Eight-year-old Sophia Spencer has been crazy about bugs ever since the tender age of two. The young girl’s passion was mocked by a group of bullies, but she never let them dampen her spirits.
And the youngster has proven the bullies wrong, recently being published in a scientific journal!
Her proud mum, Nicole Spencer, spoke to The Huffington Post about where her daughter’s love for bugs started
When Sophia was two yearsold, she paid a visit to the Niagara Falls Butterfly Conservatory. Whilst there, a butterfly fluttered over to her and landed on her shoulder. Her mum Nicole that says ever since that day, the little girl has been fascinated by insects and nature.
Nicole said that her daughter spends her time reading about bugs, and always asks her mum to Google interesting facts about them.
She added, ““If she keeps a bug, she always names it and will talk to them and kiss them.” Sophia even finds out information about the insect’s habitats and diet, so she can make them feel as comfortable as possible.
Her mum grew concerned for her daughter when she was being bullied about her interest in bugs. The loving mum admitted that she was worried the bullies would ruin Sophia’s passion, so she took matters into her own hands.
Nicole wrote a letter to the Entomological Society of Canada, where she informed them about Sophia and her huge love for bugs, “She is often teased at school by her peers because she will proudly display her current bug friend on her shoulder.”
The aim of Nicole’s letter was to find an entomologist who would speak to her daughter on the phone, to help encourage Sophia to pursue her passions.
Last summer, the Entomological Society of Canada started a campaign on Twitter to help Sophia. They posted her mum’s letter, and created the hashtag #BugsR4Girls
Morgan Jackson, who is a Ph.D. candidate, got involved with the campaign. He invited Sophia to work alongside him on a paper about ‘the applications of social media in improving representation in the sciences.’ Their paper has now been printed in the Annals of Entomological Society of America.
The campaign has helped Sophia to believe in her dreams about becoming an entomologist in the future. Sophia shared that when she grows up, she wants to work with grasshoppers.
In a special section of their published study, Sophia writes, “If somebody said bugs weren’t for girls, I would be really mad at them, but I wouldn’t do anything. I think anything can be for anybody, including bugs.”
We hope Sophia’s dream of becoming an entomologist in the future comes true.
