Sophie Oppfelt
Sophie Oppfelt s-OH-fee Ah-pp-felt (she/her/hers)
News Visual Journalist, Phoenix

Sophie Oppfelt expects to graduate in December 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a minor in business. Oppfelt has interned with Arizona Horizon.

Latest from Sophie Oppfelt

Volunteers help Tempe kids with reading skills

Page Turners is an organization that promotes early childhood literacy. Its volunteers from Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University provide free reading tutoring at the Tempe Public Library.

(Photo by Sophie Oppfelt/Cronkite News)

Empathy and humanity are at the center of Holocaust education in Arizona

PHOENIX – Arizona teachers, including some who have visited Holocaust sites, are looking for ways to teach middle and high school students about the Holocaust and other genocides. Experts say teaching it builds empathy and warns of “the dangers of staying silent in the face of evil.”

When Amanda Johnson was visiting the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland, she didn’t take photos of the heart-wrenching scenes at the memorial. Instead, she bought books to share with her students and help them learn about the millions of Jewish people who were killed during the Holocaust. Photo taken on Sept. 6, 2022, at Corona del Sol High School in Tempe. (Photo by Sophie Oppfelt/Cronkite News)

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is used ‘off label’ to treat brain injuries, but questions remain

CAVE CREEK – Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is being used to treat patients with traumatic brain injuries but has not been approved by the FDA.

Gordon Brown demonstrates how he has used the hyperbaric chamber at HBOT of Arizona in Cave Creek to help with his traumatic brain injury Photo taken Sept. 13, 2022. (Photo by Sophie Oppfelt/Cronkite News)

How one Wickenburg cattle ranch puts sustainability at its core

WICKENBURG, Ariz. – Date Creek Ranch in Wickenburg is working to demonstrate how cattle ranching can benefit the environment.

Date Creek Ranch is a sustainable farming community that relies on solar energy to power the ranch. Photo taken on Sept. 27, 2022. (Photo by Sophie Oppfelt/Cronkite News)

Valley animal shelters struggle to ease overcrowding amid economic instability

PHOENIX – Metro Phoenix is experiencing an animal housing crisis of overcrowded animal shelters. Maricopa County Animal Care and Control and the Arizona Humane Society are offering resources to pet owners and rolling out initiatives to get pets out of shelters and into permanent or foster homes.


Heat deaths hit record in Maricopa County, but there are ways to stay safe

PHOENIX – Higher temperatures in Maricopa County have led to a record number of heat-associated deaths, according to a report released this month. Experts say people – visitors and Arizonans alike – should reconsider how to prepare for the heat to stay safe while outdoors.


Sky Harbor to build taxiway overpass with federal funds to support growing air traffic

PHOENIX – Sky Harbor is receiving federal funding to build a $260 million taxiway that will create easier flow for planes on the tarmac before takeoff and after landing. More than half the project is funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.


In a pickle: Pickleball takes off, but search for courts worries tennis players

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Pickleball is experiencing growing pains as courts are becoming harder to find. Cities are responding by building more courts and converting tennis courts, but not everyone is on board with those efforts.


Arizona hopes to reduce enormous teacher shortage through mentoring, paid tuition

PHOENIX – The Arizona Teacher Residency is a first-of-its-kind graduate program, modeled on a traditional medical residency. It offers student teachers a two-year term in which they will receive in-classroom experience, a living stipend, a master’s degree from NAU and a job in a partnering school district. The program’s first cohort has been placed in three Title I districts.


Both sides find something wanting in Biden’s student-debt relief plan

WASHINGTON - There are nearly 900,000 Arizonans who could benefit from a White House plan for student debt relief - and almost as many opinions about whether it's good or not, with conservatives saying it goes too far and progressives saying it does not go far enough.