From Pre-College to Picnic Day, Sofia Jordana Says ‘Yes’ to Chemical Engineering

Sofia Jordana is the type of person who jumps right into anything and everything. 

“My first instinct is to say, ‘Yes.’ I’m going to try as many things as I can,” she said. 

Jordana’s had a hand in just about everything — choir, rowing, student government. So, when she mentioned a potential interest in pursuing chemical engineering, and her mom found a pre-college program in the subject at the University of California, Davis, she was totally on board.

Jordana says the pre-college course was an incredible way to see if chemical engineering was really for her. 

“If you want to figure out if the major is something you actually want to do, the pre-college program will solidify it, or at least make you feel more confident in it,” she said. “I would recommend anyone do it.” 

Now a second-year chemical engineering major, Jordana is all in. She’s on the leadership board of the premier chemical engineering club on campus and fired up to spread the message of how cool her major is with her unwavering enthusiasm. 

Testing the Waters of Chemical Engineering 

The UC Davis pre-college program, facilitated by UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education, allows high school students to spend two weeks on campus and explore a major by taking an abbreviated version of a course. The chemical engineering pre-college program adapts the popular “Design of Coffee” to introduce chemical engineering fundamentals to curious high schoolers. 

The program also gives college-bound students a sense of what it would be like to be in college. When she attended during the summer of her junior year at Christian Brothers High School in Sacramento, Jordana lived in the dorms — Tercero Hall — with other high school students pursuing various pre-college programs, including pre-med, agriculture, equine science and environmental toxicology. She had to get herself to class and to the dining hall on her own, which was a new experience for her. 

“I thought it was going to be easy because I had gone to camp before, but I got here, and I was like, ‘I’m actually by myself,’” she said. “That first day, I probably cried. What helped a lot was putting myself out there and trying to make as many friends as I could.”  

That initial fear was overcome quickly when Jordana began her class. She was completely immersed in learning the course curriculum, as well as discovering that her brain was naturally inclined toward chemical engineering. 

“It was really validating for me,” she said. 

Her experience with the pre-college program influenced her decision to apply and enroll at UC Davis. She entered her first year as a chemical engineering major with the same open and enthusiastic attitude that she had when she went into the pre-college program. She was ready to jump into chemical engineering. 

Diving Headfirst into AIChE

Her first order of business was to join the club for chemical engineers: the UC Davis chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, or AIChE. She didn’t just join, though. She applied to become a first-year representative to be as involved as possible. She was one of four first-year students selected for the role. 

The first-year representatives are responsible for organizing social events for first-year AIChE members. Last year’s events included a marshmallow and spaghetti building competition and a boba night for Valentine’s Day. 

The main job, however, is Picnic Day. 

The first-year representatives are in charge of AIChE’s representation at Picnic Day, which includes an alumni barbecue and two popular booths: liquid nitrogen sorbet, where students combine liquid nitrogen with juice to create a refreshing treat, and slime time, where attendees can make slime out of glue, baking soda and saline solution. 

Jordana was on the team that executed the liquid nitrogen sorbet. She and her fellow AIChE reps handled obtaining permits from campus food safety and health departments, attended Zoom meetings to make sure they were compliant with the rules, rented tables and chairs, and ensured that the volunteers for the liquid nitrogen sorbet booth were all certified to use the chemical. 

Due to new safety protocols, Jordana also had to create new enclosures for the liquid nitrogen sorbet booth, which entailed cutting huge sheets of plexiglass in the Diane Bryant Engineering Student Design Center. 

“We were in Bainer Hall until like 9 p.m. gluing stuff together,” she said. “It was a lot of problem-solving.” 

Finding Her Current

This year, Jordana is focusing her “all-in” energy on the AIChE board in her new role as publicist. Her goal is to directly reach out to students with simple yet attention-grabbing flyers and social media posts to make chemical engineering more approachable. 

“It can seem daunting. Your immediate thought is [chemical engineering is all about] oil or gas, stuff that doesn’t sound fun to most people,” she said. “I’m trying to create flyers and other materials that have a lot more visuals to show that chemical engineering isn’t something to be afraid of.” 

Jordana wants to pursue either chemical engineering in cosmetics or food. With the support of AIChE club members, as well as her up-for-anything mentality, she already feels like she’s well on her way to meet her goals. 

“I’m really glad I ended up at UC Davis. I don’t think any other school would have been able to give me the preparation that Davis has given me so far to go out into the world as a chemical engineer.”