Running With It

The Smith family

The Smith family

Rochelle and Jonathan Smith P’06 Reflect on Daughter Lauren’s Experiences on Campus and Beyond

by MaryAlice Bitts-Jackson

The Smith family

Lauren Smith ’06 was a high-achieving student who was active in her school and community, and she received admissions materials from colleges and universities across the country. It was the early 2000s, and Dickinson’s student body then had less than 7 percent of students self-identifying as students of color (the rate has since risen to 21 percent of the student body). So when Lauren fell in love with Dickinson after a campus tour, her mother, Rochelle, struck a note of caution.

“I told her, ‘You’re from an underrepresented background—would you be comfortable here?’ ” says Rochelle, an assistant provost for STEM diversity at Washington University in St. Louis, “and she said, ‘Mom, someone has to be brave enough.’ Because she knew this was where she wanted to be.” Roughly 15 years later, as they reflect on their oldest daughter’s undergrad career—and her current life as a comedy writer and improv comedian in New York City—Rochelle and husband Jonathan, vice president of diversity and assistant professor of African American studies at St. Louis University, say they are grateful for the opportunities Lauren received through Dickinson, on campus and beyond.

An American studies major with a fascination for global cultures, Lauren was inducted into Alpha Lambda Delta during her first year on campus and made the Dean’s List all four years. She sharpened her Spanish skills through a Mexican Mosaic, which brought her in touch with migrant and newly settling Latino communities in nearby Adams County.

All the while, Lauren developed strong leadership skills, volunteering with the College Democrats and campus activities board and working as an RA as well as in the admissions and diversity offices. But it was her writing ability that truly set the table for her future career.

No stranger to the spotlight, Lauren comes from a family of public speakers and performers, and she knew that she wanted to pursue an entertainment career since age 12, when she saw her uncle perform in a Broadway production of Rent. An award-winning high school debater and storyteller, she continued to act in Mermaid Players productions and added improv to her repertoire, courtesy of the college’s student comedy troupe, Run With It!

Lauren met Dickinson trustee Amy Nauiokas ’94 during an on-campus scholarship banquet, and Nauiokas, a leader in communications, media production, finance and investment, helped the young Dickinsonian secure a summer internship at VH1. When that internship ended, Lauren earned a production assistant job at the network and also began to write comedy, penning jokes for professional comedians’ appearances on reality recap and talking-heads shows.

Lauren’s production credits include Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen and Fashion Queens and VH1’s Best Week Ever. She is a staff writer for BET’s The Rundown With Robin Thede and contributes to the humor site Reductress. Lauren also recently acted in Netflix’s The Characters, and she performs improv regularly at the Magnet Theater.

The ’06 grad credits Run With It! with providing career inspiration and Nauiokas with providing her first big break. And her parents, who have shared their experiences with prospective Dickinson parents through Dickinson’s Parents Leadership Council, credit the college with providing her the education that positioned her for success.

“Her coursework, her study-abroad opportunities, her relationships with faculty and staff—Dickinson delivered robust experiences for her that rivaled other institutions three times its size,” Rochelle says. “In any sector that Lauren finds herself she’s the smartest one in the room, and it’s not just because of her intellect. It’s because of the experiences she had, the faculty she engaged with, the other students who helped sharpen her critical-thinking skills.”

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Published February 27, 2018