Lauren Davis
Like thousands of others, Lauren Davis lost her home, her job and her beloved hometown when Hurricane Katrina demolished New Orleans in 2005. In the years since the tragedy, she’s been shaken but one thing Lauren didn’t lose was her hope for the future.
Lauren was one of 25,000 people who made their way through the horror and devastation in the streets to take shelter in the New Orleans Convention Center. She later was evacuated to Corpus Christi. Even though her apartment in New Orleans was not flooded, the building where she worked was so badly damaged that it never reopened. Meanwhile, Lauren’s rent doubled, due to the lack of available housing in the city. Returning in New Orleans was no longer an option, so Lauren decided to make Texas her home.
She moved to Dallas but struggled to find employment in her field, which was bewildering after a 25-year career as hair stylist. Soon afterward, Lauren was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. “I didn't know what would become of me,” she said. “I decided to reinvent myself out of necessity.”
She decided to try college again and started classes at Richland in January 2007. Since that time, Lauren has flourished, maintaining a 3.9 GPA. She was on the Presidents Honor Roll for the Spring 2007 semester with a 4.0 GPA. With encouragement from Professor Young Eui Choi, Lauren entered an essay in the Literary Festival in March 2007 and won first place in the competition for Richland and the District. The essay was published in Parallax and this year, it won first place for a feature news story from the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association, along with first and second place in the feature photograph category for pictures Lauren took of the devastation in New Orleans.
After finishing an Associate of Art degree in 2009, Lauren plans to attend SMU and earn a degree in History/Anthropology. She dreams of graduate school after SMU. She wants to teach a course on the history and culture of New Orleans, turning her experiences into something positive, while never forgetting what happened on Aug. 29, 2005.
“Without the encouragement of Professor Choi, Professor Parker Nunley and all of the other professors I have had the privilege to study with at Richland, and my colleagues in the RLC Financial Aid Office, I don't know what direction my life would have taken,” she said. “I feel blessed to have landed in such a stimulating and caring environment.”