Sophia Salome

I am a 21 year old from Phoenix, Arizona currently majoring in criminal justice and double minoring in cyber criminology and political science at the University of Alabama. I am part of the Accelerated Masters Program where I am getting my master's degree in criminal justice at the same time as my undergraduate studies. I have maintained a 4.0 GPA for the past 3 years in college and will continue to have a 4.0 GPA while finishing my master's degree. My second semester I was one of nine students to be accepted the Cyber Corps Scholarship for Service program at the University of Alabama to train to be the next generation of cyber security professionals. I made a commitment to work for the federal or state government for three years after graduation to be apart of the program. Last summer I interned in the front office of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and this upcoming summer I have an internship with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Washington D.C. I was apart of the mock trial team for four years in high school and was accepted onto the Alabama mock trial team to further my studies of the law. I have been competing in pageants since I was 11 years old and have had the honor of holding the Miss Arizona title twice. Currently I am the United States of America's Miss Alabama 2023. This opportunity has allowed me to participate in many community service events around my home state including being the lead speaker at the National Guard Youth Symposium spreading awareness against cyber bullying, packing food for families at Feed My Starving Children, and participating in the events that support sickness such as the CARES walk against cancer and the Kidney disease walk kidney. Coming from a household where my mom has served 28 years in the Arizona National Guard she has showed me that you can be a strong woman leader in a male dominated field. This has inspired me to work hard to pursue my own career goals in a male dominated field to show all young determined women you can be successful in anything you set your mind too.