Sophia Blasco

Experience

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  Latina SafeHouse

  Jan 2020 - now

  Domestic Violence Advocate

  Due to stay-at-home orders, there has been an alarming rise in domestic violence cases. As my response, I became a bilingual on-call domestic violence advocate at Latina Safehouse. I have completed over 40 hours of domestic violence training from Violence Free Colorado to receive the qualification. My goal is to empower Spanish-speaking Latinx victims of domestic violence to move beyond the cycle of violence and achieve healthy independence. Through my role, I advocate, educate, and empower victims by increasing community awareness and access to domestic violence services. Show less

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  Children's Hospital Colorado

  Jan 2020 - now

  I am a Clinical Research Intern in the neurosurgery department at Children’s Hospital Colorado. This is a competitive program where I can collaborate with researchers and doctors from the Neuroscience Institute. I volunteer at the Children’s Hospital of Colorado in the playroom. As a result, I work very closely with child life specialists to reduce the stress and anxiety of children who are hospitalized.

  • Neurosurgery Clinical Research Intern

    Aug 2021 - now

  • Child Life Volunteer

    Jan 2020 - Oct 2021
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  University of Colorado Boulder

  May 2020 - now

  I have taken part as an undergraduate researcher in the Stress Physiology lab at CU Boulder, led by Dr. Monika Fleshner and a team of graduate students. Our investigation centered around oral ingestion of CBD extract and if it differentially modulates the stress evoked serotonergic and peripheral inflammatory responses in rats. I am also currently working with the team to get published data on another study that focuses on the impact of gut microbiota in stressed rats on the circadian sleep cycle, which involves manual sleep scoring. Show less I served as the Multicultural Student Liaison within the CU student government. My role advocates on behalf of the students on campus with diverse backgrounds by meeting with multicultural organizations. I am the co-creator of the Multicultural Advisory Board, which is an unprecedented institution that collaborates with all the multicultural student groups to amplify efforts and help lessen the growing disparities faced by underrepresented communities. I also work closely with the assistant director of cultural engagement to have every representative of CUSG go through the UnDocuAlly training to help support and advocate undocumented and DACA students on campus. Show less

  • Undergraduate Research Assistant

    Aug 2020 - now

  • Multicultural Student Liaison

    May 2020 - May 2021
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  La Cocina

  Aug 2020 - Jan 2022

  Bilingual Student Mentor

  My role as a mentor is to help assist with the online transition of school for Latinx students.Throughout my experiences, I help my students navigate the American education system. As well, one of the unique aspects of this program is to teach the students about beneficial mental health practices.

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  THE DAWN CLINIC

  Jan 2021 - Dec 2022

  Spanish Interpreter

  DAWN clinic is a no-charge, student-run clinic that serves uninsured patients in Aurora. My role as an interpreter is to provide transparency to Spanish-speaking patients by accurately interpreting the interactions between them and the provider. It is crucial that the health care of the patient is not compromised because they do not speak English by establishing clear communication.

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  Colorado Ballet

  Aug 2021 - now

  Bilingual Teaching Artist

  I used to be a pre-professional ballet dancer and I personally noticed how physical exercise helped with my mental health. Through this experience, I was able to become a teaching artist of the community outreach afterschool dance programs offered by Colorado Ballet. I am in collaboration with other teachers to teach classes and create a culturally sensitive program in Spanish, as there is a large population of Spanish speaking students who participate in the program.

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  National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

  May 2022 - Aug 2023

  Summer Research Intern

  I was accepted as an intern in the National Institute of Health’s (NIH) summer internship program in biomedical sciences. Specifically, I have been accepted into the department of NIMH with Dr. Bruno Averbeck, who is the chief researcher of the Unit on Learning and Decision Making in the Laboratory of Neuropsychology. Through this internship, I will be conducting data analysis on decision and reward learning experiments and be trained on behavior scoring.