Sophie Haigney
Sophie Haigney (Stiles, 2017) has a passion for writing. Read more to hear about what Sophie has done with her writing, her pathway, her adventures and more!
College: Stiles 2017
Major: English
Hometown: San Francisco, CA
HC: Tell us about your extracurricular interests.
SH: I’m one of the features editor for the Yale Herald. I wrote for them last year, and loved it. I just wrote a front for them about the CCE Program and Yale’s sexual climate, which I have become increasingly interested in. I have recently become invested in the issue and it is very much something I have wanted to address, so I am very happy with the article. Also, this year I started Telltale with my friends Alex Simon, Jake Stein, Devon Geyelin and Jacob Osborne. It’s a storytelling group based on This American Life and The Moth, which are both radio stations that host people to tell life stories. We have people perform 6-12 minute true stories from their lives. This has been cool for me because I have very little performance experience. But what’s great is that it brings people not in the arts into the Yale art scene. Because it’s a small time commitment, and because storytelling is such an accessible art form, anyone can get involved and I like that about it. On the side, I have been trying to start a travel magazine, but that is very much in preliminary stages. I am also in Theta.
HC: How long have you been writing for? What inspired you to pursue writing in college?
SH: I’ve been interested in writing since the third grade. I wanted to be the first women president when I was really little, but then in third grade I decided I wanted to be a writer and I haven’t changed my mind. I’ve messed around with different forms of writing a lot though. I wrote a lot of poetry when I was younger and at Exeter I was on the board of the newspaper, The Exonian, and Editor-in-Chief of Exeter’s literary magazine, Pendulum. Those definitely propelled my interest in writing and drove me to pursue writing in college. Also, I took a year off and I got involved in this new literary publication in Paris called Belleville Park Pages, and that bolstered my passion for writing as well. I guess overall it’s what I love to do and what I know I want to do so I’m inspired to continue pursuing it. Also, in terms of campus publications, I really like the community aspect of them. The Herald is a dope group of people and we get to hang out, which is fun.
HC: Tell us about your published works.
SH: I mean, there aren’t that many of them, but I’ve had a few things in literary journals and stuff. When I was a senior at Exeter I was published in a literary magazine called Hunger Mountain, based out of Vermont. My piece is titled “What You Can Tell From My Childhood Heroes”, and it’s about how my version of feminism had changed throughout my life. I also published a couple poems in smaller literary magazines. I had a short story and a few other pieces in Belleville Park Pages, the publication I was involved with in Paris. It’s a current and cool magazine that comes out every two weeks. Working at Paris Review for a month was also a very exciting achievement.
HC: What or who helped you the most as a writer?
SH: One of the Herald’s Managing Editors, Lara Sokoloff, has been a great mentor to me in terms of journalism. Devon Geyelin is also someone I really look up to and is one of the only people that I trust to read rough drafts of my creative writing. Both Lara and Devon give great advice and have been incredible teachers. I had a great history teacher at Exeter too, who really inspired me and strengthened my writing.
HC: Do you have any advice for fellow Yalies who want to pursue their passion for writing?
SH: Be brutal with yourself. Edit thoroughly. It’s worth it. It’s really hard, and I’ve struggled with it a lot. I was never good at it, but this summer I did a Yale Travel Writing course and learned a lot. I’ve realized that most of the time you never start where you think you’re going to initially, and it helps to go back and restart. Shortening sentences is key. Also, have confidence in your writing but be willing to accept feedback.
HC: What other outlets do you have at Yale? What do you do to relax?
SH: I go out a lot. I’m a big fan of Woads—didn’t miss one last spring. But lately I’ve been having a lot of fun adventures. Last weekend I tried to break onto the WLH roof with a couple friends (we were unsuccessful). I also love the outdoors. I spent all day Sunday at East Rock. I did NOLS on my gap year and maybe want to work in outdoor education for some period of time. I also run every day.
HC: Why did you choose Yale?
SH: I mean, Yale’s amazing in some really obvious ways. The academic and extra-curricular opportunities are pretty unparalleled. But when I came here I thought that the social life was so fun, and I loved it. I also really like New Haven. There’s so much going on, and it’s beautiful. It’s not a perfect place, but I’ve always been intrigued by its imperfections