She Was Teased For Her Love Of Bugs. Now This Girl’s Name Is On Something Amazing.

Eight-year-old Sophia Spencer has always been passionate about studying insects. In fact, that’s what she wants to do when she grows up.

Grasshoppers are her favorite, and she’s even been know to give them rides on her shoulder, whether at home or school. Unfortunately, her peers didn’t seem to share Sophia’s interests in bugs and starting making fun of her for it. Sophia’s mom, on the other hand, is proud of her daughter’s hobby and wants to encourage her to pursue her dream career, so she decided to write in to the Entomological Society of Canada last year and ask for help.

The organization was quick to put a call out for other entomologists to share their stories with the little girl…

…and the response from women in particular was amazing.

She even joined forces with Morgan Jackson, an entomology Ph.D. candidate, to co-write a scientific paperin the Annals of the Entomological Society of America on Twitter, entomology, and women in science.

She even joined forces with Morgan Jackson, an entomology Ph.D. candidate, to co-write a scientific paperin the Annals of the Entomological Society of America on Twitter, entomology, and women in science.

Twitter / BioInFocus

“After my mom sent the message and showed me all the responses, I was happy,” she wrote in her portion of the paper.

“I felt like I was famous. Because I was! It felt good to have so many people support me, and it was cool to see other girls and grown-ups studying bugs. It made me feel like I could do it too, and I definitely, definitely, definitely want to study bugs when I grow up, probably grasshoppers.”

(via NPR)

Not only have many of Sophia’s classmates stopped bullying her after the paper was published, but now she’s also teaching them about insects! You go, girl!

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