Sofia Figueroa is a 14-year-old freshman at MAST Academy in Virginia Key.

She lives in Key Biscayne and has lived there almost all her life. She was born in Santiago, Chile. Sofia has 2 younger sisters and 1 younger brother. She jokingly says, “they can be kind of annoying but they’re not always bad.”

Figueroa came to MAST in Grade 6 during the pandemic and plans to stay for high school. She loves the view, her friends, most teachers, and the overall environment.

Her first week was good. She says it took her time to get used to new people and meet new people from other places. Her favorite teachers so far are Ms. Paz the English teacher and Ms. Procopio, the Italian teacher. She’s taking Italian because she’s always wanted to learn, especially since she didn’t get to in Grade 7 because the teacher left for almost the whole year.

Figueroa didn’t choose this Journalism class as a first choice, but she says, “it’s better than I thought”. Her first option was culinary, but she got set in this class.

After school, Figueroa plays tennis and field hockey both in Key Biscayne. She started tennis in second grade but field hockey last year.

“Overall, I think that I’m going to get used to this school year and have a really great time.” says Figueroa.