Sofia Chepenik fires up the team [Photo by USF Athletics]
By Paul Guzzo, University Communications and Marketing
As USF celebrates its 70th anniversary throughout 2026, the university community is honoring the people who helped shape its rise. Sofia Chepenik is already one of those trailblazers.
A member of USF鈥檚 inaugural women鈥檚 lacrosse team 鈥 which played its first regular鈥憇eason game just a year ago 鈥 Chepenik also served on the program鈥檚 original leadership 鈥渂oard,鈥 the group of four captains who helped establish the team鈥檚 culture and direction.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an incredible honor,鈥 said Chepenik, who鈥檚 earning her bachelor鈥檚 degree in mass communications with a concentration in broadcast news. 鈥淥ne of the reasons I came here was because I wanted to leave a legacy as being a part of this inaugural team.鈥
Now, she hopes to help other young women forge legacies of their own.
Chepenik has one remaining year of lacrosse eligibility and will stay at USF to pursue a master鈥檚 degree in marketing. She plans to pair her experiences on the field with the knowledge she gains in the classroom to become a mentor and motivational speaker, particularly for aspiring female athletes.
鈥淚 have a passion for helping the next generation of female athletes,鈥 she said.
Sofia Chepenik hopes to inspire young female athletes
Chepenik鈥檚 already building that platform.
In August, she launched Sophia鈥檚 Squad, a mentorship community designed to help young female athletes develop confidence, mindset, leadership and purpose. Hosted on the learning platform Skool, the paid program offers weekly members鈥憃nly Zoom sessions, one open session each month, 30鈥 and 60鈥慸ay development programs, classroom鈥憇tyle lessons and daily exercises aimed at helping participants build stronger routines and clearer direction.
Each week, Chepenik also brings in guest experts 鈥 from former athletes to psychologists and nutritionists 鈥 to give girls practical guidance they can immediately apply.
鈥淎 lot of girls are missing that female mentor,鈥 she said. 鈥淭his is where I want to step in and help them grow.鈥
Sophia鈥檚 Squad is intentionally crafted to fill a gap Chepenik felt deeply while growing up.
Despite starring at Episcopal School of Jacksonville 鈥 scoring 250 goals, adding 169 assists, earning multiple All鈥慉merican honors and captaining three seasons 鈥 Chepenik still wasn鈥檛 recruited at the level she expected.
Sophia Chepenik in the heat of competition
鈥淎ll the schools that I thought would be interested in me didn鈥檛 reach out,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 felt overlooked. There was a month or so where I was ready to give up and go to college without lacrosse. And then one day, on my own, it hit me that I could accomplish anything I set my mind to.鈥
She was right. The colleges came calling, and she had her pick, placing USF at the top of the list.
Then, at USF, Chepenik earned unanimous First Team All鈥慉merican Conference honors, set scoring records, claimed multiple conference Attacker of the Week awards and delivered consistently dominant performances.
But not every young athlete has that innate belief in themselves 鈥 which is exactly why she created Sophia鈥檚 Squad.
鈥淚 recently connected with a young woman who was starting to get down on herself and didn鈥檛 know if she wanted to keep playing lacrosse,鈥 Chepenik said. 鈥淪o I spent time with her, helped her identify personal goals and the actions that align with them. She鈥檚 still playing 鈥 and excelling.鈥
It鈥檚 not just about sports, she reminds her mentees. Not all of them will become Division I stars 鈥 but the lessons of hard work, resilience and confidence will follow them everywhere in life.
鈥淚 tell them that good things are going to come out of it at some point,鈥 Chepenik said. 鈥淎nd as long as they always work hard, they鈥檙e never going to live with the regret of wishing they had done more.鈥
That type of mentorship, Chepenik said, is the legacy she hopes to continue building.
鈥淭he journey is the most important part,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not the end goal. I鈥檓 enjoying the journey.鈥