Sonya Soni
Sonya Soni, a peer health educator for Health Promotion and Prevention Services, demonstrates her devotion to service through her extensive community involvement and sensitivity toward others.
“Sonya exemplifies the spirit of community service and giving,” says Megan Davis, health educator in Health Promotion and Prevention Services. “She is the most devoted, community-focused student with whom I’ve had the pleasure of working.”
A senior from Newport Beach, California, Sonya is a health promotion and disease prevention major minoring in bioethics. She is involved in a variety of organizations on campus including Mortar Board Senior Honors Society, Blue Key Honors Society, Hindu Student Organization, Center for Excellence in Teaching, Health Promotion Student Association, Helenes and Troy Camp. She is also a Southern California Indo Americans Culture show dancer.
As the Mortar Board Honor Society's co-calendar chair, Sonya is creating their annual USC student planner and organizing a fundraiser for the Red Cross Measles Initiative. As a peer health educator, she provides anonymous HIV testing and counseling and helps walk-in clients obtain accurate health information and resources.
“Sonya intuitively responds to community needs and concerns with a humanitarian approach, and repeatedly and unconsciously puts the needs of others before her own,” says Davis. “She easily connects with clients, creating a comforting atmosphere during appointments that often foster trepidation.”
After she graduates this May, Sonya plans to participate in a United Nations Fellowship in Geneva, Switzerland, return to school to obtain a master’s degree in public health and then attend medical school. Her goal is to become a public health pediatrician for children in third world countries and create a network of free health clinics around the world for under-served populations. In the future, Sonya would also like to volunteer for Doctors Without Borders and the World Health Organization.
“There are few universities in the nation that feed students’ dual passions for both serving the local community and being exposed to global issues,” says Sonya. “USC's interconnectedness and civic commitment to both the surrounding and international spheres have inspired me to dedicate my life toward serving those in need both at home and abroad.”