Sophia is a freshman at Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Science, a four-year engineering program that has a 300-student class size. Sophia will be studying chemical engineering with a concentration in data and computational science with a minor in economics.
Sophia is an active community member with significant work experience and a diverse STEM background. Throughout past summers, Sophia has interned with the headquarters of BlackRock Aladdin Engineering, the software that manages 11 trillion in assets, or rather, 7% of the world’s wealth. Sophia has investigated the role ofIL33 cytokine in fibrotic scarring in adult mouse tendons as an employee at the Huang Laboratory at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Further, Sophia has conducted financial research as a board intern for the healthcare technology services firm Health Data Movers.
Sophia attended Hunter College High School from 7th to 12th grade. During this time, she served as the Student CEO of her school’s Rock the Street, Wall Street; a program where female representatives from JPMorgan teach weekly lessons for female-identifying high school students on financial literacy and investing. Inspired by her work with this program, Sophia initiated Wall Street Firms for Girls, an informational podcast for high school and college girls where women professionals from Wall Street firms are interviewed on the inner workings of their positions and offer advice on their careers. With this project, she has interviewed and met with female executives with careers ranging from partners of multi-billion dollar fixed-income asset management firms to directors of communication. She still continues this project today, partnering with various financial networks for press and sponsorship and attending national conferences to share her work.
Further, Sophia was the founder and Co-Editor in Chief of The Lab Notebook, Hunter’s only scientific research publication featuring new research that students have either contributed to or feel significantly impacts the local community. TLN has most notably been featured as the American Scholastic Association Contest’s Most Outstanding High School Literary-Art Magazine for 2023. Additionally, Sophia participated in the Hunter Scholars Program, for which she was the Student Leader of Hunter’s advanced Science Research Seminar Program. Outside of her STEM and financial interests, Sophia served as a board member and president of multiple cultural clubs.
Sophia is an alumnus of the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth. She participated in the program for four years at the Bristol location, taking classes in Mathematics of Volatile Market, Physics of Engineering, Biomedical Science, and Forensics Science.
Sophia took the AP classes for AP Chemistry, AP Physics C: Mechanics, AP Biology, AP Calc BC, and AP Macro/Micro. She additionally received a 36 on her ACT. Sophia has experience as a tutor and has been helping students prepare for the math portion of the Hunter Entrance Exam since 2019. She is additionally familiar with the study materials for other exams, including the ACT and PSAT. During her free time, Sophia enjoys writing music, baking, playing piano, and swimming.