“Be the change you want to see.” A quote from senior Sophia Espaillat. Most know her as the captain of the color guard, leading the team through each stellar performance, but the senior also has a love for helping others.
Espaillat’s mother inspired this mindset; as a nurse, she helps people every single day. Her mother was also extremely supportive of all activities the senior wanted to try; Sophia remarks, “I have so much respect for her.” The senior always knew she also wanted to be a nurse. Specifically, she feels that she has a calling for women’s health and wants to produce good and impactful change.
She will begin the University of Pittsburgh Nursing program next fall. Similar to the way she did with nursing, she fell in love with the campus. Espaillat explains that she fell in love both with the environment at the school and its extensive number of opportunities for growth in her field. She enjoys meeting new people, which the senior feels is possible within Pitt due to the student’s pride in their school.
Sophia believes in the importance of helping people, not only as a future nurse but also as a co-captain of the school’s Color Guard. She began this activity in eighth grade because she knew it would become a fun way to meet new people and hang out with her friends. With her captain position, Sophia embraces the opportunity to impact others by being a leader to the underclassmen.
Last year, she led the team to a special award for being the best guard team, as well as a second-place title for the band and guard. When she leaves the high school, Espaillat will miss the adrenaline rush that comes with walking on the field to perform.
Her advice to the underclassmen is to just enjoy yourself and put yourself out there. Referring to Metuchen High School, the senior states, “as small as we are, there are so many things to try.” She explains that trying new things is brave and could benefit you in the future. She uses the color guard as an example of this: she tried it in the eighth-grade winter color guard and fell in love with the activity. Some of her favorite memories of Metuchen High School are her eleventh-grade English class with Mr. Levy as well as last year’s prom. Espaillat continues to show her love for her friends and meeting new people. We wish luck to Sophia in all of her future endeavors!
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