Sofia Andree ’18 always knew she wanted to work with children. It wasn’t until she was searching for colleges that she realized her true dream was to build her own organization to help children.
“In high school, I worked with single parents who had trouble finding child care. I wanted to make a program where I could build an organization that could help these single parents and their children.”
Luckily, she found Thomas College where she could study in its Childhood Management program.
“I could pair business with my love of education to create my own organization and solve this problem of a lack of child care.”
Now, Andree is a sophomore at Thomas and is already building herself as a successful student and future professional. Andree is an executive council member for JMG, a singer in the Music Club, the secretary of the International Club, a student ambassador, a work-study student in the Student Affairs Office, and an employee at the Dog Pound on campus.
Andree says she works about 39 hours per week total and is currently enrolled in six classes.
She says it’s worth it – and that her short time at Thomas has already made her grow and become more independent.
“I’ve always lived with my parents. When I came to Thomas, it was the first time I was away from home,” she said. “When I came here, I started off the year with a couple of finance problems. This is where it really helped me grow because I realized I needed to get a job and start focusing on school.”
“Being at Thomas has helped me become a leader, grow into myself, and make connections with other people,” said Andree.
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Andree was born in Russia and moved to the United States as a child with her family in 2005. After living in North Carolina for eight years, she moved to Lewiston, ME, for two years until coming to Thomas College last fall.
Andree says her favorite part of Thomas is the supportive faculty and staff.
Andree is a TRiO student, which is a part of student support services on campus. She says the staff members there are very helpful for her busy schedule and workload.
Andree also participated in the EDGE program, an early-start program for first-year students, and in Thomas’s MAY-Mester program, where students take an intensive course after spring semester.
Andree says she has a lot planned for after graduation. She hopes to move out of state for a while to build something in a more-populated area, but plans to move back to Maine to build something here and help people.
“I have a lot of family members here and a lot from my country; many who would benefit from something like this. I can’t wait to build something and make a difference.”