By: Adriana Duarte ’27
This is my sister, Sophia Duarte. She is an alumna of Derby High school who began at DHS in October of 2020. Prior to coming to DHS, Sophia attended Harding High school in Bridgeport, CT. Sophia has always been into art, since a young age. She started off small with sketching body parts like lips, noses, ears, eyes and smaller designs for beginning artists. She started in notebooks and mini sketchbooks she’d pick up or our mother would give to her. Sophia is now 20 turning 21 in about a month which shows how long she’s been immersed in the world of art and design.
It was always a silent, reserved hobby of hers. Sophia has never been a social butterfly. She would silently draw and quietly do her research to better understand her craft.Eventually, she developed a strong relationship with art and made it her goal to continuously improve her craft day by day. However, she still kept to herself and rarely opened up about it to anyone outside her family. Even at school, it wasn’t until some time after developing this connection with art that she decided to invest her skills in art and design classes. Her relationship with art, and the publication of her work, only truly began after she attended Derby High School. She enrolled herself in a couple different art classes over the course of her 3 years in school. She eventually gained comfortability with her art teacher at the time, Ms. Bruce. She was the first teacher/person outside of family to really be able to get a personal look into Sophia’s life and her dedication and passion for art. Ms. Bruce really gave Sophia a new sense of creativity and pride within herself when it came to her pieces that she would make inside and outside of school.
Down the line, Sophia began to spread her wings, fully embracing her artistic skills and putting them to good use. In her classes, she earned excellent grades, but outside the classroom, she received even greater recognition for her talent and the quality of her work.
When it came to Sophia’s pieces she always had a bit of a perfectionist personality inside of her. If her work wasn’t up to her definition of “full potential”, she didn’t want it to be put out. When it came to Sophia’s school relationships, she was really close to Mr. Daly as well. She had Mr. Daly for a digital photography class, as well as UCONN ECE drawing classes and other AP art classes. “She’s one of the art kids, I mean she loved it. Those are the kids that are fun to work with… At first I thought she was quiet. It wasn’t necessarily shy but quiet and focused… She always found a way to take stuff that’s dry and make it interesting.” stated Mr. Daly. Daly was one of Sophia’s favorite teachers and had amazing things to say about her when it came to his view on her as an artist as well as a student.
In school, Sophia had a tendency to overthink her plans for the future. She eventually got a job but still managed to fit in time to do what she loved. During her senior year of high school, she definitely felt a new sense of worry for what she’d do with her art and her skills after high school. “I think thanks to high school, I began thinking about my future a lot early on…I think it is a good thing. It helped me keep my eyes ahead of me and kept me thinking about what’s next, as well as what I truly wanted to do with my future,” said Sophia.
During senior year, Sophia always did research on what schools would serve her justice and help her bring her craft to the spotlight instead of dimming it. Eventually, she got accepted into the University of Hartford and had planned to go there. Although, after graduation, plans and routines changed for her. “Transition was the hardest part after high school. Going to high school for four years and living the same kind of routine is one thing, but graduating and having to make your own is another… Now, I find myself busy with working a job, attending asynchronous classes and preparing an art portfolio for college applications.” stated Sophia.
Since graduating, Sophia has changed her plans a bit. “I am looking to transfer to UCONN where I plan to major in illustration with a minor in marketing. I will build my skills as an artist and grow as a person. That way, when I earn my bachelors in the coming years, I am prepared to begin pursuing my career goals. I’ve always loved the idea of being my own boss so I hope in the future to be able to do just that. Whether it is starting my own business or becoming a freelance artist, I want to be able to create on my own terms and do what I love for a living.” During high school, she always strived to be better as a person and an artist and even now, being out of high school for 2 years, going on 3, she improves herself and her craft everyday. She has ambitions to never stop until she is fully satisfied with her art and her life.
As her little sister, I have always looked up to her and admired her desire to always do better and be better. I will continue to follow her journey and our family will forever be unconditionally proud of her as well as her teachers from DHS. High school was a hard time for her and often full of stress, but through it all, I’ve learned that after high school things can get better and you have no limitations to what you can accomplish. In the end, it comes down to your effort, the time you invest in yourself, and the dedication you give to your strengths and passions—something we clearly see through all of Sophia’s hard work.
The Raider Press 