Fire has literally and metaphorically shaped the young life of Greeley West High School senior Sofia Vasquez.

Metaphorically, her family and friends say she has a fire in her, a passion to help those who need a light in their lives and a fire to blaze a path for equality for every human, especially for those who are unhoused.

Literally, fire has turned everything she owned into ash.

In July 2022, a month before her freshman year at Greeley West, Vasquez was living with her father, Cristobal, in his apartment. They had returned home from a day of shopping, and she was putting away her clothes. Suddenly, he ran up to her room, telling her there was a fire inside the apartment. He told her to grab whatever she could and get out.

“I thought everything was going to be OK,” she said. “I didn

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