Sophia Witola Reyes

Sophia Witola Reyes is a senior studying Bioengineering with a minor in Computer Science.
Sophia’s been active in the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) since her freshman
year, and currently serves as President. She’s been able to contribute to initiatives spanning
High School Visitations, National & Regional engagement, community service, advocacy,
mentorship and Queen Bees.
Sophia also serves as a Peer-Led Team facilitator for PHYS 211 & PHYS 100 through the
Center for Academic Resources in Engineering (CARE). As a member of the Morrill Engineering
Program (MEP) she has contributed to Welcoming Committee and EMBARK, supporting the
recruitment and retention of underrepresented students in engineering.
Sophia is also very passionate about biomedical research. She works at the Carl R. Woese
Institute for Genomic Biology on automated protein engineering and previously developed
accessible nutrition software at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications. Last
summer, she was also a Mayo Clinic & Illinois Alliance Summer Undergraduate Research
Fellow, conducting immunology research aimed at improving diagnostic approaches for chronic
pain conditions. She hopes to pursue an MD-PhD to continue bridging medicine and technology
in meaningful ways.
Outside of engineering, Sophia enjoys long runs with her friends, curating playlists on Spotify,
writing Goodreads & Letterboxd reviews and frequenting cafes.
Sophia would like to extend her deepest gratitude to her mentors, friends, family, and peers who
have poured into her daily and shown her unconditional love and support. She is a proud
product of what it means to take a chance on someone, and she carries that same belief
forward in everything she does.