Name: Lauren Pope
Hometown: Lincoln Nebraska
Major: Nutrition Exercise and Health Sciences and Dietetics
Favorite Food: Popcorn
Random fact about yourself: I love to run because it keeps my stress levels down and keeps me level headed.
Something you have learned as a W.H. Thompson Scholar: As long as you put forth the effort and take advantage of the resources provided through the W.H Thompson Scholarship, it is very hard to do poorly in college. Beyond the money, the scholarship provides academic and social opportunities that have made my transition to college much easier. The W.H Thompson tutors helped me ace Calculus last year and the friends I have made through the living communities in the dorms freshmen year are some of my best friends.
Something you love most about being a W.H. Thompson Scholar: I love the sense of community that the scholarship provides. The staff that we work with and the other W.H. Thompson students that I have gotten to know through the living community and classes are a great group of people.
Something exciting or worthwhile you did over the summer?: I did quite a bit of traveling this past summer. Right when we got done with school in May, four of my friends and I went for our annual backpacking trip. This summer we went to The Canyon Lands in Utah. The trip was an amazing way to start off the summer and a nice relief from school. We backpacked about six miles a day for a week. One of my favorite parts about the area we were in was how secluded it was. The park only allows for a few groups of people to camp in the lands at the same time, which really gives the backcountry feel. The views we saw and the weather during the trip was amazing. In the past years, we have been to Wyoming, Oregon and last year we backpacked through the Redwoods in California. Shortly after we got back from our camping trip, I headed off to Europe with my aunt and cousin. For almost three weeks we toured Paris France, Lucerne Switzerland, Munich and Nuremberg Germany, Brugge Belgium and London England. It was an amazing experience and I loved observing the way other people lived and experiencing different cultures first hand. Switzerland was by far my favorite place we visited because the view of the country side and the Alps were breathtaking. However, I also loved walking the streets of Brugge Belgium and looking at all of the gothic and midevil architecture.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years: In ten years I see myself living in Nebraska, raising a family and working as a personal trainer or as a teacher, trying to educate people about proper nutrition.