The Best and The Brightest of 2024
Sophia
Lin
Age 16
Junior
BASIS Scottsdale
Scottsdale
Sophia Lin has always had a passion for equity
and education, but during the COVID-19 pandemic she took action to support
students across Arizona. As cofounder of
the youth education service nonprofit iReach, Sophia has grown the organization
to 450 members, providing programming opportunities like summer camps and more
than 5,000 hours of tutoring for underserved students across our state.
“My parents, when they first came to
America, they really struggled with the funding aspect of education,” said
Sophia. “Seeing them work so hard to get to where they are now really made me
want to fight for other students who may not have access to opportunities.”
Sophia’s advocacy doesn’t stop there. She is
working with the AZ Governor’s Youth Commission (GYC) to bridge education gaps,
particularly in rural counties. She has hosted dance, art, and speech camps, and assisted with STEM,
Civics and financial literacy camps. She works closely with the AZ Board of
Regents, ASU, UofA and NAU’s financial aid offices to help students find the
right postsecondary education options.
Sophia is also heavily involved with Speech
and Debate, and showcased those skills when she gave a Tedx Talk in 2022 that
focused on racial stereotypes. She is a peer advocate on campus, and is
dedicated to finding data-driven solutions to social issues. She recently
worked with a Harvard professor to study suicide prevention, and is currently
researching machine-learning simulations and data analysis to improve high-school students’ engagement
and prevent high-school dropouts. In collaboration with an ASU professor
through the SCience and ENgineering Experience (SCENE) program, her goal is to influence education policy and build
long-term solutions.
“I truly believe youth voices are some of the
most influential voices we can have in our society,” she said.
Sophia plans to pursue higher education after
high school and eventually work in public policy.