Give me an S… Give me an O… Give me a P… Well, you get the point.

You all know Sophie D’Antonio, the captain of the Freehold Boro High School cheer team, right? If you don’t, hopefully by the end of this article you will know even a sliver of who Sophie is and what makes her unique. 

Though born in Staten Island, New York, Sophie has lived in Freehold her entire life. She has always been close with her family. As some may know, her father teaches at the very same Freehold High School that she and her siblings attend. While some might find that to be a hindrance, Sophie sees it as a positive. “I actually like it because there’s an adult in the building that I know I can go to for anything. One funny thing about it has been when he has had friends of mine or people I know in class. Having two siblings the same age as me in the school is awesome, especially when we have had classes together. They’re two of my favorite people so it’s great. We’ve also made so many fun memories together throughout our years of high school.” 

Speaking of memories, Sophie has committed herself to the cheer team since she was a freshman. She has been a part of the team for both fall and winter seasons. Sophie was also one of nine members of her cheer team to start Boro’s first ever competition team.

Let’s not forget that Sophie is not just all about cheer, she is also a member of the student council, one of the executive board members, and one of the social media chairs. If you think that wasn’t enough to fill up her dance card, Sophie is also part of the school’s newspaper The Colonial and plays on and manages the softball team. 

Cheerleading has been Sophie’s passion since age 5. She always loved it – and almost every fall season since she started, she has had the opportunity to have a sideline view of the football field. However, if she wasn’t cheering, Sophie said that she would most likely be playing softball because that is really the only other sport she has played. 

Being a senior in high school, knowing that you are less than a year away from graduating and diving into that large world of adulthood, might scare some people. Sophie takes it all in stride. “It’s a really weird and surreal feeling. I have been applying to a lot of colleges recently to get it done pretty early, and doing this has made it just feel extra real that I will be graduating soon. I never believed it when people told me that high school would go so fast, but I can tell you, it has flown by.”

As her senior year starts to become more clear, Sophie has set her sights on various universities – from Kean and University of Delaware, to Stockton and Rowan. She has applied to 8 schools so far, and will probably be applying to more. Between all the extracurricular activities and college applications one might figure Sophie has no time left for herself. That would be furthest from the truth – because she still finds time to spend time with her friends, family, and boyfriend. She enjoys making memories with the people she is close with because, as Sophie mentioned, “they always know how to make me smile whenever I am with them.”

Something you wouldn’t know about Sophie is that, like me and many others, she was born premature as a 1-pound 2-ounce baby. To many people that might sound fictional – especially since the preterm birth rate of babies born before 37 weeks is approximately 10%. Most premature babies stay in the NICU for 60+ days and Sophie was no different, staying for 78 days.  When you look back at where you started it only makes the now that much more impressive. It allows you to enjoy the memories along the way. One memory for Sophie is having fun on vacation. One of her all time favorite places to go on vacation is Disney World. She says “nothing beats relaxing by the hotel pool; it’s just one of my favorite things. I especially love visiting either Universal Studios for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter or [Disney’s] Hollywood Studios.”

As a senior, Sophie, like other upperclassmen, has sage advice for freshmen, incoming freshmen, and other underclassmen: “get involved in as much as you can because it really helps you make so many new friends.” So, as Sophie continues her path as a senior, her Freehold Boro legacy leaves behind memories, friends, knowledge, and glass ceilings shattered. 

Give me a S… Give me an O… Give me a P… Again, you get the point – Sophie D’Antonio can only be spelled one way because she is one of a kind!