Sophia Spencer is not like most eight-year-olds. While many are, like her, interested in bugs, her level of expertise and passion for the critters of the world has made her a contributor to the recently published paper called Annals of the Entomological Society of America.
She was first introduced to the world when her mother reached out for help- she wanted to encourage her daughter to pursue her passion but admittedly didn’t know what the best method to help her was. She turned to the Entomological Society of Canada for advice, and this quickly took the internet by storm when the society decided to turn to the internet for help.
The society launched a hashtag – #BugsR4Girls- to see if there were people out there who could offer advice, give her a chance to work hands on with bugs, or just support her passion by providing support. She also got a chance to write in a paper with Morgan Jackson, an entomology Ph.D. candidate who wrote the original tweet (that is posted above).
“After my mom sent the message and showed me all the responses, I was happy,” she explained in the paper she eventually wrote in. “I felt like I was famous. Because I was! It felt good to have so many people support me, and it was cool to see other girls and grown-ups studying bugs. It made me feel like I could do it too, and I definitely, definitely, definitely want to study bugs when I grow up, probably grasshoppers.”
When the tweet was posted, they were hoping to reach a couple entomologists that could offer support to the young girl. Instead, they received a large amount of attention, and at least 130 direct meesages with people looking to offer support or reach out to the child.
“We were hoping that we could find an entomologist or two, perhaps, that would be willing to talk to Sophie and share a little bit about their backstory,” Morgan Jackson later told NPR about the viral tweet.
The kids at her school have also begun to take notice, as she’s now received a tiny amount of attention from the internet because of her passion. While she was bullied in the past, this has now helped others learn about the world of bugs as well!
“Kids now, after I told them the whole story, they’re like, ‘Oh, well — could you teach me more about bugs?’ ” Sophia explained about what being around other children is like now.”And I’m like, ‘Sure.’ So I show them the techniques to help bugs. Like, a lot of my classmates like catching moths and butterflies … so I show them an easier way, ’cause a lot of kids flatten out their hands which kind of crushes them. So I show them that you should cup your hands so it doesn’t kill them.
The passionate young girl is determined to keep studying and pursuing her dreams. She finally concludes, “I see myself growing up to become an entomologist. It’s going to take a lot of hard work, but the more hard work you do, the better the thing you’re working for is.”
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
