Interview with Sophi

Former CESL student, Sophi, received the Rickert-Ziebold Award on Monday, April 4th. We had the opportunity to speak with her about the award and schoolwork.

We began by asking Sophi how she felt about winning the Rickert-Ziebold Award. She told us that she really didn't expect it and she was surprised. She explained that in order to be considered for the prize, she had to submit an application along with an artist statement and several slides of her work. She plans to use some of the money she won to help pay for graduate school. She is also thinking about donating a portion of the Award money to an ISS scholarship fund since ISS helped her as a student.

To create the piece of work that won the prize, Sophi used a combination of metal and fabric. The metal was used to represent men while the fabric represents women. The combination is used to show harmony and balance between men and women. Sophi's work will be displayed in the University Museum until May 1st. The museum is located at the north end of Faner Hall.


Sophi studied at CESL before becoming an Art and Design student at SIUC. She told us that when she first arrived in the United States, she was afraid to speak to people because she felt as if she didn't have enough language abilities. After one year in CESL and another two at SIUC Sophi is very comfortable with her English skills. She told us that CESL was very helpful in improving her English and she really appreciated the patience and understanding of her CESL teachers. She also wants to let current students know that even though EAP 2 writing class is very difficult, "it is very important."

Congratulations Sophi! We wish you the best of luck in your future.