From a young age, Lauren Frey has challenged herself, preparing her to be where she is now.

In fifth grade, Lauren Frey and her best friend auditioned for a dance company and got in.

“I am sure I barely made it in, but I got in,” Frey said. “At first it was hard, and I used to cry all the time, but then it started to become something I was passionate about. Everything started to get better and started to feel more natural. My kicks got higher.”

In addition to dance and drill, Frey was involved in choir.

That is when Frey started learning to cope with a busy schedule.

“I had these two loves that would conflict. I always had to balance my schedule,” Frey said. “I was trying to be Superwoman.”

Frey is a master of juggling schedules. Between school, dance, choir and drill, Frey was busy in high school.

Now, Frey juggles being an RA in East Hall and participating in the Whitworth Choir and academics.

Frey is the RA of second west in East Hall. She credits her RA last year with her inspiration to apply for the position.

“My RA was amazing,” Frey said. “She, Kristen Tenhaken, was the most happy person I have ever met. She made the hall such a great place to live.”

Frey admits that the position of RA is an emotional roller coaster.

“RA-ing has been the best, hardest thing I have ever done,” she said. “Whitworth pushes us to grow in our weaknesses and be real with each other.”

Sometimes it’s hard and she wants to cry from the stress and hurt she sees, but in other moments she feels incredibly blessed by her hall, Frey said.

“But then, there are the times when we are dancing to Beyonce in the hall or making cookies having honest conversations with depth that make it all worthwhile,” she said.

Being a Whitworthian has been a long-term goal of Frey’s. From kindergarten to second grade, her family lived in Spokane but she attended school in Oakesdale where her mother worked. Each morning, they made the hour-long commute to school.

During that time, Frey’s godmother was attending Whitworth and Frey attended the Writing Rally, an event put on by the education department for elementary school students to learn different styles of writing. Whitworth has been her dream school since a young age.

“In kindergarten I decided I was going to go to Whitworth and be a teacher,” Frey said.

In third grade, Frey and her family moved west to Moses Lake where they stayed through her graduation.

When college applications rolled around, it was hard to consider other schools when she knew she would end up at Whitworth, she said.

“My mom was like, ‘You can’t just look there. Can’t put all you eggs in one basket,’” Frey said.

Majoring in elementary education, Frey said she wishes to teach younger students, specifically kindergarten through third grade students.

“I love children so much,” Frey said. “They are so honest. They say things as they are; it’s really refreshing.”

Contact Caitlyn Starkey at [email protected].