With pale wrinkly skin and a tough shell across her back, Sophia the Turtle made her way across the floor as cheers erupted from students, faculty and even CBS news reporters. The cheers soon turned into singing, as everyone joined voices to chorale the famous “Happy Birthday” tune to Francis Lewis High Schools’ beloved four legged friend. Sophia is more than just a small reptilian. She is a legendary icon in the school community with a big personality and inspiring backstory.
Sophia first arrived at Francis Lewis High School after being given up by her family. “They really didn’t know the proper way to take care of her,” Dr Cohen, an AP research and science research teacher said. “They loved her very much, but part of loving her was realizing that they weren’t the right family for her.”
In her first home, Sophia had lived in an enclosure that was too small and did not have the proper materials, causing her to struggle with health problems.
“When we first got her, she actually couldn’t use her back legs at all,” Dr Cohen said. “She used to pull herself forward with her front arms and just drag her stomach and back legs behind her. You can also see from her shell that it’s not totally smooth, which also lets us know they probably didn’t have the proper UV lighting because that’s really expensive.”
However, that did not stop Sophia from thriving at her new home. Sophia’s zest for exploration started to shine as she was given the opportunity to live a life outside of her confined tank. Slowly over time, this helped her rehabilitation.
“One period a day, we would put her in a different area in the lab,” Dr Cohen said. “Then over the summer, we let her loose in a gated area and she was able to start digging where she really got to use her back legs. And by the time she came back in September, she really was walking like a normal tortoise. Curiosity is what really led to her being able to rehabilitate herself.”
As Sophia requires more care due to her legs, students and teachers chip in to ensure she lives a healthy and comfortable life.
“It teaches students to be responsible and honestly, a lot of people think of the animals as family,” Yusupov said. “I feel like they develop a special bond with them.”
Rehabilitation was only one major part of Sophia’s simple and comfortable daily routine.
“When Mr. Schwartz comes in, she gets her morning bath with her friends,” Dr Cohen said. “Then she’ll usually just hang out and relax for about an hour before getting a meal from the hydroponic students.”
Keeping up with her diet, students love to feed Sophia a variety of plants.
“Yesterday the gardening club gave her around three cucumbers,” Dr. Cohen said. “We were also picking dandelions because it’s been unseasonably warm, so she had a dandelion treat.” After being fed, Sophia usually begins the active phase of her routine.
“Third period is when we usually bring her into the lab to do some physical therapy on the floor,” Dr Cohen said. “During fourth period, we usually put her on a more slippery floor to walk around. And then we’ll usually bring her back into the greenhouse to hang out with her friends. There, she just spends the rest of the day living her best tortoise life. It’s like a simple but comfortable life.”
The diverse activities she performs each day continues helping her develop and mature. As her physical body develops, her personality does as well. Sophia is a social butterfly who is quite the men’s lady.
“She’s very flirty,” Mr Schwartz, the hydroponics teacher, said. “She immediately went and made friends with Igor, one of the males.”
Sophia not only has a one of a kind personality, but her name was given in a special way.
“Because all the tortoises in the greenhouse are Russian tortoises, we gave them all Russian names,” Dr Cohen said. “They are all culturally relevant.”
The greenhouse not only contributes to Sophia’s life, but she contributes to the growth of the greenhouse as well.
“Sometimes we use her feces as fertilizer,” Kayla Yusupov, a sophomore at Francis Lewis High School, said. “And we give all the bad parts of the lettuce to her since we don’t wanna throw the scraps out.”
Sophia was also a CBS New York star in the series “Class Act.” Students and staff met at Francis Lewis High school early in the morning to celebrate her birthday. However, Sophia’s success does not stop there. She has a future full of opportunity.
“A former student and I want to write a children’s book to share Sophia’s story,” Dr Cohen said. “We have a very talented artist who actually designed our “Animals of the Annex” banner. We want to write a story about how she came here and how through her hard work, she was able to recover and inspire our school.”
Sophia is the perfect candidate for a storybook character. She inspired students and staff alike with the universal message of perseverance. Hopefully her story will continue to reach many hearts and continue to pave the way for more animal justice.
