Read Lauren's Story

To say that Lauren Goodwin is an outstanding student is an understatement. Over the past four years, her achievements are a trifecta featuring academic success, on-campus leadership, and advocacy for her peers. Lauren is honored to have her work, often conducted behind the scenes, recognized by the NKU Foundation Student Leadership Award.

“I tend to like to work in the background … I like to do things and don’t necessarily care about getting the recognition for it … receiving it [NKU Foundation Student Leadership Award] was cool, and it humbled me knowing that people appreciated what I was doing.”

Graduating with her bachelor’s degree in May 2021, this criminal justice major is not leaving NKU just yet. Lauren is continuing her education by pursuing her Juris Doctor degree at Chase College of Law. It is not surprising that Lauren has decided to stay at NKU to further her education. Since the beginning of her undergraduate career, she has had steadfast involvement in the NKU community.

“It hurt to think about walking away from NKU and continuing my education somewhere else … this place has become my home, and these people are my family.”

Lauren’s resume includes on-campus jobs and leadership positions in the Women’s Soccer Club and the Northern Kentucky Leadership Institute. During 2020, a relentless year, she served as the President of NKU’s Student Government Association, the student Regent to the university’s Board of Regents, and the student representative on the COVID-19 Preparedness Team.

Getting and staying involved on campus is something Lauren believes is crucial to creating a robust college experience and not just earning a degree. "Your time at NKU is going to be what you make it," she says.

Lauren shares that through her own experience, she noticed that additional involvement opportunities arose through conversations with peers and on-campus activities. Lauren states, "How do we balance making sure students of all backgrounds know what resources exist? Because until you're plugged in at NKU, you don’t know about all the great things offered. Once you are plugged in, the opportunities to get involved kind of snowball from there.”

As a low-income and Pell-eligible student, getting financial aid was always a big deal for Lauren. “Without those scholarships and on-campus jobs, I don’t know how I would have been able to pay for it [tuition] … getting any aid helped me maintain my academic success … without those [scholarships] I wouldn’t have had time to be as involved as I was,” she says.

Lauren can confidently pursue her graduate degree thanks to the scholarships she has earned and the support made readily available to her at NKU. While discussing why scholarship opportunities are invaluable for students, Lauren shared the following sentiment about NKU's donors, “You've made it so someone doesn’t have to take out that extra loan or work that second job. It’s hard to explain just how far that money will take someone, but it will.”