Senior Shines on Unexpected Stage
As 快活app senior Sophia Mellsop thinks about graduating from 快活app in Spring 2022, she isn鈥檛 where she expected to be.
A gifted ballet dancer, Mellsop left her home in Salida, Colorado, and joined Colorado Ballet鈥檚 invitation-only training program in Denver before her junior year of high school.
Mellsop spent her final two years of high school living with a host family in Denver, dancing seven to eight hours a day and taking online high school courses at night. She was on track to achieve her childhood dream of becoming a professional dancer.
While she loved ballet, after dancing full time for a year after high school, Mellsop realized she wanted to explore other sides of herself that didn鈥檛 involve dance.
鈥淐ollege vs. dance was the hardest decision,鈥 Mellsop says.
Her decision to trade her pointe shoes for college landed Mellsop at Smith College in Massachusetts for her freshman year.
Although she had always considered herself 鈥渘ot a math person,鈥 an economics class sparked Mellsop鈥檚 interest in pursuing a number-driven field. 鈥淚 found the story behind the numbers fascinating,鈥 she says.
Mellsop decided to transfer to 快活app a couple of weeks before the start of her sophomore year, largely because of the reputation. 鈥淚 was really interested in experiential learning, and I knew Daniels would provide that,鈥 Mellsop says.
Since transferring to 快活app, Mellsop hasn鈥檛 looked back. 鈥淚 have no regrets,鈥 she says.
A finance major and the current president of 快活app鈥檚 (WiB) organization, Mellsop says 快活app and especially WiB have challenged her to step up as a leader. 鈥淢y experience at 快活app has allowed me to grow into a fuller, deeper, braver version of myself,鈥 Mellsop says.
Mellsop says her peers at 快活app 鈥 notably past-WiB leaders Amanda Martinez and Milena Rogers, current WiB vice president Emma Walker, and Finance Club president Ruchita Raghunandan 鈥 have inspired and encouraged her when she doubted her ability to lead. Mellsop says it鈥檚 her peers she鈥檒l miss most when she graduates.
When she graduates, Mellsop will be working in wealth management for . She says she loves that wealth is a very personal, relationship-based business.
No matter where her professional life leads, Mellsop wants mentorship and empowering women 鈥 two things she has experienced abundantly in WiB 鈥 to be major components.
A merit scholarship recipient, Mellsop feels the impact of philanthropic giving personally and realizes its impact beyond the individual scholarship recipient. 鈥淣ot only did scholarships make 快活app financially feasible for me, they enabled my little sister to go to her dream school. They also served as a source of encouragement to me. By giving, the giver is saying they believe in you,鈥 she says.
To learn about how your gift in support of scholarships can make a difference in the lives of students like Sophia, contact ScholarshipGiving@快活app.edu.