Name: Lauren Deutsch
Hometown: Pittsburgh, PA, the best city on earth
Major: Operations Management
Relationship status: Single
Favorite book: What is the What Favorite place to study on campus: “I spend almost all of my time in Bruno, but I really would rather study at Monarch or Nehemiah’s.” Favorite place to eat in Tuscaloosa: “Mr. Chen’s is the best place to eat in the entire state of Alabama and I will fight anyone who disagrees with me.”
What clubs are you involved in? “I’m a leader for Bama HERD, which provides consulting services to aspiring Haitian entrepreneurs living in a small village. I’ve been to Haiti three times with HERD and it has changed my career path/life. I go to The Well, Calvary Baptist Church’s campus ministry and used to be on their leadership team. I also used to be an ambassador for IPAC, our International Peer Advisory Council- we run International Coffee Hour and international student orientation. I’m in the Computer-Based Honors Program/Randall Research Scholars program so have been pretty involved with undergraduate research the past few years. Finally, each week I teach French at a local elementary school.”
What is your favorite part about your major? “I like numbers but I also like people, and I feel like OM allows you to do both of those things. I was a Supply Chain Intern at Chick-fil-A Corporate this summer and got to work closely with a few of our suppliers, which I love, but I also got to do some data analysis. At UA I take a bunch of stats and quantitative classes which I tend to enjoy.”
If you could have dinner with any celebrity, living or dead, who would it be and why? “I used to be a gymnast and am really obsessed with Aly Raisman. She has such a cool comeback story, missing out on an All Around medal in London due to a technicality, then coming back and winning Silver in Rio.”
What has been the best class you have taken at UA so far? “I took a history class with Dr. Giggie called Religion & Civil Rights, where we learned about the role the church played in the Civil Rights Movement, specifically in Tuscaloosa and Birmingham. As a Christian, I feel like the class challenged me to think about the power the church has to either support or obstruct social justice movements today, and whether or not we are doing all we can to be a voice for the voiceless, fight for equality, etc., which is lowkey what Jesus told us to do. We got to interview church leaders who worked closely with Martin Luther King, Jr. and sit down with people who lived through the Bloody Tuesday attacks in Tuscaloosa. Coming from out-of-state, it was also cool learning more about Alabama’s history and how past events have shaped Tuscaloosa’s culture today. I realize that I just wrote a whole paragraph about this class, but Dr. Giggie is amazing and everyone needs to take one of his classes!”
What is the best concert you have ever gone to? The Jonas Brothers 2009 Burnin Up Tour.
Describe your dream date. “We are in Beijing. We climb the Great Wall and then eat street food. Then we go to the zoo and see the pandas.”
Describe yourself in three words. Curious, passionate, sarcastic
What are you passionate about? “I kind of mentioned this before, but working with Haitian entrepreneurs has led to a huge passion for international development, especially market-based solutions to community development and poverty alleviation. I also like the idea of working with youth in developing countries, helping them to foster entrepreneurship and employment skills- I love teaching and working with young people. Someday I’m hoping to go to law school and work for a law firm or government entity that supports emerging market investments.”
What inspires you? “The work of OPIC, a US government agency that helps American businesses invest in emerging markets. Please hire me.”