Sophia Potalivo

On a path to medical school, Sophia has experienced bumps, especially the transition to a world-renowned university. “I had gone from the top of my class in high school to an average college student who was struggling. It was weird to feel like all the hard work I had done in high school had been wiped away and that I was starting over. However, as the year went on and more quarters passed, I realized that not everything from high school was gone. Working my way up had required a lot of discipline and by winter quarter I was able to achieve Provost Honors and have kept it ever since.”

Sophia is an uncommonly driven young woman who, the summer between freshman and sophomore year, wanted to “finally feel like I was doing something helpful. I decided to get my EMT license at the nationally recognized Ben Clark Training Center in a six-week program. The program was very intense, with three 12-hour days a week on top of homework, community service and clinicals. The material was all very important and it felt like there was not enough time to learn it. It was incredibly intense because once clinicals started the material was not just on paper but became life or death. Passing that course with an A was one of the greatest achievements of my life.”

Sophia is part of a group that is working on the development of EMT readiness on the UC San Diego campus similar to UC Berkeley or UCLA’s. She also volunteers for Fresh Start Surgical Gifts, which pairs doctors who are generous with their time and skills with disfigured individuals in the community who cannot afford such care. “Helping this program has changed my life and I would like to continue to volunteering with this program for the remainder of my time at UC San Diego,” says Sophia.

Meanwhile, she’s also pursuing fluency in French and American Sign Language because, “being able to communicate is an essential aspect of human existence. In addition, there are so many misconceptions that accompany ASL. I really want to work to understand not only the language but the culture that accompanies it as well.”