I chose Sofya Kovalevskaya because she defied all odds by becoming the first woman in all of Europe to become a professor of mathematics. I admire her for the way she proved everyone wrong and did something amazing. Sofya was brave, courageous, and determined.

She was born in 1850 and showed an interest in math at a very young age. She even had calculus notes from her father everywhere. She had taught herself trigonometry by the age of fourteen, and her skills impressed her teachers and parents. Even though she had all of these talents, she still faced a big challenge. Women were not allowed to attend universities in Russia. In 1868, she entered a marriage of convenience with a young scientist named Vladimir Kovalevsky. Together they traveled, and Sofya studied. They went to Germany, where she attended the University of Heidelberg. She then went to Berlin but was not accepted into the university. She did not let that stand in her way and got private tutoring from a famous mathematician. In 1874, she earned her Ph.D in mathematics at the University of Göttingen. In 1889, she became a full professor at Stockholm University. She set an example for many other women to pursue their dreams and not let other people stop you from doing something you want to do.

To represent her expertise in math, I made the letters out of equations and made the letter o an atom to represent other complicated subjects.

Now that I have read about Sofya, I realize that I should apply her courage and determination to my own life. I hope that other people see this and get inspired like I was. I hope people see this and put her actions into their own lives.