By Jessie Kuenzel
Staff Writer

Lauren Lane, Opinions Editor for the Voice, and soon-to-be Simmons alumna, will be graduating this spring with a B.A. in marketing and a minor in public relations.

Nikolay Krumakov, the varsity crew coach, first introduced Lane to Simmons College in an attempt to recruit to her for the team. Although hesitant at first, she quickly fell in love with Simmons, and hasn’t looked back since.

“Classes were small, campus was beautiful, and it just felt like a good fit. So four years later, here I still am,” said Lane.

Her years at Simmons have helped Lane grow, not just as a student, but in all aspects of her life.

“The professors have made me feel more confident in my educational experience and abilities, my coaches and teammates have made me into a better athlete and subsequently a better person, and being independent and on my own has made me even more driven and outspoken than I previously was, which I didn’t know was possible,” said Lane. “Everyone I have met here has taught me something about the world or myself.”

Lane has been involved with the crew team through her four years, and her commitment to the team is well known around the school—and around the newsroom. Needless to say, early mornings rowing, and late nights working on the paper have added up to some long days.

Anne Karasek—Voice editor-in-chief, 2012-2013—and current editor-in-chief, Taylor Rapalyea, approached Lane in her junior year asking her to begin writing for the paper.

“I was a bit hesitant at first because I never really thought of myself as a writer,” she said, “but I was also excited because it was something new and different for me. Clearly I accepted! I’m glad I did too.”

Lane’s two years at the Voice have helped her in more ways than she could have imagined. “It has definitely made me into a better writer—or I could still suck and just haven’t been told the past two years—but also made it has me more well-rounded.

“I have a passion for sports and athletics and it showed based on some of the activities I chose to be a part of—crew team and Student Athletic Advisory Committee—but joining the Voice staff forced me to spend my time with people I normally wouldn’t, which was an opportunity I’m thankful I had. It didn’t just help me fill out my resume and give me a great talking point in interviews; it helped me round out my world view and the people in it.”

As Lane heads into her final weeks at Simmons, she has one last piece of advice to share with all her peers that she will be leaving behind: “Cherish the time you have as an underclassman, because as your college career begins to come to a close senior year, you begin to miss everything.”

Photo by Taylor Nealand.