Sophia Flores

2023 Boren Scholar, 2023 Gilman Scholarship Recipient

Hometown

Indianapolis, IN

Major

Wildlife

College

College of Agriculture

 

Showing up at NISO Week in fall 2022, Sophia Flores knew the direction that she wanted her education to take her.  Already several weeks into her junior year, Sophia saw herself going to Tanzania for the next step in her personal and professional development. 

 

Not only did she move quickly to meet the fall application deadline for the Gilman Scholarship in pursuing study abroad in Tanzania, but she expanded her vision to include applying to the Boren Scholarship. While the former is committed to sending American students of limited financial means from all backgrounds to study abroad, the latter requires a commitment to national security, which is broadly defined, and one year of Federal Government work.  

 

From the beginning, Sophia applied her research skills and self-awareness to the task of finding the right study abroad program. Although she had studied Spanish more recently as a sophomore, her interest in field research, wildlife behavior, and conservation led her to embrace the region of East Africa and Swahili, which as a critical need language qualifies for additional funding through the Gilman Scholarship. 

 

Sophia sees Peace Corps as a natural fit with her interests in agroforestry and East Africa, in part because 45 percent of Peace Corps volunteers serve in sub-Saharan Africa.  In addition to eyeing opportunities in international fieldwork when joining the federal workforce, Sophia is motivated to pursue graduate programs that would maintain her language skills in Swahili and allow her to specialize in wildcat behavior. 

 

A trailblazer both literally and figuratively, Sophia is equally adept at engaging in community and seeks to encourage minorities to work in the field of natural resources. in Tanzania, Sophia saw the opportunity to grow in relationship to communities of humans and wildlife through the Wildlife Management study abroad program.  Focusing on the land they share, Sophia will pursue her research from where she makes a new home at the Moyo Hill Camp, Tanzania.