Sofia Bernal Email & Phone Number

My entire life I've been interested in learning more about human behavior. In high school, I was a board member of BE HIP, an organization where students teach other students about taboo health topics such as mental health, sexual health, and drug abuse. This experience sparked my interest in mental health and psychology. After graduating high school in Miami, FL, I studied Psychology at Florida State University. In my second year, I participated in the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program. I studied the relationship between social media and emotions under my research mentor, Dr. Vanessa Dennen.Working with this research lab inspired me to learn more about the intricate relationship between social media and mental health. I was awarded the IDEA Grant over the summer of 2022 and began working on my own research project entitled: Body Image, Social Media, and Greek Life. I was particularly interested in how body image affects college students in relation to greek life participation and social media usage. I was able to design my own questionnaire and recruit participants. In September 2022 I presented my project at the President's Symposium.In the Fall of 2022, I started taking business courses and completed my general business minor in May 2023. I began my second minor in Child Development in August of 2023. During my junior year I worked with VOICES II, a research project dedicated to learning how the classroom environment influences language development in children. After working in research, I began a new position at Cayer Behavioral Group, as a Clinic Aide/Peerpal. Working alongside behavior technicians and occupational therapist motivated me to continue learning about ABA therapy.