Sophia grew up in Beaverton, Oregon and graduated from Jesuit High School. She is currently attending school at Boston Conservatory at Berklee College of Music, where she will obtain a BFA in Musical Theatre.
Sophia is focused on serving children battling cancer, and has put in thousands of volunteer hours with the Children’s Cancer Association, Ronald McDonald House, Sparrow Clubs, and St. Jude’s Medical Research Center. She recently helped raise over $10,000 for her own initiative: Operation Joy: Bringing Happiness to Pediatric Patients.
Sparrow Club Origin Story
Sophia Takla was touched by the origin story of the Sparrow Club and has been volunteering for a multitude of years. Below is their story.
Leukemia was discovered in six-month-old Michael Leeland in 1992, and he urgently required a bone marrow transplant to survive. Jeff and Kristi, Michael’s parents, were at a loss as to how to cover the cost of the transplant.
Jeff was a middle school teacher who had Dameon, a kind-hearted young man, as a pupil. When Dameon learned about his teacher’s predicament, he immediately donated all of his funds ($60) in the hopes that it would help Michael in some way.
Compassion and kindness spread like wildfire. Michael was able to receive his life-saving transplant thanks to the community’s support, which students and faculty mobilized to raise more than $227,000 in less than four weeks.
Sparrow Clubs USA was established four years after Dameon’s unselfish offering and employs a straightforward yet effective service model that, wherever it is introduced, sparks students’ understanding and compassion.
Operation Joy: Supporting Kids in Medical Need
In memory of her cousin Tristan, who passed away from pediatric medulloblastoma when they were both 8 years old. Sophia Takla helps youngsters in medical need through Operation Joy efforts. Since the beginning of her Miss America journey more than 14 years ago, she has used this initiative as her Social Impact Initiative. In addition to preserving children’s lives through legislative action to alter the future of cancer care, she holds a dual objective of enhancing children’s lives through music, games, costumes, toys, and more.
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