Sophia Li is pursuing her Master of Public Policy at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. Her interest in policy creation stems from spending her childhood listening to local radio talk shows, such as NPR. The exposure to the critiques of policy contributed to a passion to improve current policies either through the creation of new policies or refinement of current systems. While obtaining her Bachelor of Public Health at UC Merced, Sophia was involved in the creation of a database of obesity related California state policies. While working on the database, she became interested in closing the gap between policymakers and researchers, after repeatedly seeing policies that didn’t match conclusions drawn from research. While also at UC Merced, Sophia also became interested in pandemic preparedness, after seeing how UC Merced Housing and Residence Life reacted to COVID-19 as a resident assistant. She is also interested in campaign design and health disparities. In addition to her studies, Sophia runs a tutoring company that specializes in ESL students and online learning. Her students range from preschoolers to adults. When she is not balancing work and school, Sophia enjoys hiking, delving into new books, and mentoring students.