The Dec is losing a good one.

Sports Editor Sophia Gibbs will be graduating next weekend, taking her love for sports writing with her. 

Writing about everything from a new triathlon coach to providing coverage for last year’s Super Bowl, Gibbs has been a surefire part of the Dec staff since the 2022-2023 school year, making sure that sports are well represented on Millikin’s campus.

Writing has always been a passion for Gibbs, and the Dec has allowed her to pursue her passion for it.

“Being a science major, I only ever got to write in a lab report form, but I always liked English in high school,” she said. “I’m glad I had the opportunity to write and use those skills, and it’s made me a better writer.

“I also really liked some of the stories that I was passionate about, like the Hidden Opponent stories I would write.”

Gibbs is an advocate for the Hidden Opponent, a nationwide program that involves “campus captains” who spread awareness about the importance of mental health awareness.

“I’ve tried to open the conversation about mental health specifically in my sport, and I have tried to reach out to other sports through things like FCA, and I also hosted a mental health game with softball last year. I want to create more dialogue about mental health or mental illness  in athletes specifically.”

Creating awareness about the importance of maintaining mental health has been Gibbs’ main goal, and she has done just that.

“Sometimes you’re told you’re not tough enough to play a sport if you struggle with that kind of stuff,” she said. “A lot of people have old-school views on it. Physical and mental health should be taken seriously. There’s a difference between a coach actually coaching and tearing our players down.”

Gibbs is also a Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) leader, a role that she has taken full advantage of to spread awareness about mental health information. She shared her story at Millikin Student Ministries’ Week of Worship, an experience that left an impact on her and one that she hopes left an impact on others as well.

“After I shared my testimony at Week of Worship, a lot of people came up to me and said, ‘I would have had no idea.’ That is the point of opening up those conversations, because people think that they’re the only ones who struggle with it when that’s not true,” she said.

Gibbs will miss the community that FCA has provided her dearly when she graduates, and she hopes that anyone on the edge about attending would give it a try.

“I one hundred percent would not be as sad to graduate without FCA,” she said. “Community is a big part of my faith, but I didn’t realize that until I got to college. I found my people and people that share similar values, which is really important to me. On a campus this small, I didn’t know if I’d be able to find my group of people.

“It has taught me a lot about how community is what’s most important to me.”

Gibbs’ passion for sports and community have made her an extremely talented writer and the perfect fit for Sports Editor. Using the skills that she has learned and sharpened during her time at Millikin and with the Dec, she is sure to succeed wherever life takes her.