The 1828 Project is one of our signature programs at IndyHub and each year it’s full of incredible leaders between the ages of 18 and 28. Laurie is a part of 1828’s Class VII. We sent her some questions and she responded. Keep reading to learn more about Laurie!
How do you spend your days?
My title is Community Collaboration & Impact Analyst for the Central Indiana Community Foundation. It’s a fancy way of saying that my job is to help CICF tell the story about the impact we and our grantees are having on the community.
Where are you originally from?
I grew up in Carmel, Indiana.
What made you lay your roots here in Indianapolis?
I have actually moved away from Indianapolis several times, but keep coming back. This last move back to Indianapolis was for my current job.
If you had to choose one mode of transportation to get around our city, which would you choose and why?
I would love to have a rail system (or a more user friendly bus system I suppose). I lived in DC a couple of times and just loved having the ability to read a book on my way to work.
Which local coffee joint is your favorite? What’s your go-to order?
I really view Indianapolis in the regional sense having grown up in Carmel. So my favorite coffee joint is SoHo Café and Gallery up in Carmel. It’s right on the Monon and everything is good. A very close second is Lulu’s Café and Bakery off 86th Street; I always appreciate that when you order a slice of quiche you get a bakery item like a scone or muffin for free. I’m a tea drinker, so I’m usually ordering a Chai tea at coffee places.
What are you most excited for with 1828, or who has been your favorite speaker thus far?
I’m most excited to get to know my classmates more. Everyone is really interesting, and it’s cool to hear what all they are up to in the city!
When thinking about the future of Indianapolis, what are you most excited about?
I think I’m most excited to see how Indianapolis continues to evolve. Growing up here, I always felt like there just wasn’t enough to Indy, and that I needed to leave for major cities like D.C. or Atlanta to find my place in the world. Now having lived in those cities and returning to Indianapolis, I can really see how much Indianapolis has to offer. I’m glad I can be a part of supporting this city’s continued appeal for those living here.
If you could make one rule that everyone on earth had to follow, what would it be?
My rule would be that everyone has to travel to one place inside AND outside their country that is dissimilar to where they grew up.
What book has impacted you the most to date?
A few years ago, I read Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore. It’s a nonfiction book about the friendship that comes between two different people from two different backgrounds. This book made me think about my motivations for helping people and still impacts my work today in philanthropy.
Truthfully, what gets you fired up?
I’m a sucker for a good puzzle or challenge. If someone really wants to get me fired up, hand me a challenge I can really sink my teeth into in order to solve it.
What’s your dream adventure vacation?
I don’t have just one dream adventure vacation, but I do have a goal to SEE all seven continents before I die. I specify “see” because while I would like to take an in-person glance at Antarctica (there are cruises that allow for this), I do not have strong desire to hang out there (I’m barely surviving Indiana winters). So far I have seen three of the seven.
