Alumni
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Sophie Goddyn
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Sophie’s passion for social justice began in the third grade, writing math problems for the boy who sat next to her in class. He had Down syndrome, and he became one of her closest friends. With the help of her new friend and his family, Sophie began her service endeavors volunteering her first of six years at Bike First!, a camp in which she taught children with disabilities how to ride two-wheel bikes. This program fostered her passion for advocating for those with disabilities.
It was not until high school that she found a way to truly act upon this passion. Sophie’s freshman year of high school, she co-founded the Northwest Down Syndrome Association (NWDSA) Teen Board, an avenue for teens with and without disabilities to encourage widespread inclusion of those with disabilities in the middle and high-school-aged communities. She also served for three years as the Youth Commissioner on the Portland Commission on Disability (PCoD), a city advisory commission under the Office of Equity and Human Rights, overseen by the mayor. Her junior and senior years of high school, Sophie became more involved with the All Born (In) cross-disability conference at NWDSA. She joined the Public Outreach and Awareness subcommittee for PCoD, enabling her to serve as a liaison to youth-focused organizations in Portland. She helped coordinate events and outreach, and form connections with various marginalized communities.
At Vanderbilt, Sophie became a part of the Grassroots service organization, where she tutors immigrant refugee children at McMurray Middle School every week. She has become a leader in Vanderbilt Students of Nonviolence, in which she and her peers campaigned for Vanderbilt to cut ties with Teach for America, and to stop outsourcing custodial workers to Aramark. She began to dip her toes into the Nashville disability rights advocacy community, and hopes to delve deeper her sophomore year. She also hopes to become more involved in LGBTQIA rights in Nashville. Sophie cannot wait to find more and more ways to apply the invaluable lessons she has learned through Ingram to serve the greater Nashville, Portland and global communities.