We’ve been fortunate to have so many accomplished and interesting people walk through our doors. Every month, IEA highlights one of our program alumni to let the community know what they’ve been up to. This month, we caught up with 2005 CDB alumni, Sophia Barron (née Bernazzani.)
What are some educational, personal and professional highlights and/or accomplishments of yours since graduating from high school?
I can’t believe it’s been more than 10 years now since I graduated from Andover! Since then, I graduated from George Washington University in Washington, D.C., where I was able to gain unique work experience at various internships at national and global nonprofits and NGOs before I entered the working world.Since graduating from college, I’ve worked in content and product marketing at tech companies including 2U Inc. and HubSpot, and I currently work at Owl Labs, where we make intelligent 360° video conferencing cameras to support hybrid collaboration (which has become extremely important in the last year).
After living and working in Washington, D.C. and Denver, Colorado after college, I moved back to the Boston area five years ago, and my husband and I got married and moved into our first home together in 2020.
What is a favorite IEA/CDB memory?
I have so many wonderful memories from my time as a CDB Scholar, and now, a CDB alum.
During my senior year of high school, the annual CDB seminar was held in Cambridge, MA, and everyone participated in an incredibly challenging and fun scavenger hunt that I still remember when I’m trying to find my way around a new part of the city. At another seminar as an alum, we celebrated the 20th anniversary of IEA at the Barder House in Pasadena, and it was so powerful and humbling to hear from IEA founders, staff, and benefactors and see the impact IEA has had on so many kids and families over the years.
On a more personal level, I attended my first CDB wedding in 2019, and it was so fun to celebrate such an important milestone with friends I’ve had for almost 15 years.
What words of wisdom would you pass on to current IEA students?
The friendships I built with other CDB Scholars and students at Andover are some of my strongest and longest-lasting friendships today, despite being separated by distance and not seeing them in-person very often. By taking the time to invest in relationships with your peers and IEA teachers and staff while you’re a student, you can maintain these connections wherever you go next in the world.
