Fredonia Public Relations graduate Lauren Orlowski.
ABOUT THE NURTURING INNOVATION CAMPAIGN
It’s a dream of many to be in a career that makes a positive difference in people’s lives.
Lauren Orlowski is living that dream.
She’s the special projects coordinator for Independent Health Foundation, a Buffalo, N.Y.,-based non-profit that promotes health initiatives in the community through fun and innovative ways. She wears lots of hats, building campaign strategies, handling social media, getting involved in finance and assisting with special events. No two days, Lauren says, are alike.
“The best part of my job is that I feel I am making a difference in the community, and I wake up every morning and say, ‘Yes, I’m excited for work. This is awesome!”
Lauren says the passion that she has for public relations, which was fostered at Fredonia, has been a driving force in her career at Independent Health Foundation. Those four years at Fredonia were very enriching, Lauren recalls, notably with Orchesis Dance Company, the Public Relations Student Society of America Fredonia Chapter and multiple internships. Her senior capstone project put into perspective a real-world career in public relations.
Professors were a key contributor along the way, and what Lauren learned in the classroom from them was readily applied to internships and other off-campus experiences.
“Just the real-life experience the professors shared and offered; they had an open door policy in a sense that we could ask them anything and they would share their experiences, even give us advice. I think having that support system at Fredonia definitely made a world of difference,” Lauren said.
“Being a part of it all, those experiences, really shaped me as a person, but also kind of instilled in me the passion that I have for my career, which is public relations, and how important it was for me to make a difference in the world through communication,” Lauren said.
