Sophia Rahming
Ph.D. in Higher Education
Current Job/Occupation
Associate Director, Center for the Advancement of Teaching
Educational/Professional Background
Sophia Rahming was a Doctoral Candidate in the Higher Education program at Florida State University and a Graduate Research Assistant in the Centre for Postsecondary Success. Ms. Rahming was inducted into the Fellows Society as a recipient of the 2014 Legacy Fellowship, one of Florida State University highest honors for a graduate student. Ms. Rahming earned her bachelor degree in Elementary Education with a concentration in Social Sciences at the College of St. Benedict (Minnesota), and a master degree in Curriculum and Instruction with a diploma in Specialized Learning for Diverse Learners from the University of St. Thomas (Minnesota).
Research
Sophia has always been involved in the STEM field. When she came to FSU to pursue her doctorate degree, she relied on the support of her major professor, Dr. Tamara Bertrand Jones. Dr. Bertrand Jones helped Sophia combine her background in STEM with her passion for working with women of color in academia. Her current research is focused on how international women of color construct identities and view themselves as scientists. Mentorship, she says, plays a pivotal role for women of color, though the mentorship opportunities are different for international women of color. Sophia hopes that her research can fill a gap in the literature and generate theories to explain how these women construct their identities. This research will eventually be able to assist university administration and faculty in supporting women of color.
Community
Community is one of the most important things for Sophia and has been essential to her success at FSU. She is a member of a group of eight students in the Higher Education, all people of color, who are able to support and encourage each other, both in times of struggle and in moments of success. They are, like Sophia, interested in shaping university communities to make them more accepting, welcoming, productive, and normalized for students of color. “This started out as an academic support kind of group where we did homework together, we shared resources, and it's blossomed into so much more than that. This is a deep and abiding friendship support system.” The Cocoa Scholars have been together through a wide range of occasions, academic and personal. They are a constant source of support when things become difficult. Sophia has also built a family here in Tallahassee. When she had surgery, one of her coworkers offered her a place to stay. What could have been temporary transformed into a permanent living arrangement and gave Sophia one of her best friends here. “It's not my intellectual ability, but yes, you need that. But I honestly believe that without the kind of support that I have gotten you can’t be successful as I have been.”
Mentorship
As an international student, Sophia has some difficulties that American students would not have to consider. Navigating these struggles was made easier with the help of Dr. Tamara Bertrand Jones. “She has made sure that the bottom of Maslow's hierarchy (is fulfilled), that I eat, that I have work, somewhere to be, that I can't do this high level research, if all these basic needs aren't taken care of.” In Sophia’s field, research has demonstrated an ethic of care that black female faculty have for their students. Sophia’s experiences at FSU have been an example of that. “I have Latina committee member who's also my supervisor for work. She is my sponsor. She makes sure that I meet the people that I need to meet in the field. She's pushing me as a writer, my publishing, Dr. Bertrand Jones, my major professor, like I said, she made sure that I ran out on research site visits. So all of these skills that benefit me as far as being a researcher that people might not have gotten, they have made sure they have been intentional in building my skills and getting me out into the field and learning to talk to learning to write, learn to think, learning to assess as a researcher and as a writer.”
Support
Though there have been difficulties in her graduate journey, Sophia says she would not change anything even if given the opportunity. She waited to begin her doctoral degree until her two children were grown up. Waiting to pursue this opportunity placed Sophia exactly where she needed to be. She was recently inducted into Omicron Delta Kappa and successfully defended her prospectus. She has built a community of peers, professors, and friends across campus. The fellowship Sophia received is a result of the work of Nancy Marcus, who served as the graduate dean for 12 years. “I would not have had this opportunity to do what I do without the legacy fellowship and without the experience of being in this group of interdisciplinary scholars,” Sophia said. “That would not have been possible if Nancy Marcus hadn’t decided that this organization needed to exist. If I had come 10 years ago, Nancy Marcus would have been faculty. There would have been no fellows society. I would have not been engaging in the activities that I am now.” Sophia would not have been able to have the same mentorship opportunities, the same peer group, the same family. “I am here when I should have been here. I'm not too late, not too early, I’m where I should be.”
Unique Awards/Achievements
Sophia was inducted as both a Hardee Fellow and a Seminole Torchbearer in 2015. Sophia is also a fellow of the Golden Key Society. She is the recipient of the Liliana Muhlan Masoner Memorial Scholarship award and the Dr. Marion Neil Endowed Scholarship award. Ms. Rahming received the Martin Luther King Book award during the 2016 Florida State MLK Week. Ms. Rahming also received the Sherrill Ragans Leadership & Service Award and was the recipient of the inaugural Carrie G. Hall Endowed Scholarship in 2016. She will serve a two-year term as the Parliamentarian of the National Black Graduate Student Association beginning June 1, 2017.