People always tell you to get involved on your college campus, but freshman Lauren Krupczak took that statement to a whole new level. Krupczak proves her determination by doing everything in her power to spread her influence across campus.
“I’ve always been extremely driven and I feel like if I’m not doing something then I’m missing out,” she said, “If I can just make one person’s day better then I’ll feel fulfilled.”
Since the age of 13, Krupczak has identified herself as a feminist, liberal, part of the LGBTQ community, pacifist, and an advocate for body positivity, mental health, and human rights. It was also at this age when she participated in her first rally to support the libertarian party.
“I became so involved because my mom was a huge influence and she took me to all the rallies,” said Krupczak, “I realized I believed in similar things and I became super passionate.”
Krupczak began her journey with UGA when she attended Dawg Camp Fusion during the summer before she started school. This allowed her to make friends and realize that UGA is a diverse place. While walking around Athens on day two of the camp, Krupczak realized she wanted to get involved on campus.
“I signed up to run for Russell Community Council on the second day of living on campus. I saw the poster and was drawn to it knowing that I would love to get involved in any way, shape, or form that I could. After the interest meeting, I petitioned, ran, and was elected Stewart Colony Representative.”
Once elected, Krupczak made an effort to talk to all of her residents so that when in need, she could be there to help them. She has run three of her own programs in her residence hall and has assisted in six others. Krupczak also got inducted into the National Residence Hall Honorary, which means that she is part of the top 1% of people living on campus, and she must dedicate herself to at least one year of service to Athens-Clarke county. She was recently nominated and received the Freshman Student Leader of the Month Award from NRHH.
Aside from resident hall efforts, Krupczak auditioned for Rocky Horror Picture Show, signed up for volunteering with Karma Coffee, and tried to meet as many new people as possible. About a week after auditioning for Rocky Horror, Krupczak discovered that she got her dream role: the lead, Janet Wise.
“Being in the Rocky Horror Picture Show has been my dream since I was fourteen. My mom did makeup for Rocky when she was in college and always wanted to be Janet in the show,” she said.
Preparing for the show took three months of rehearsals and out-of-rehearsal practice. Once performed, the show sold out each day, which is rare for the school. Krupczak says that Rocky helped her gain confidence in things that she wasn’t as confident about before. “Rocky helped me be more comfortable with my body, and confident with my curves,” she said.
College has helped Krupczak channel her confidence correctly. She applied to present a program at the Georgia Residence Hall Organization Conference and was selected to be a featured presenter. The program, held in February, consisted of teaching people how to be confident correctly based upon introversion, extroversion, and ambiversion in the workplace with strangers and with friends.
“The conference taught me what it truly means to be a representative for residences at UGA along with teaching me why I love it,” she said.
Krupczak says that she will continue to get involved around campus until she can make UGA the campus she wants it to be. Her goal for her future at UGA is to “make it a safe, inclusive, and diverse campus where everyone feels at home.”