Sophanit Getahoun
Inderkum High School Graduate 2018
Student at UC Berkeley
Intern for Facebook, Summer 2020
Sophanit (Sophie) Getahoun, a 2018 graduate of Inderkum High School (IHS), is beaming with pride these days. “I brag about Inderkum at UC Berkeley all the time. I tell people that there is no other place like the diversity that I had when I attended Inderkum, and for that, I am much more prepared for an environment like Cal.” In her second year at UC Berkeley, Sophie says she was extremely active during her four years of high school, including being in the IB program, sports, and extracurricular activities. She believes all of that in addition to being actively involved in the College and Career Readiness (CCR) Leadership Team where she received mentoring and support from Jameel Pugh, IHS’s College and Career Counselor, helped her to get where she is today.
When Sophie applied to Berkeley, she said it was on a whim, and she didn’t think she would get in, especially as a student coming from a modest immigrant family from Ethiopia without advantages affluent students might have. “I always wanted to go to a prestigious university. I knew the importance of education and the positive impact it could have on my life, but I didn’t think I would get into my top choice.” Just one year after Sophie was accepted to her top choice, her younger sister, also an IHS grade, followed her footsteps and became a Cal Bear too.
Good news keeps coming Sophie’s way. She learned earlier this year that she was accepted into the Haas School of Business, one of Berkeley’s hardest programs to get into with a mere 13% acceptance rate. If that isn’t enough, she was also selected for a highly competitive internship with Facebook where she will be working in the global business division with a focus on sales and advertising. When asked about her plans after completing her education, she shares, “Hopefully I will be able to continue with Facebook; however, my end goal is to put human rights and sustainability at the forefront of business. Life is short, so I want to do it all.” And we are confident that she will.
#NUSDstrong #NatomasUnified #NUSDalumni #InderkumGrad
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