Sophia Ren: Your 2021 Kate Hevner Mueller Awards Recipient

Kate Hevner Mueller served Indiana University from 1937 to 1969 as Dean of Women, Senior Counselor for Women, and Professor of Education. Dr. Mueller was a national pioneer for women professionals and developed the Master’s Program in College Student Personnel (Higher Education and Student Affairs) at Indiana University in the early 1950s. The Kate Hevner Mueller Senior Awards were established in 2013 to honor IU seniors who have proven leadership on campus both inside and outside of the classroom and who have improved the IU community by their presence.

This year, Indiana University has selected 28 outstanding recipients for the Kate Hevner Mueller Outstanding Senior Award. In this article, we congratulate Sophia Ren for her ability to represent Dr. Mueller’s essential goals of the university: to promote intellect, develop personality, and inspire citizenship and leadership to all students.

Sophia Ren

Sophia is earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology from the College of Arts and Sciences. She served as undergraduate research assistant in the Mukhopadhyay Lab in the IU Biology Department, where she received accolades for her research at the Center for Women in Technology (CeWiT) Women’s Research Poster Competition and at the IU Microbiology Retreat. Sophia also participated in the Health and Community International Honors Program, where she engaged with community members and healthcare professionals in Washington D.C., India, South Africa, and Brazil.  Outside of her classroom achievements, she served in leadership roles with the IU Journal of Undergraduate Research, Hutton Honors Council Association and the Wells Activism and Volunteer Effort.  

Sophia had mentors here at Indiana University who inspired her and pushed her to pursue her passions. When reflecting on her support system here at Indiana University, she said:

I am so thankful for my professors, mentors, friends, and family for supporting and uplifting me throughout college. I would especially like to thank Dr. Lynn Cochran for helping me grow as a leader, Dr. Tuli Mukhopadhyay for inspiring my passion for research and teaching me to ask better questions, and Dr. Christoph Irmscher and the Wells Scholars program for pushing me to pursue my passions and opening so many doors for me.”