Big accomplishments can have humble origins—like a child’s lemonade stand. When she was six years old, Lauren Russell (Col ’16, Batten ’17) raised $20 for Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters in Norfolk by selling glasses of lemonade to passers-by in her hometown of Newport News, Virginia—a modest start to what’s become an impressive track record in volunteering and philanthropy.
Years later, Russell donated countless hours to create an early literacy program at Poquoson Primary School and then as a volunteer for Madison House during her time on Grounds. Most recently, she helped to raise more than $50,000 for the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy in her role as a member of the Executive Committee of the Batten School’s Alumni Advisory Board.
“I actually wrote one of my UVA supplemental application essays about how the world of volunteering shaped me into an engaged community member,” she recalled. “It played a consistent role in my life.” An unlucky passenger in two car accidents during her senior year of high school, Russell experienced two traumatic brain injuries within a matter of weeks. As a result of recommendations from a brain injury specialist, she spent the majority of January through June participating in physical and visual therapy and learning through a homebound instructor to minimize sensory overload and brain overstimulation. Though she was no longer able to play winter indoor field hockey or spring lacrosse, she was determined to maintain some level of normalcy by continuing to fulfill her volunteer commitment to the early literacy program she started before the car accidents. “I didn’t want the head injuries to have any bearing on my ability to interact with the community or help other people the way that they did on my academic and athletic experiences,” she said.
