what I find most impressive about her.”

“I’ve always been driven and intrinsically motivated,” Levi says. “Anyone who knows me knows that I work very hard. When I start something, I go all in. I think it’s because of how my parents raised me and seeing how hard they work.” Levi is particularly inspired by her mother who founded a successful hazardous material inspection and abatement business.

Levi is also a classically trained pianist and composer. She attended the Manhattan School of Music during high school and began taking music courses when she arrived at Tufts, ultimately earning a BA in Music along with a BS in Math. This spring, she is performing in a piano recital playing pieces by Chopin and Albéniz.

Levi’s other primary passion is fencing. It is her fifth year on the Tufts Women’s Fencing Team and she has valued the comradery and friendships she has gained through the sport. As a graduate student and decorated captain of the team, she serves as a mentor to the younger players. “There are so many first-years on the team,” she says. “They call me ‘Grandma’ and ‘Mama Duck.’ We have such a strong bond because fencing is an intense sport. We’re literally dueling each other. You end up getting very close.”

Fencing Coach Jason Sachs has valued Levi’s leadership of the team. “When I joined the team last year, Lea was tremendously helpful in the transition from one coach to another,” he says. “She’s a great fencer and natural leader. She’s impeccably organized and makes every practice. She’ll put herself out there and look out for the younger members, so everyone feels comfortable. The world would be a better place with more Lea’s in it.”