Sophia Pearl

Sophia Pearl started Russell Sage College as a Health Sciences major. While it turned out that wasn’t the 100% right match for her, it still led her to her perfect match: Nutrition Science.  

She credits two required Health Sciences courses — SCI 120-Nutrition Science and HSC 204-Health Professions — with the introduction. SCI 120 is designed to help students evaluate eating habits in terms of quantity and distribution of nutrients; HSC 204 included a registered dietician nutritionist among several guest speakers who spoke about their career paths within the health sciences.  

“I went home that summer and started caring about personal nutrition,” said Pearl, who has autoimmune conditions and discovered the impact that food has on how she feels. “I found my love for health, cooking, and nutrition and realized that that was my true calling.”

When she returned to RSC for sophomore year, she switched her major to Nutrition Science.  

“I am inspired every day by the nutrition faculty,” Pearl continued, adding extra appreciation for her advisor, Eileen Lindemann, RD, who emailed Pearl to congratulate her on her mid-semester grades shortly after she switched majors. “That made me feel supported and validated in my academic experience.” 

Another professor helped Pearl identify a resume-building experience in her hometown of Staten Island. 

Selina LaVista Preyer-Blakney, RDN, teaches NTR 211-Intro to Food Science at Sage. Preyer-Blakney is also education director at The Sylvia Center, a nonprofit that offers nutrition-focused programs for youth in New York City and New York’s Columbia County. 

Preyer-Blakney connected Pearl to the Sylvia Center’s chef, Sarah Kabalkin, and Pearl spent summer 2023 working alongside Kabalkin in Staten Island and helping underprivileged children learn about healthy eating and practical cooking skills. 

“I also volunteered with her in the community garden where I learned about urban agriculture, how to maintain a garden in the city, and even got down and dirty in the plant beds through planting and weeding,” said Pearl. She hopes to return to the center in 2024. “It was such a rewarding and educational experience.” 

Pearl is complementing her Nutrition Science major with a Women’s Studies minor and is a student-ambassador for The Women’s Institute at Russell Sage College. She recently organized a group from the Women’s Institute and RSC’s cheerleading team (she’s captain) to participate in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk in Albany. 

“We walked in solidarity with survivors and those whose lives were lost to breast cancer,” Pearl said. “Women’s health is a feminist issue!”

Pearl is also a NaviGator — or peer mentor —  at Sage, as well as treasurer and social media coordinator of the Queer Collective and a teaching assistant for Anatomy and Physiology. 

Her Nutrition Science major, Women’s Studies minor, and leadership activities are helping her prepare for her future career, she said.  “I hope to be a dietitian with a focus on fertility, hormones, and holistic approaches to healing.”