For many undergraduates, college is a time for self-discovery and plotting a course for the future. Even those who enter college with an idea of what they’d like to do or who they want to be after graduation can go through changes in interest and changes in course.

Sydney Hofferber started out at the University of Iowa with an idea about the kind of career she wanted, but it took a little while for her to solidify how she’d get there. Now set to graduate with a degree in health and human physiology as well as engaged social innovation, she didn’t just find her place at the UI—she paved a path wholly her own.

A native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Hofferber knew she wanted to help people.

“I’ve always been really interested in what prevents people from getting something even if they know it is good for them,” Hofferber says. “I kept coming back to health-accessibility issues.”

After initially considering pre-medicine, Hofferber’s desire to explore accessibility issues led her to the health promotion track in health and human physiology. Looking to further challenge herself, she added the engaged social innovation (ESI) major to her pursuits.

That’s when college became not just about learning, but about doing.

The ESI major, which is piloted and supported by the UI honors program, is designed to address areas of social concern related to a student’s current major. It also gives students real-world experience working in their areas of study through a capstone project designed entirely by the student.

“These are people who want to build things,” ESI advisor David Gould says of students who pursue the major. “They want to get their hands dirty and don’t want to wait four years to do it. They want to make differences, and they believe they can make those differences right now. There is this real consistent drive to make the world a better place.”

Hofferber proved to be a perfect fit.

“Some students just know they want to make a difference and change things; they just don’t know how or what to do,” says Gould. “Sydney was one of the more unique ones. She had some pretty specific ideas.”

A lot of those ideas came from personal experience.

“Growing up, my family went in and out of using social support systems,” Hofferber says. “Part of my feeling is that if you get something so graciously from someone else, then you should give back when you have the chance.”

This idea of giving back informed much of what Hofferber has done at the UI, especially the last two years.

She took part in a number of initiatives, including the creation and opening of the UI’s first food pantry, which was borne out of ESI classmate Ben Marks’ capstone project. Marks brought on Hofferber as a volunteer coordinator, where she helped staff the pantry and assisted with other logistical operations. The pantry started serving the UI community last fall.

That outside work came on top of the especially daunting capstone project Hofferber chose during her junior year.

Inspired by an open-ended prompt in an ESI class led by Thomas Keegan, Hofferber started thinking more critically about breastfeeding. Specifically, she thought about why some people are resistant to it and whether or not there is a better way to educate young women about its benefits, both from health and socioeconomic standpoints.

“It’s so rewarding to see a student take a project that is broadly defined and then it’s the student who gives it focus,” says Keegan, who urged Hofferber to reach out to Lucas Carr, assistant professor in health and human physiology.

Carr became Hofferber’s mentor, which each ESI student is required to have as they pursue their degree. The mentor helps students craft a plan of study, network, and provides advice.

Working with Carr exposed Hofferber to various health-intervention programs, which brought focus to her idea.

Knowing that women who plan to breastfeed before they even get pregnant have a higher level of success breastfeeding when they become mothers, Hofferber wanted to focus on a video-based intervention for pre-parental individuals.

“I was looking for that group to plant that breastfeeding idea, clear out misconceptions, and also show support roles,” Hofferber says.

Hofferber devised a study to survey women’s and men’s knowledge of and attitudes about breastfeeding before and after watching a video. She wrote the script and created a whiteboard animation that was informative and engaging by enlisting the help of two UI art students and a student videographer. Aurora Green, a senior studying printmaking, made the initial sketches, and Kalena Meyer, an art and ESI double major, drew the illustrations included in the video. Ken Yoshizawa, a graduating senior in cinematic arts, shot and edited the video, and Hofferber provided narration.

Participants in the study were able to watch the video in the comfort of their own home. Hofferber then tracked how the participants’—three-quarters of whom were women—attitudes and behaviors changed after the video through a second survey.

The study ended with 326 participants taking both surveys and watching the video. The data showed that Hofferber’s intervention worked—many participants showed significant changes in behavior and attitudes. The data also showed participants viewed the video as both comfortable and enjoyable to watch. In the simplest terms, it was a big success.

“My data showed that people who had poor attitudes or less knowledge about breastfeeding made a greater positive change in their attitudes than those with more awareness about breastfeeding, which is what you want to see,” she says.

Hofferber is now in the process of submitting a paper on the study to be published in various journals. Carr says he believes it will get published and that the study can be replicated.

“I think this idea has legs,” Carr says of Hofferber’s line of research.

The graduating senior is interviewing for jobs that will allow her to continue advocating and making an impact in the area of health-accessibility issues, and she expects she’ll one day pursue graduate school.

“I look at her as somebody who can do anything,” Carr says of Hofferber’s career potential.

If her time at the UI is any indication, she won’t need to follow a blueprint to get where she wants to go.

“It’s truly amazing how many opportunities there are here,” Hofferber says of the UI. “There are things that you wouldn’t even imagine wanting for yourself, and then you end up growing into it. This is a place where you can make a difference if you want to.”