Hello! My name is Sofía Cerkvenik (Pronouns: She/Her/Hers) and I go by Ms. Sofía or Maestra Sofía in class. I was a student at Highland and am very happy to be back at Saint Paul Public Schools!

***¡Se habla español!***

I was born in Perú and I was adopted when I was a baby. My parents lived in Minnesota, so I moved there with them when they became my family. Growing up, I loved learning about my own personal history and enjoyed learning about the history of the people and places around me. I earned a Bachelors degree with a major in History and minor in Asian Languages and Literatures and afterwards a Master of Education along with my Social Studies teaching license from the University of Minnesota. Throughout my time in school I had some amazing opportunities to study abroad in Lima, Perú and through the US Department of State in Dalian, China and Changchun, China. This past year, I conducted research in Perú through a Fulbright research grant which was incredibly exciting!

We are all arriving to school this year after being affected, (sometimes challenged, sometimes inspired, or both!) in a variety of ways by local, national, and international events. I am looking forward to using the lens of history in our classroom to comprehend the ways we all think about ourselves, our communities, and how we can move forward together.