Family, life experience becomes a career

It was during a visit to her sister that finally gave her an idea for what her life could look like after high school graduation. 

Lauren Polsdorfer, senior, is moving to Wilmington, North Carolina in June, not just for her love of the sun or for a college, but for a family bond and for a passion.  

“We visited North Carolina in August in the summer, and I was talking to my sister about how it would be so cool to like come live here and she said I actually should, and I never thought it was something I was going to do. I didn’t know if I should go to college and do the normal route, but ever since then I’ve decided that that’s where I’m going,” Polsdorfer said. 

Polsdorfer’s sister, Jenna, gave her the courage to move. Her 23-year-old sister currently lives on Wrightsville Beach, and Polsdorfer will be moving in with her in a beach house. Polsdorfer and her sister have been very close and she is “one of my best friends.”

“She calls me ‘niña’ and I call her ‘madre’ because she’s like another mom to me,” Polsdorfer said. “She always would take me out to lunch and would buy me things just for no reason, just like something for us to do together.”

While her sister may have inspired the initial decision, Polsdorfer says she hopes the move will also help with her career. She is looking for a career that allows her to be social while doing something she is passionate about.

“[I want to do] something with kids, or like, people, most likely a kindergarten teacher or a counselor or something because I really like talking to people,” Polsdorfer said. “So I’m trying to figure that out but something definitely with kids because I really like kids.”

Polsdorfer says her love of kids is based on life experiences that have shaped her to be very outgoing. This was apparent to close friends such as Julia Cison, senior. The two have been friends for about six years.

“She’s always loved watching kids and her mom’s a nanny. She always has kids around her all the time and she’s really good with them, so I kind of had an idea she would want to do childhood education,” Cison said.

Polsdorfer says her mother is a “huge inspiration in my life” and has given her first-hand experience with handling kids. She is a nanny for two families and takes care of 8 kids.

“It was hard sometimes because [my mom] has a lot of kids to care for so she would come home tired,” Polsdorfer said. “But it’s been really good to help me see how to handle kids and definitely gave me a better grasp on the whole teaching thing.”

While Polsdorfer is unsure of a specific major or career, she does know what path she wants to take. She plans to achieve her goal through community college, by taking two credits this fall so she can get started with her education.

“[Lauren] is not a big fan of waking up or staying at school so I think that community college is going to be a good fit for her,” Natalie Quiroz, senior and friend of Polsdorfer, said. “I think it will be good for the first year so she can get a feel for it and then move on to a bigger college.”

While her path may not be straightforward, Polsdorfer knows what she wants to accomplish and is willing to put in the effort needed to succeed.

“I know I want my job to be something where I can socialize with people, and I don’t really know what that looks like yet,” Polsdorfer said, “but I do know that I want to work hard to get there.”