Street: What activities are you involved with on campus? Sophia Stylianos: I’m President of Sigma Kappa, I’m former Captain, current Webmistress, of the women’s club soccer team, I’m a trip leader for Engineers Without Borders, I am rush chair for the Hexagon senior society and I’m in Omega and Friars. I also do Advancing Women in Engineering.
Street: If Omega, Hexagon and Friars got into a fight, who would win? SS: Any answer I give, I’m going to get backlash. I would have to say Hexagon because I think we feel like we have more to prove. So we’re going to be scrappy. We’re going to whip out some calipers and a protractor or two so we can just, like…shove it.
Street: What’s it like being a girl in Engineering? SS: Lots of men for the picking. I’ve gotten asked out on dates in the machine shop before. It’s funny because when I’m in the machine shop, I’m in closed–toed shoes, hair in a ponytail, goggles. And they’re like, “So… Would you want to have dinner at some point?”
Street: What do you think is the best dining spot on campus to have a date? SS: Well if anyone ever asks me to Bobby’s Burger Palace, they are guaranteed something afterwards.
Street: What’s the best part about being president of your sorority? SS: I don’t have to feel bad about sending a million emails a day, most of which are DFMO pictures.
Street: How does that compare to being captain of a girls sports team? SS: Sorority president is like a 24/7 job. Club soccer captain is… not.
Street: Do you have a secret weapon? SS: I have this move whenever I’m home and my whole family is watching TV. I call it the 360 Flying Moon. So when everyone is watching TV, I come in from the left (it’s my strong side), run into the room and do a 360 spin jump move in the air where I just show a flash of butt. If this is printed, my mother will literally disown me. Our Vice President of Membership might also disown me. Who wants to join the sorority of the president who does the 360 Flying Moon?
Street: There are two types of people at Penn… SS: People who have a Rewards card at Bobby’s Burgers and people who don’t enjoy fine dining. It’s free, and I have gotten like five free burgers. It’s awkward because that means I’ve spent $500 at Bobby’s.
Street: Which "Friends" character are you most like? SS: Phoebe, because I like to play guitar and make up songs. In high school, I wrote a five–minute musical. I was a senior at the time, and I wrote about two freshman girls. It was their first day of high school, and they were waiting in line at lunch. I actually don’t want to give away the ending.
Street: What were you like in high school? SS: We moved to Miami from Northern Jersey after eighth grade, and the first two years were awful. At the beginning of freshman year, a girl headed me at a soccer tournament and broke my nose, and I had to wear a brace on my face for two weeks. People would go up to my sister and be like, “Did you see that girl with the nose brace?” And she’d be like, “Nope.”
Street: What’s your dream job, all obstacles aside? SS: Can I give you my dream job sequence? So it would be work a little bit, engineering in a developing world. Then come back, work for NASA. Then retire and become a middle/high school science teacher, and instead of having a skeleton in my classroom, I would have my space suit. Then I’ll retire again, and by this time I’m like…84–ish, and I will become a mail carrier, because dream dream job? Mail carrier.
Street: Describe yourself in under five words. SS: Bobby’s Burger Palace.
Musical from Sophia Stylianos on Vimeo.
