SLO LIFE Feb/Mar 2018

| ON THE RISE
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
Lauren Frost
This Mission College Preparatory Catholic High
School senior’s creativity and hard work are
beginning to pay off as she prepares for college.
What sort of extracurricular activities are you involved in?
I especially enjoy the Boys & Girls Club Science Workshop that I
started with a friend from school—we are currently expanding the
workshop into a continuing outreach program. I am also engaged
in an upcoming, fascinating research project at Cal Poly to study
preconceptions elementary school children have towards math. In my
free time, I enjoy roller blading, high altitude hiking, and ocean diving.
What recognition have you received? I was selected to represent my school at
Girls State and the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards Conference. I was awarded
Best Student of the Year in Art and Physics by faculty. I’ve received the Highest
Distinction Honor Roll every year for having a 4.0+ average G.P.A.
What is your favorite memory? A couple of months ago, I unveiled an interactive
art project in downtown SLO called the “I Have a Dream Wall,” which invites
passersby to write their dreams in chalk. I envisioned a place where strangers
could inspire one another by expressing written aspirations. I was really nervous
as to how the project would be received by the community—would it be messy,
would profanity be an issue, was anyone even interested? After a year of looking
for a building owner who shared a similar vision, the “I Have A Dream Wall” was
launched. The day of the unveiling, I passed around several dozen fliers to all my
teachers and fellow students in hopes of getting a handful of people to make it
to the event. I was stunned with delight to see thirty or forty people come out to
watch the project launch. I’m so incredibly thankful to live in a town where an idea
like this can thrive.
What is going on with you now? I’m thrilled to say I finished with applying to
colleges and with all this extra time on my hands, I joined a roller derby team.
What career do you see yourself in someday? While I’m not exactly sure how
things are going to play out for me, I know I want to be somewhere advancing new
avenues of technology, especially on the exciting forefront of biochemistry with
developments in artificial muscles and cardiac-muscle patches.
What are you looking forward to most? I look forward to cheering wildly in the
student section of a D-1 college football game.
What schools are you considering for college? A wide variety from some coastal
UC’s to historic, small liberal arts schools back east. Who knows which time zone
I’ll be in next year. Anywhere that gets a few degrees colder in the winter time, a
place where I can be my kooky self and feel right at home. SLO LIFE
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50 | SLO LIFE MAGAZINE | FEB/MAR 2018