June 23, 2025
Leesburg 7-Year-Old Tops Junior Ranger National Contest, Needs Community Votes
By Kyle Coppola
Leesburg 7-Year-Old Tops Junior Ranger National Contest, Needs Community Votes
Sochi Nwosu, a 7-year-old from Leesburg, is currently the frontrunner in her group for the Junior Ranger 2025 Competition, a continent-wide contest for children ages 4–12 who demonstrate a passion for environmental stewardship. Sochi, a Florida Junior Ranger, has held the No. 1 spot in her group since public voting began on May 19.
The competition is hosted online and allows one free, Facebook-verified vote per person each day. Click here to vote. Additional votes can be cast through optional donations to the National Wildlife Federation, supporting both the candidates and the nonprofit’s conservation mission.
(Sochi’s favorite outdoor activity is going for nature walks. “It’s so much fun because you never know what you’ll find next.” says Sochi.)
Sochi’s mother, Dr. Obianuju “Uju”, describes her daughter as a “boundless source of joy and curiosity” who has inspired her local community with her dedication to nature and conservation. Sochi’s father serves in the U.S. Army, and Dr. Amadi is a physician specializing in Family and Geriatric Medicine.
“As a family, we’re so proud of Sochi’s commitment to the environment,” said Dr. Amadi. “She is determined, passionate, and full of love for the outdoors. This competition is more than a title, it’s a celebration of everything she believes in.”
(Sochi loves how nature makes its own music. She loves birds singing and loves to nature walks.)
The contest is now entering a pivotal stage. Voting for the Group Finalist round ends Thursday, June 26 at 8 p.m. ET, and only top contenders will advance to the Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and ultimately the Finals.
As the competition tightens, Sochi’s family is turning to the wider Lake and Sumter County community for support and visibility. The winner of this competition will appear in a Ranger Rick magazine and take home a grand prize of $20,000
(Sochi loves animals. Here she is hanging out with a tortoise.)
“Sochi has done incredibly well with the support of friends and neighbors,” said Dr. Amadi. “Now, we’re hoping her hometown will help lift her even higher.”
For more information or to support Sochi’s campaign, visit the Junior Ranger 2025 Competition online in this link.
Kyle Coppola was born in Newton, Massachusetts and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications from Curry College in 2016. After traveling to Florida on a family vacation, he decided he could not get enough of the warm weather and made the move from snowy Massachusetts to central Florida 8 years ago.
For the last decade Kyle has gained valuable experience in social media content creation, marketing and sales, writing, video production, sports announcing and even broadcasting for local radio stations, such as FM 102.9 in The Villages and FM 91.5 in Massachusetts. Every year he volunteers at The Villages Charter High School as a play-by-play sports announcer for the football games as well as a public address announcer for the basketball games, including the annual Battle at The Villages Tournament.
Outside the office Kyle is a husband and father to two beautiful girls along with their cat. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his family, travel, play golf and swim. He is also a huge sports junkie and even bigger motorsports fan and loves to attend racing events when he can.
