By Kaili Chiang
Sophia Garofalo is currently a Grade Twelve student who is a passionate participant in Collingwood’s public speaking program. Throughout her time at Collingwood, she has written a number of incredibly memorable and meaningful pieces that she has delivered to the school, consistently winning awards for these amazing performances.
Sophia was born in Toronto and grew up there before coming to Vancouver. She still loves returning to Toronto to see her family when she has the chance. Outside of school and the literary arts, Sophia also stays very active in athletics. She takes part in competitive soccer, as well as in volleyball and working out, even taking on the role of a co-coach for a soccer team. In her spare time, Sophia enjoys baking and cooking, and of course, she loves spending time with puppies!
Coming to Collingwood in Grade Eight, Sophia immediately made an impact on the public speaking program at the school with her incredible speech entitled, “Like a Girl.” Reflecting back on this, it stands out to her - not as the best piece of writing she’s created, but rather as an experience that took her outside of her comfort zone. Sophia especially enjoys writing because it allows her to share her opinions without the fear of judgement from others. She says that it consistently provides her with opportunities to learn about others as well.
In terms of inspiration, there is no single person that has inspired Sophia. However, she is grateful for all of the teachers and mentors that she has encountered throughout high school that have helped her to grow as a writer. She also finds inspiration in social justice activists and movements and often finds herself writing about these. Many of her speeches have contained powerful feminist messages that truly inspire and empower her audiences.
After graduation this year, Sophia doesn’t have long-term plans for the future, but she will be pursuing psychology for her undergraduate degree. She agrees that even though she isn’t going into writing directly, she will definitely be putting her writing skills to use for essays in the coming years at university! We wish Sophia all the best in her future endeavors and in taking her next steps beyond Collingwood.
Sophia Garofalo is currently a Grade Twelve student who is a passionate participant in Collingwood’s public speaking program. Throughout her time at Collingwood, she has written a number of incredibly memorable and meaningful pieces that she has delivered to the school, consistently winning awards for these amazing performances.
Sophia was born in Toronto and grew up there before coming to Vancouver. She still loves returning to Toronto to see her family when she has the chance. Outside of school and the literary arts, Sophia also stays very active in athletics. She takes part in competitive soccer, as well as in volleyball and working out, even taking on the role of a co-coach for a soccer team. In her spare time, Sophia enjoys baking and cooking, and of course, she loves spending time with puppies!
Coming to Collingwood in Grade Eight, Sophia immediately made an impact on the public speaking program at the school with her incredible speech entitled, “Like a Girl.” Reflecting back on this, it stands out to her - not as the best piece of writing she’s created, but rather as an experience that took her outside of her comfort zone. Sophia especially enjoys writing because it allows her to share her opinions without the fear of judgement from others. She says that it consistently provides her with opportunities to learn about others as well.
In terms of inspiration, there is no single person that has inspired Sophia. However, she is grateful for all of the teachers and mentors that she has encountered throughout high school that have helped her to grow as a writer. She also finds inspiration in social justice activists and movements and often finds herself writing about these. Many of her speeches have contained powerful feminist messages that truly inspire and empower her audiences.
After graduation this year, Sophia doesn’t have long-term plans for the future, but she will be pursuing psychology for her undergraduate degree. She agrees that even though she isn’t going into writing directly, she will definitely be putting her writing skills to use for essays in the coming years at university! We wish Sophia all the best in her future endeavors and in taking her next steps beyond Collingwood.
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The link to a video of Sophia's speech during Public Speaking Day can be found below: