The business behind a better future

After lots of waiting and refreshing, she finally saw her letter of acceptance for admission to the University of Cincinnati.

“I got the acceptance literally in the boat,” Ferrigolo said. “The Wi-Fi was terrible, but there was a brief window of time where I could see UC’s decision letter come in.”

Ferrigolo arrived in Cincinnati knowing her goal was to work in the intersection between business and sustainability. “My mom has always instilled in me a deep care for the environment and the ones around me,” she said. “I also look up to my dad very much, and he’s in business, so through him I started to understand the scale of impact that a sustainable framework can have within the private sector.”

Right away as her first semester kicked off, Ferrigolo got to work on her goals. Her first week on campus, she joined UC’s chapter of Net Impact, a student organization based in the UC Center for Entrepreneurship. Net Impact is a global nonprofit organization and community of over 100,000 students and professionals dedicated to creating positive social and environmental change. Ferrigolo served as the chapter president in 2025.

As if that wasn’t enough for her, Ferrigolo also became a NEXT Innovation Scholar, Portman Center fellow, emphasizing civic leadership, and served as co-director of sustainability for UC’s student government. 

“She’s such a kind and collaborative member of the cohort,” said Emily Bauman, program director for the Portman Center for Policy Solutions. “Just this past semester she participated in a day at Cincinnati City Hall, where center fellows met with city council members and other civil servants to learn about how to impact public policy here locally.” The council even passed a resolution commending the cohort’s efforts as part of the Portman Center.

Ferrigolo’s co-ops and student involvement kept her quite busy locally, but also sent her around the world from Germany, to Miami, Florida, to finally, back home in Brazil. 

“It was with Net Impact and student government that the idea of going to COP came about,” she said. 

The United Nations Conference of Parties, or COP, is an annual event where countries, businesses and nongovernmental organizations (NGO) come together to negotiate and advance global action such as reduction of greenhouse emissions and advancements in infrastructure.

“I always say every job is a ‘green’ job because we’re getting into a time where everyone is going to be affected by where we are and what’s happening with the environment and we all have a role to play,” Ferrigolo said. She explained that while sustainability can involve interdisciplinary work, novel ideas can get very siloed. 

“Through my role in student government as co-director of sustainability, I try to create initiatives that close the gap,” she said. Ferrigolo helped create Sustainability@UC, a coalition between student government, the Center for Public Engagement with Science, UC’s budding School of Environment and Sustainability, and the Office of Sustainability. 

The coalition is currently hosting its second Sustainability @ UC Week. Ferrigolo was also one of the founding members of the Bearcats Student Council for Sustainability, which invites the presidents of over 20 sustainability-focused student groups to collaborate on initiatives and exchange ideas on the sustainability ecosystem on campus.

Now in her final semester at UC, Ferrigolo is looking ahead at how she can apply her mindset to her career. “I want to continue connecting the dots between academia, business, government and NGOs through my work in sustainability,” she said. 

Ferrigolo scored a full-time job with her co-op employer McKinsey & Company as a business analyst. “I’m super excited to reconnect with friends in Miami and be a little closer to home,” she said.

After graduation, Ferrigolo will continue finding impact-driven solutions around the world.

Featured image at top of Sofia Ferrigolo giving a presentation on sustainability in business. Photo/provided