Sophie Neems ’12

During her presidency Sophie Neems worked to establish a recycling bin in the cafeteria and organize various food drives. One of the things she organized was a school dance called MORP. It was 80s-themed, and students were encouraged to wear costumes. The price of admission was canned food items instead of money. The dance was held the same night as a big basketball game, and Neems was worried about attendance.
“A lot of students came before the game and a whole group of people came straight from the game to the dance. It was an exciting moment of crossing social barriers, an event where lots of people from different friend groups came together to have a good time and support the Food Bank,” Neems said.
One things that Neems feels her presidency taught her was the ability to think creatively to accomplish projects in an innovative way. For the homecoming parade, instead of having the typical float, she decided to organize their float as a project to support charity.
“We called it ‘Pack the Pickup’ and we encouraged parade watchers to bring canned foods to the parade that we then collected into the pickup truck that served as our float. This was a fun way to support those in need in our community while also marching in the parade,” Neems said.
Throughout her presidency, she worked with City High, Student council, cafeteria staff, custodians, teachers, and administrators trying to establish a recycling program in the cafeteria.
“We needed everyone on board before we were going to make a change,” Neems said. “I have used these same types of coalition building and collaboration skills beyond my presidency, throughout my advocacy efforts.”
While she was never a huge fan of sports, Neems ended up running cross-country her sophomore year.
“I found a really supportive community on the team and went on to run cross-country at Grinnell College, where I had a ton of fun and made lifelong friends. This drive to try new things has stuck with me even after graduation,” Neems said.
Currently, Neems lives in Washington, D.C., and is an advocate for farmers. She works for an organization called Farm Credit.
“Farming is expensive–you have to have money to buy land, equipment, seeds, etc., and my organization makes sure that farmers can get loans to buy these things. Part of that means talking to Congress to tell them why it’s important to support agriculture and farmers,” Neems said.
While she isn’t quite sure of what she would like to do in the future, there are several pathways she is considering.
“A few of my dreams include being an anthropology professor, where I could teaching awesome young people and studying farmers; working in farm policy to increase justice in our agriculture system either in D.C. or in Iowa; and maybe even running for public office someday!” Neems said.