Lea Paige Johanning ’23, Student

Lea Paige Johanning ’23, a sociology major with a minor in psychology will complete her coursework at Bloomfield College in December 2022. She has also played defense on the BC Women’s Soccer team all four years of her studies at the College. Amongst her peers, and faculty and staff, alike, she is known for her big personality and her TikTok videos that have gone viral. In addition, she plays on a semi-pro soccer team.

“I have played soccer since I was 7 or 8 years old,” said Lea. “When choosing a college, my biggest criteria was to receive an offer of admission to play soccer. Bloomfield gave me the best offer across all the other schools where I applied. But, what was also important to me was that I could take art classes as a non-art major, and Bloomfield offered this opportunity as well.”

Lea explained that the course flexibility at Bloomfield was very important to her. “Art is a hobby of mine, and I was able to take art classes here. At many colleges, art courses are reserved strictly for art majors. Soccer first attracted me to Bloomfield, but the ability to take art classes finalized my decision.”

As a student-athlete, Lea said she has benefited from several perks. “As an athlete, I had to participate in pre-season activities which required me to move into housing earlier than the majority of the other students. This made move-in less stressful. There were less people in the hallways and less people in the elevator. Faster move-in all around,” she said. “The ability to meet new people and make new friends during pre-season has also been great. I get to know the sports team students two weeks in advance of the start of classes. It is such a relaxed way to begin a semester, where you only have practices and events to attend, and academic responsibilities have not yet started. In many ways, pre-season feels like attending camp and has always been my favorite part of the year.”

While soccer and academics does not free up much time, Lea has been able to eek out a bit of time to volunteer with a number of departments. Through Athletics, she has stepped up to give tours and provide information to prospective student-athletes. Her TikTok experience landed her an invitation to serve as a student spokesperson in a College Giving Day video. And, she has volunteered to participate in a number of alumni events.

“As I near graduation, I can say that I have really enjoyed the small class sizes at Bloomfield. You can really establish good relationships with the faculty and it is so much easier to learn in a smaller classroom with less students to compete with when asking questions. Faculty are also very good at teaching us what we are supposed to know. One of my favorite professors is Dr. Esmail Bagheri-Najmi, my program chair and advisor. He has always been very understanding when his students face obstacles. He goes beyond to help us, offering to help no matter what.”

In her last semester this fall, Lea plans to take a piano class, something she has always wanted to do. “Again, at Bloomfield, I don’t need to be a music major to be able to take a piano class. I am grateful for my experience here and for having made forever friends at Bloomfield,” she said. “I have also loved that I can walk to everything on this campus, and don’t really need a car to go to a restaurant or food stores. The train station so close to campus has also been ideal for going into the City.”

After graduation, Lea plans to attend law school and has her sights on becoming a divorce attorney. As a lifelong soccer player, she is hopeful that the semi-pro soccer team she currently plays with will be made a pro team. “I hope to play with them for a long time,” she said.