Hello, my name is Sofia, and I am a junior studying Finance and Marketing with an Economics minor! Before transferring into Pitt Business, I was interested in majoring in Environmental Studies in the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, and I am still looking to incorporate my passion for sustainability in my professional career. Last summer, I worked at a non-profit health insurance company supporting accounting procedures. It was through this that I found I enjoy the structure and passionate culture of non-profits. I also became interested in exploring other aspects of business, such as consulting and client-facing roles. 

Outside of work, I am a part of many clubs at Pitt. I currently serve as Treasurer for a service organization and also play volleyball, a sport I have immersed myself in for half my life. However, I find more and more that I enjoy plenty of hobbies alone outside of clubs, such as learning the guitar, a new language, going to the gym, and drawing. I also love traveling while trying new things, such as tasting (and cooking) traditional cuisine, exploring nature/hiking, and music. In the past, I have been to Old San Juan on a family trip, where we visited historical sites and a nearby tropical rainforest, which I loved. 

I am thrilled to partner with Caras Con Caras, which I feel is at the perfect intersection of my interests in the environment, non-profits, consulting, and new experiences traveling! This is the very reason I am interested in this program, and I have developed some goals for this experience. The first is to learn inside the classroom about client relationships and further develop soft skills while working on our deliverables throughout the semester. I am excited to be a part of a team of three going to Puerto Rico, as I am eager to gain more experience in a smaller-knit team. Through this, I hope to gain unique professional exposure that will give me a new worldview. My goal is to leverage the adaptability of a service-learning project while gaining hands-on experience building client relationships in person. I aim to achieve the outlined expectations in our Scope of Work and tailor our work to fit their needs.

I am most excited for my growth beyond the usual academic and professional perspectives that I have in other classes. During my trip to San Juan, I plan to keep an open mind and discover love for new foods (I hope to try mofongo and pernil), new music, new dances, and immerse myself as much as possible in their culture. I also plan to take plenty of pictures to remember any historical sites and memories I make! Through these experiences, I hope to make real connections with the people I work with there, as well as practice my Spanish-speaking skills in real time. I believe that from talking to others about their stories, I might be able to gain insight into the complex political climate influenced by Hurricane Maria and the US. My overarching aspirations for this course are to grow in empathy, laughter, leadership, and knowledge to become someone that others can depend on to make the world a better place.