Meet Lauren Gardner: avid Dav dirty chai drinker, SIS major, graphic design and communication minor, past orientation leader, Texas native (minus the twang!), one of the few people on the planet who can tie a cherry stem in a knot with her tongue, and, of course, this semester’s president of Alpha Phi Omega.
When current senior Lauren Gardner stepped on campus in the fall of 2008, it was a given that she join Alpha Phi Omega, the co-ed community service fraternity on campus. Alpha Phi Omega is a brotherhood of like-minded individuals who have a passion for serving others and come together to foster friendships and mentor relationships within the chapter.
Alpha Phi Omega gave her the opportunity to continue the service she started when she was younger. Lauren started serving others young when she volunteered weekly at a local food pantry throughout her elementary school years. Being heavily involved in her church youth group gave her the opportunities to participate in domestic and international mission trips, including her most memorable experience in Peru. In the summer after her sophomore year of high school, she traveled through her church group to Peru for ten days, where she helped rebuild a slum. During her travels, she has witnessed many levels of poverty in the U.S. as well as places in India and Africa. Visiting these places and experiencing these hardships, combined with her innate sense of service and helping others have driven her to studying international studies here at AU.
As a freshman, Alpha Phi Omega introduced her to the many ways service can be done and the ways she could give back to the community. She was also introduced to the many older brothers in the chapter who helped shape her first two years of college and gave her positive role models. And now that Lauren is one of those older brothers, she can fulfill that rewarding leadership role. Lauren’s favorite part of being president of Alpha Phi Omega is simply being able to give back to the organization that gave her so many opportunities that she wouldn’t have gotten anywhere else. Alpha Phi Omega has also given her many opportunities to grow as a leader, as a friend, and as a member of the community.
Being president is not the only leadership role she has taken within Alpha Phi Omega. Not only has she been on the executive board in the past, but she also was the co-director of STAND in 2010. STAND, short for Stay Awake and Dance, is an all-night dance party fundraiser and is one of the ways that Alpha Phi Omega try to promote the attitude of service and the campus community the opportunity to take part in the sprit of service that Alpha Phi Omega maintains. Alpha Phi Omega and Women’s Initiative will be hosting STAND again this semester on March 31st from 8pm-2am in the Tavern, all proceeds will benefit the Family Health and Birth Center as well as the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.
Next time you see Lauren designing in Katzen, relaxing in the Dav, or socializing with friends in the MGC Marketplace, offer her up a swipe and ask her about her two semesters abroad in India and Italy, or ask her to teach you to tie a cherry stem with your tongue.