Early in her childhood, Lauren was diagnosed as dyslexic and struggled daily with reading and writing. She persisted through her learning-disorder, was homeschooled, and graduated with her BSE in Civil Engineering at 18 & MS in Environmental Engineering at 20. Lauren fell in love with how STEM changes people’s lives while building houses for the homeless in Mexico. Desiring to empower other women to become leaders in STEM, Lauren joined the Miss America Organization and placed as 3rd runner up to Miss Arizona 2014. Lauren is currently pursuing her dream of becoming a teacher as a Civil Engineering PhD student.