Sofie Winkels

During her time at Our Lady of the Bay Catholic High School, Sofie Winkels learned valuable life lessons that would carry her into her current career in law enforcement. “The biggest lesson that she learned as a student in Catholic education was understanding that everyone has a different perspective about life and faith. It doesn’t mean that a person is wrong when he/she doesn’t agree with you, and his/her opinions and values must be respected,” says one of her past teachers.

After graduating from Our Lady of the Bay in 2004, Sofie attended the University of Toronto and received her Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and history. Shortly after, she was accepted to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) training program. After months of training, she finally became a certified RCMP officer and moved to northern British Columbia, where she spent time working with First Nations communities.

Today, Sofie is living and working in Kamloops, British Columbia as a school resource officer. She often spends her days travelling to schools to teach students about online safety, cyberbullying, road safety and much more. Sofie also organizes workshops and forums to help parents understand and cope with teen drug use, youth homelessness and cyber safety.