LAUREN KELLEY ,
CLASS OF 2007

Lauren is a little busy these days. A talented athlete, she’s been captain of the CWA girl’s varsity tennis team for two years, and this year was also captain of the girl’s varsity soccer team. She’s involved in Green Key, a club that helps coordinate school open houses and provides student hosts and tour guides for prospective students. And Lauren maintains a tough academic schedule with lots of AP classes — her favorites are Criminology and AP U.S. history.
           
With all of that going on, and with 14 years of experience at CWA, Lauren knows exactly what kind of student will thrive here:

“If you like the feeling of community, this is the school,” she says. “If you are willing to study, and commit to doing homework every night. If you want to make lifelong friends. If you want to be a student with a name and not just a number in a classroom. If you want to know that the adult you were just talking to is both your teacher and your friend. If you want any of those things for your high school experience, I would say, yes, Charles Wright is the place for you.”

It has certainly been the right place for Lauren, even though there have been some challenging moments.

“I know that if it was not for Charles Wright, I would not be the independent, self-disciplined person I am today,” she insists. “Charles Wright has made me realize that you can never figure out the kind of person you really are unless you are pushed until you want to give up. When you hit that point, you understand that everything you’re doing at CWA is preparing you for when you take the next step.”

What that next step will be, Lauren isn’t yet sure. But she knows what is most important to her:

“I have a few ideas on what I want to do career-wise, but, more importantly, I want to be happy with what I’m doing and ultimately be happy with the relationships I have with others. I believe that relationships are paramount in a person’s life, and without strong ones, you will not be successful in anything you choose to do.”