B.S. in Psychology
McFarland, Wis.

Presentation Remarks:

Lauren, in your time at Denison you have fused academic engagement and depth of service into a single pursuit, orbiting around the twin stars of your Neuroscience Concentration and your intense activism on behalf of autism. As a Paschal Carter Scholar, recipient of the highly competitive Anderson Scholarship, and member of Phi Beta Kappa, you have centered your psychology major on the study of neuroscience as well as the invigoration of the already vibrant but still growing neuroscience community on campus. In this vein you have been what one teacher says is a “star” in the classroom and a “force” beyond the classroom. You have been a Summer Scholar, President of NERD (Neuroscience Education and Research at Denison), major contributor to the iTunes “Brain Facts” recording, judge at the Ohio State Science Day, participant in Costa Rica’s Primate Behavior and Conservation Program, attendee at numerous neuroscience conferences, and assistant at the Medical College of Wisconsin, where you studied the “rhythm generation” in mouse brainstem neurons.

In the arena of civic engagement you have used your neuroscience education as a strategic springboard to launch an intensive four years of engagement with issues of autism. Your passion for helping autistic children and your championing of their cause is widely known and admired by campus staff and students alike. Your significant leadership in Hope for Autism, along with a host of other campus involvements, led to your receipt of the Distinguished Leadership Award and the President’s Service Award for more than 250 hours of service in a single season. 

Lauren, as you head off to a bright future in graduate school, we applaud your truly prodigious accomplishments at our College, and we are confident that you will be returning often to visit campus as prolific scholar, expert teacher, and honored alumna.

Student Achievements:

Anderson Scholarship for Excellence in Science; Paschal Carter Scholar; Department of Psychology - Senior Fellow; Mortar Board (Senior Honorary) - Vice President of Service; Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship Nominee; Sigma Xi (The Scientific Research Society) Associate Member; Phi Beta Kappa; Psi Chi (Psychology Honorary); Nu Rho Psi (Neuroscience Honorary) - Secretary; Phi Society; Dean’s List; Honors Program - Mentor; Anderson Scholarship for Summer Research; Mellon Interdisciplinary Neuroscience Experience in Decision Making; Midwestern Psychological Association - Psi Chi Session; Ohio State Science Day - Judge, Behavioral and Social Science Team; Ohio Academy of Science Conference - Medicine, Health, and Physiology Podium Session; DANTA Primate Behavior and Conservation Program; Distinguished Leadership Award; Hope for Autism - Parent and Organization Contact Chair, Team Leader; Neuroscience Education and Research at Denison (N.E.R.D.) - President, Vice President; Denison University Biological Society (DUBS) - Public Relations Chair; After School Drama Club - Chair; President’s Volunteer Gold Service Award; Office of Academic Support and Enrichment - Psychology, Biology, and Chemistry Tutor; Office of Admissions - Tour Guide; Secular Student Alliance; Denison Religious Understanding; Red Cross Blood Drive; Summer Program for Undergraduate Research at Medical College of Wisconsin; "Project NAS" - Audio recording of the National Academy of Sciences’ "Science, Evolution, and Creationism"; "Voice of Neuroscience"- Audio recording of the Society for Neuroscience's 'Brain Facts' "; Gospel Choir; Concert Choir.