Lauren Laboissonniere

Name: Lauren Laboissonniere

Major: Biomedical Engineering

Birthday: May 2, 1991

Hometown: Smithfield, RI

Campus Clubs and Organizations: Alpha Phi, Habitat for Humanity, Women’s Varsity Crew, BMES, CAC, EWB

Hobbies: playing the piano, reading, hanging out with friends and my amazing nephew

Favorite Color: green

Favorite Holiday: 4th of July

Favorite Music Artist: The Fray, Mumford & Sons, Michael Buble

Favorite Movie: A League of Their Own, Love Actually

Describe yourself in three words: outgoing, dedicated, passionate

Favorite Quotes: “Dream as if you’ll live forever; live as if you’ll die today”

Why did you choose the Cape Town Project Centre? I chose the Cape Town Project Centre because I wanted a project that was hands-on and one that directly benefitted a community. At the site session, I got that exact impression. To my luck, it has turned into everything I could have wanted from an IQP experience plus even more than anything I could have expected; this has been the most amazing experience of my life.

How has this project affected you? This project has opened my eyes to the living conditions throughout the world; it is one thing to learn about poverty and low income/informal communities, but it is another thing to experience them firsthand. My group of five awesome people worked in a formal settlement, collaboratively with members of the community to create a community development project. We were able to see the project come into play before our departure and the current success is what makes me love our project so much. I had wanted an experience that would directly benefit a community, something tangible that I could witness and we got just that. I can’t wait to hear from the community in months to come about the wonderful things they’re doing.

What is your most cherished Cape Town memory? My most cherished Cape Town memory (of the million amazing memories I have) is from when we bungee jumped off the world’s tallest bungee. 708 feet in 3-5 seconds, the most exhilarating experience and I would do it again in a heartbeat. We had a group of 20 awesome people that day who encouraged one another to face our fears and go for it. There was no greater feeling than returning to the group with a huge smile on your face because you knew that you had just done something great. We all returned to the lodge that afternoon overly excited and in disbelief of what we had done that morning. I’ll never forget that day!