2019-23 High School Academics & Activities

Lone Peak High School (Highland, Utah)

In high school, Sofia Detjen was a leader on the Draper City Mayor’s Youth Council and the Salt Lake County Youth Government, where she organized numerous service projects for her city, collaborated with elected officials at the Utah Capitol through Local Officials Day, and advocated within municipal government for her peers. She was also a Youth Diplomat at the Utah Council for Citizen Diplomacy. Volunteering with the U.S. Department of State's International Visitor Leadership Program, she welcomed foreign leaders to Utah while conducting service projects, attending lectures, and practicing diplomacy simulations. Empowered by her experience, Sofia founded and led Citizen Diplomacy, a growing club at her school designed to involve like-minded students in civil discourse, foreign affairs, and cross-cultural service. Additionally, Sofia served as a member of the Hope Squad to combat youth suicide and depression; and participated in the Harvard Undergraduate International Relations Scholars Program (HUIRSP)—the top international relations scholar summer program for high school students in the world—in 2021 as a student and 2022 as a Harvard Undergraduate Foreign Policy Initiative HUIRSP Ambassador. She had the opportunity to learn from former Secretary of State Dr. Henry Kissinger and Harvard Professor of Government Dr. Graham Allison.

In 2023 during her senior year, Sofia was publicly recognized by Deseret News and KSL Broadcast Group by being awarded the 2023 Sterling Scholar for Instrumental Music for the pursuit of excellence in scholarship, leadership, and citizenship in the State of Utah. After presenting an all-encompassing portfolio of her work in Instrumental Music, she was evaluated via in-depth interviews with judging panels in the category's field over four months at the high school, semi-final, and finals levels, winnowed down from 80 of Utah's best music scholars.

Despite the disruptions of 2020, Sofia served as an intern for the Women Tech Council throughout the summer, a group dedicated to representing women in STEM and providing mentorship from leaders in companies like Goldman Sachs and Adobe. From attending technical conferences to representing organizations at her school, she worked to combine practical experiences with her academics — while seeking to include and empower others in the process.