In activities stemming from raising farm animals to taking part in school activities, one must learn to lead with understanding and compassion. As Sophie Eldridge cared for her baby rabbit, she found joy in caring for farm animals, and wished to continue her passion.
Eldridge is a Junior at RHS whose life both in and out of the school consists of interesting activities and unparalleled experiences. For many years Eldridge has worked with a local 4-H group to help raise animals that later go on to live peculiar lives. 4-H is a US-based organization that aims to provide youth nationwide with agricultural and experimental
opportunities. In Eldridge’s case, it allows her to raise and present several animals at fairs.
Eldridge became involved with 4-H many years ago due to her mother, Rachel Eldridge, who helped get Sophie involved. Eldridge’s mother explained the origins of Sophie’s time at 4-H and what prompted her to join.
“My kids were showing interest in farm animals and caring for them and learning more about them. And particularly Sophie was really, really interested. So we researched and found a 4-H group that was run out of a farm so that we didn’t have to house the animals at our residence, we could use the animals at the farm,” she said.
Every big goal starts with baby steps, which is exactly how Eldridge began her animal-raising journey. She began with small animals, such as rabbits, and later transitioned to bigger animals, such as hogs.
“Sophie started with rabbits, with a little rabbit named Pepito… she has graduated to much larger farm animals,” Eldridge’s mother said.
Familial traditions provide a large part of one’s decisions and identity. They make up much of each individual’s lives as they influence not only preferences, but morals. Eldridge’s mother explained how her family history inspired Eldridge to become involved in 4-H.
“We don’t have a family history of being in 4-H, but we have a rich family history in agriculture. Both of my grandparents came from farm families, and they both really valued growing their own food and providing for their families with fresh food they grew themselves,” she said.
Raising animals takes much time and effort, it means that a farming family cannot go on vacations or be out of the house for too long, as they have many living things depending on them for food and water. However, the benefits reverberate throughout the family; animal raising becomes a project for all to work together on. Eldridge’s mother explained why raising animals is so important to her.
“[Raising animals] keeps me busy, but it also keeps me learning, and I love the animals, as much as the kids do. I love learning about them and learning to handle them. So I think it’s a great opportunity for the whole family. . . . It’s a serious business. It’s an excellent experience for kids to develop that young and early,” she said.
For Eldridge, raising animals gave her a newfound interest in veterinary medicine. When asked what her goals are for the future in terms of a career, Eldridge explained her goals for the future.
“The animals have given me a lot of inspiration. They’ve caused me to be interested in becoming a large animal veterinarian as an adult, [which is] something I never would have really been into before, and it also has taught me a really renewed sense of responsibility,” Eldridge said.
This interest stems from both her involvement in 4-H, but also the belief that her animals are well aware of what is going on around them. The miscommunication between animals and people is what often causes them to drift from one another, because they do not want to consistently interact. For Eldridge, however, this is not a problem…most of the time.
“I read online that they’re as smart as a six-year-old child, and I believe that they understand English. Because sometimes I’d be talking and they look at me and they’re just knowing, like they knew and it kind of freaked me out. So I don’t eat red meat because of that,” Eldridge said.
This is not the only thing stopping Eldridge from not eating red meat. She explained her fear of the rise of animals in the future.
“If they ever get loose, they’re going to know who’s eating the red meat and combine them. So, I don’t want to be on their list,” Eldridge said.
Raising animals comes with the joy of living in close ties with nature, however it does make the unpredictability of nature a bigger factor, especially in the modern world. Though Eldridge does her best to ensure her animals remain fed and well cared for, there is not much she can do if they choose to turn on one another.
“I wake up every day at 5:50 AM and I feed and water my animals. I actually just had a litter of seven baby rabbits born in my barn, so I have to check on all of them and make sure that the mom rabbit isn’t eating them or anything. . . . She did kill one on accident, but I think that goes as an accident; she sat on it. . . . I said ‘Girl, you have to not do that again.’ She listened to me,” Eldridge said.
The animals that both Eldridge and her brother, Seth (who is also freshman class president and participates in many school sports), raised participate in fairs on the Saturday of the first full week of August.
“There’ll be people you’ve never seen before and will never see again there. And you’ll get to meet them and experience the true country lifestyle of bidding on animals that small children raised,” Eldridge said.
Raising animals, as well as keeping up with both curricular and extracurricular takes a lot of effort. Eldridge’s brother said “her commitment” is what makes her capable of leading this lifestyle.
Participating in 4-H has given Eldridge many academic opportunities. Her interest in veterinary medicine, along with her involvement in the animal community, has allowed her to attend several college tours which help create a name for her in the community. They also help enlighten her on the admissions process and different programs she can take to become a veterinarian.
“I now know people in admissions at several veterinary universities that have free veterinary programs, because the programs I have been able to do with 4H including going on college tours and doing camps,” Eldridge said.
She has also been offered many leadership positions throughout the state, that again, will aid her future in veterinary medicine.
“The summer after my freshman year. So, two summers ago I actually was flown to DC at very short notice to be admitted into my state’s equity board of the True Leaders and Equity Conference,” Eldridge said.
As well as her animal raising, Eldridge also partakes in many school activities, such as track, swimming, model UN and Penpal club. She also works part-time at McDonald’s. Eldridge talked about how she got started at McDonald’s.
“I was just going to go on a trip for Model UN that cost 2,500 dollars and I did not have that [money] in my bank account, so I needed to start working. So I actually worked three jobs over the summer to pay for it, and the one that I stuck with was McDonald’s,” Eldridge said.
Though Eldridge began the job with the goal of earning money, she found she enjoyed working at McDonald’s very much. She explained the different social skills that she learned from the job thus far.
“I think something really important I’ve learned from McDonald’s is how to work with different people and how to prevent people from getting mad at you, or handle situations where someone is mad at you,” Eldridge said.
She also incorporated this knowledge with her animal life, as learning how to cope and communicate during different situations is especially important in the animal kingdom. Learning how to adapt in different situations is key when working in customer service. Eldridge’s gives her advice on how to deal with certain situations.
“Sometimes things are going to happen that are out of your control. And when that happens, you just have to keep moving and putting one foot in front of the other because things have a tendency to work out in the end,” Eldridge said.
Along with her multiple activities, Eldridge is very devoted to the Revere High School swim team, and found an interest in the sport. Eldridge talked about why she enjoys being on the swim team so much.
“I feel like it’s really interesting because we get to go to different places and see all these cool, different facilities and pools,” Eldridge said.
This is not Sophie’s first time on a swim team, as she also competed at her previous all girls school. Though she grew to love the sport, she encountered certain difficulties at the beginning of the season. Eldridge explained the difficulties of adjusting to her new school’s swimming environment.
“It’s been a bit of a transition, just going from being in line with all girls to being in line with guys and girls and still being super close to all those people. I definitely pushed some of my boundaries, but it’s really fun and I’m really glad to have all the guys on the team because we all get along really well,” Eldridge said.
Eldridge’s unique experiences have shaped her into an effective leader, and have given her lifelong memories. These stories do not end here, however. Her participation in raising animals, model UN, pen pal club, track, swim and her job at McDonalds, Eldridge has many more memories still to make.
