Meet Outstanding Freshman Sophie Low
Sophie Low, a wildlife major with a minor in forensic science, was selected as Purdue Forestry and Natural
Resources’ Outstanding Freshman. The East Brunswick, New Jersey, native has already made a splash in FNR her first year through involvement in multiple research projects, club involvement and academics.
“I sincerely appreciate this award, and I view this award as an encouragement and an affirmation of the effort I put into my classes and extra-curricular activities,” Low said. “Being selected for this award encourages me to keep learning and growing so that I can become someone who can give back to others.
“It feels exciting, but I'm also extremely grateful to be recognized next to students who inspire me and have accomplished so much. When I look at what they've done, it motivates me to push myself to do more and continue improving. I want to use this opportunity to learn from them and become more like them.”
Sophie has worked as a DNR technician and scoring assistant on a PhD candidate Tina Jackson’s deer density project in Dr. Pat Zollner’s lab since October. In that role, she helps prepare drones for flight, observes flying drones to prevent collisions and records related data in the field. She then scores thermal aerial imagery taken from the drones and records deer counts for the density survey.
In addition, Sophie is involved with research as a volunteer with the Northern Saw-Whet Owl Banding
Station and the Sparrow Roosting Survey. With the owl banding station, she helps assemble and disassemble mist nets and check them every hour from sunset until past midnight. She will soon be trained in banding owls and collecting measurements. As part of the sparrow survey, Sophie uses radio telemetry to track white-throated sparrows to their roosting sites.
Sophie also did volunteer work in high school, working at Pittie Party Rescue cat shelter and at TK Equestrian summer camp. She also served as a summer camp counselor for her church, coordinating schedules for the craft team, developing activities and leading first and second graders through a week of activities.
In 2024, she was a youth delegate at the Washington Youth Summit on the Environment in Washington D.C., where she created proposals to solve real-world problems and pitched the idea along with associated costs to a larger group in a work simulation.
In 2023, she was a volunteer at the Pacuare Reserve in Costa Rica, observing and monitoring monkey troops as well as measuring and releasing leatherback sea turtle hatchlings.
Sophie is a member of the Purdue student chapter of The Wildlife Society. Academically, she received Dean’s list and semester honors for the fall.
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