Claire Lee Links Humanity Together by AJ Muonagolu
Photo courtesy of Claire Lee
Sophia Zummo has a love for all of the things that God created. Zummo, a junior biology major with a sustainability minor, grew up in San Diego with a passion for nature and community. This has grown into a deep devotion for fighting climate change in developing countries. “The first lesson my dad taught me was what it is to be a steward of God’s creation,” Zummo said. For Zummo, being a steward is more than just caring about the environment — it is loving all of creation, including people. In high school, she was involved with mission work where she saw the needs of developing countries. One place that really impacted her was Uganda. She said there had been a severe
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From the United States to Canada, Bolivia, Mexico and South Korea, Claire Lee travels around the world. A sophomore political science major, Lee uses her faith, friends and the places she travels to understand herself and how unified the human experience is. She writes about her travel experiences for The Graphic. “There’s just so many shared experiences that we have, yet they’re so different in the way that the story is created,” Lee said. New areas or cultural and societal differences can create a feeling of discomfort for some people. However, Lee said she can always find unifying characteristics in the places she visits. “I didn’t really quite experience that culture shock,” Lee said. “I just saw so many similarities. No matter where
drought causing crops to not grow. Because of this, the entire community suffered; there was no food to eat or sell. “Places that I have grown to love ... are the ones that are suffering the most,” Zummo said. To help solve problems like this, Zummo said she hopes to one day start her own nonprofit organization where she can help these countries implement sustainable programs. She said the bigger the impacts of climate change, the more the developing countries are going to struggle. “It would be really cool to take that and be able to take my vocation of helping others and my faith and connect them together,” Zummo said.
I go, there are just so many similarities in human beings.” When Lee faces uncertainty in her life, she said she grounds herself in her faith, which reminds her of how she is unique. Wherever she is, Lee knows her place in the world reflects her unique experience with God and how she chooses to praise Him. “Location — like the communities I’m a part of — and the way that I communicate and live my life for God and obedience is just what makes me different as a daughter of God,” Lee said. The world is a great place with many different perspectives, sights and people, but everyone needs more unity that comes from personal understanding, Lee said. “The world needs people who can be themselves, but it takes a journey to find out who you really are,” Lee said.
Sophia Zummo Imagines More Sustainable World by Lydia duPerier
Photo courtesy of Sophia Zummo
