Sobahl sh'Qylrin was born on Andoria in the small city of Qqessir on the southern continent of Harbaht. Her clan, Clan Qylrin, governs the region around Qqessir and is well-represented in parliament. Sobahl had thought her destiny was to study political science and join her cousins in service to the Empire. For many years, that was the future she pursued.
Then she met a young man named Va'kel Shon while observing a parliamentary session. Shon was a dashing and handsome young man, and Sobahl quickly developed a young girl's crush - though she was much too young for him and he, in retrospect, did not reciprocate the interest. They spoke at length that day about politics, both local and interstellar. Shon was well-versed in history and recounted his knowledge of Andoria's first contact with space-faring species, the early days of diplomacy, and the founding of the United Federation of Planets.
He was an engaging speaker and Sobahl listened raptly. He revealed that in only a week's time, he was leaving for Earth to enroll in Starfleet Academy. He would, he declared without a hint of doubt, captain a starship one day. The day came to a close and the two parted ways, but Sobahl carried that torch for years to come.
It shifted her focus from Andorian to galactic politics. She learned all she could of the Federation and Starfleet, and soon developed an obsession with becoming a starship captain herself. Two years later, with the blessing (though not the understanding) of her family, Sobahl was on a Federation Runabout headed toward Earth and her freshman year at Starfleet Academy.
At the Academy, she focused on political science and diplomacy, which led her to also study sociology, behavioral science, linguistics, and a panoply of other social and behavioral sciences. Her focus, as it had been since her childhood, was on people: aiding them, commanding them, understanding them. This focus earned her the attention of the faculty in Command School and she was invited move from Science to Command and complete her studies on that track.
She declined. Studying the people and cultures of the galaxy was her passion, but the faculty was persistent. They saw something in her that she did not - something, it occurred to her, that Va'kel Shon had seen in himself all those years ago. Sobahl acquiesced, but was determined to complete her education in the School of Science. A compromise was reached: she would essentially "double major" during the remainder of her time at the academy. Continuing her science focus, she would also spend extra effort to learn command - leadership, strategy and tactics, decision making.
Sobahl found she enjoyed it. Command gave her first-hand experience and a way to apply the theoretical sciences she'd been studying. Though she graduated the academy a science officer, she was recognized as an accomplished officer destined to one day captain a starship.