Sophia
Student Ambassador
she/her/hers
Hometown: Denver, CO
Year: Senior
Major: Environmental Engineering
Certificates: Environmental Students, International Engineering
Involvement: Greek Life, Engineers Without Borders, Bradley Learning Community, Society of Women in Engineering, Environmental Science Club, Environmental Engineering Club, Track Club, Field Hockey Club Team, Part-Time Research


When I was choosing where to attend college I knew I really wanted to explore as many new things and have as many new experiences as possible and that led me to the decision to go out of state, and with that I knew I wanted a large school, a sports enthusiasm to match my family’s, a strong engineering program, seasons —so I could still have snow, and the opportunity to study abroad as an environmental engineer and I found that all when looking at UW–Madison.
I think what sets UW–Madison apart from other schools is the dedication to have a balanced undergraduate experience. Everyone I know is very dedicated to their academics, their major, and any career driven clubs they’re involved in; but we all balance that with fun clubs like Cheese Club or Sports Clubs, and overall celebrating our sports teams and going to campus events. I think it’s especially a social campus, and I’ll walk anywhere and end up running into at least two people I know somehow and you’ll just talk in the middle of the sidewalk for forever or wave across the street after yelling someone’s name so they can hear you through their headphones.
My advice to #FutureBadgers is to think about what you want to experience in college. It’s a new place — no matter if you’re out of state or from Madison, it’s still a new experience, so think about what that means to you whether that’s clubs, sports, different major opportunities, or delving deep into research.