Sophia Westfall

Fulbright/Cardiff University Award

Sophia R. Westfall graduated with a BA in English and Digital Studies with a minor in writing from Rutgers University-Camden. During her undergraduate career, she pursued interdisciplinary research, combining her interests in environmentalism, ancient history, beekeeping, printmaking, and literature.

Sophia studied the influence materials have on written content and the concept of the aliveness of literature as a way to document history and nature. She has since expanded this research into a series of hands-on workshops and lectures which she has implemented into various academic communities, as well as at her universities’ makerspace. Her research aims to redefine the material aspect of literature and the uniqueness of storytelling. This Fulbright will allow Sophia to further explore the intersection of environmentalism and creative writing in a diverse and historically situated ecosystem by teaching, writing, and immersing herself within the rich culture of the surrounding city.

Aside from her research, Sophia voluntarily manages The Secret Society of Poetry, a community of international writers, specifically aimed at celebrating young and emerging writers through the form of publications and poetry readings. She is excited to diversify both her writing community and her research during her time at Cardiff University.