EDUCATION
Rio Rancho student wins Super Bowl tickets in national drawing
A Stapleton fifth-grader won two Super Bowl tickets after completing the American Heart Association’s Finn’s Mission
RIO RANCHO — “Bang bang Niner Gang!”
That’s what Ernest Stapleton Elementary fifth-grade student Sophia Farwell hopes to be shouting when she attends the Super Bowl in February.
The morning of the NFL’s opening day Wednesday, Farwell was surprised to find out she won two tickets to the Super Bowl during an assembly hosted by the American Heart Association.
“When schools do our program — Kids Heart Challenge or American Heart Challenge — they’re learning their life-saving skills, like hands-only CPR, the warning signs of stroke and healthy behaviors while they are fundraising critical funds for our mission,” said AHA Senior Vice President Amanda Heffley, noting that the challenge Sophia participated in is called Finn’s Mission. “If you complete Finn’s Mission, we have a drawing through our partnership with the NFL that we have five pairs of tickets nationally to go to the Super Bowl, and (Sophia) won the national drawing.”
When Heffley announced Sophia as the winner, the gym full of students erupted with cheers and chants of “Super Bowl!”
Sophia shared what was going on in her head when Heffley made the announcement.
“I wasn’t expecting this. Is this even real?” she said. “I was like, ‘Wait. Is this really my name being called, or is that another Sophia?’”
“We thought we were coming here today for her to accept an award with other kids, and we were just invited to come down,” said Michele Farwell, Sophia’s mom. “We were just as shocked as she was. I had no idea it was this big or that she was even winning this prize.”
“We’re super excited, super proud,” Sophia’s dad, Jared Farwell, said. “We knew it was an important challenge, and that’s why Sophia put all the effort into it, and Michele helped coordinate that with her. But we didn’t imagine that it was going to transition into such an honor for Sophia, so we’re really proud of her.”
Michele said that with three kids, the family participates in the challenge every year.
“This year, it was just her that we said we would do because our other son did the last challenge,” she said. “So I was like, ‘OK, it’s Sophia’s turn to do it,’ because it’s hard when you have twins asking people for the same thing.”
Sophia became eligible for the ticket drawing for work she completed in fourth grade.
“You had to watch a hands-only CPR video, and then you had to send the video to family and friends and social media to help others learn how to save lives,” she said. “I know my parents love the Super Bowl and football, and I knew that if I had the chance to raise enough money, then I could do the sliming and I can get limited prizes and a lot of keychains to remind myself to stay healthy.”
“Sophia is a competition gymnast, so she works all week long and on Saturdays to work really hard towards getting ready for the next season and staying healthy for that,” Jared said.
“We are incredibly proud of Sophia and all other RRPS students who participated in this program for taking the time to learn skills that could one day save someone’s life," said Rio Rancho Public Schools Superintendent Robert Dodd. “To have one of only five students selected from across the entire country come from Ernest Stapleton Elementary and Rio Rancho Public Schools makes this an especially exciting moment for our entire community.”
“Sophia represents so much of what makes our Stapleton community special: curiosity, compassion and a willingness to learn something that can make a real difference for others,” said Cheryl Clark, principal of Ernest Stapleton Elementary. “Seeing her surprised with this incredible news alongside her classmates and teachers was a moment our school will remember for a long time. We are so excited for Sophia and her family, and we could not be more proud to have her represent Stapleton on a national stage.”
Heffley said this is the third year the American Heart Association has partnered with the NFL for the Super Bowl ticket giveaway, which began after Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field during a game on Jan. 2, 2023.
“The NFL has always been a great partner with donating some different resources and stuff, but then once that happened with Damar, our relationship got really robust, and they were super supportive,” she said.
When speaking about presenting Sophie with the tickets, she said the AHA team was so excited.
“My team covers six states, and we have not had a winner in New Mexico yet, or even in the West Texas area. She is really the first winner for the past three years that we’ve had our partnership from New Mexico. It’s extremely exciting. We’re hoping that it also brings awareness to our programs and that more schools across New Mexico participate with us,” she said.
During the assembly, Heffley also encouraged Stapleton students to become involved with the challenge coming up this year.
“I encourage all of you to continue your work on healthy behaviors, and this year during Kids Heart Challenge to complete your mission,” she said, adding that they could be standing in Sophia’s spot next year.
It was not lost on Heffley that the presentation was made on the NFL's opening day.
"We work with the NFL on their timeline, and they gave us a couple weeks window to do this in. And today, it just did so happen to be opening day, but it did fall within the window that the NFL gives us," she said.
Originally from the Bay Area in California and moving to New Mexico about nine years ago, Sophia and her parents are San Francisco 49ers fans, and she hopes to be cheering on her favorite team in Los Angeles on Feb. 14.