Sonia Birla

Bonnie E. Cone Leadership Award Recipient

Sonia Birla earned a Bachelor of Arts in Geography, a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies, and a Bachelor of Science in Finance with a 3.97 GPA. Sonia was a Truman Scholarship Finalist and a Levine Scholar. She served as Founder and President of not one, but two highly impactful student organizations - South Asian Student Association and the Campus Sustainability Alliance. As the leader of the South Asian Student Association, which grew into one of the largest student organizations on campus, Sonia planned a 3-day-long mock wedding that was attended by over 500 people, celebrating the traditions and cultures of all eight South Asian countries. Sonia’s roles as Vice Chair of the Charlotte Green Initiative and as Student Government Association Sustainability Liaison led her to create the Campus Sustainability Alliance to bring together similarly minded student organizations under one umbrella, working towards a common goal. Through the Charlotte Green Initiative, Sonia helped fund over 40 sustainability projects on campus, from bicycle repair stations to water bottle refill stations to the Party for the Planet event. Last summer, Sonia conducted research in Thailand assessing the lasting consequences of COVID-19 and climate change on tropical crop cultivation through the National Science Foundation. Locally, she worked through UNC Charlotte’s UrbanCORE on a $16,000 initiative to create a park in the Sugar Creek neighborhood of Charlotte for transitional housing residents.