Lauren Chandler
Community Storyteller
Phone:
704-458-8061
Email:
Address:
Pelham, Ala.
Willing to relocate
Date of Birth:
April 14, 2001
A Bit About Me
In my junior year of college, I decided to reorient my life towards a single goal, one that would give me direction but not be so restricting that I could not grow and redefine my perspective on life.
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The result: I advocate and mediate through education.
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If you are confused, I get it. Let me explain: Throughout my life, I have been placed in the middle of conflicts. Some were small, like who would get picked first on the kickball field, but some were more important, and had greater consequences. I have acted as an advocate and mediator in religious, political, and workplace disagreements.
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Through guiding many important people in my life to finding a middle ground, I have found that the source of most tension is lack of education. While mediating, most of my time is spent helping both sides break down misconceptions.
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What is the purpose of all of this effort? What is the end goal of all of this advocacy and mediation? I recently realized this hole in my life-purpose statement. After some soul-searching, the best answer for these questions is "to build relationships."
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Now we come to the reason for my title: Community Storyteller. One of the most powerful ways to invoke empathy and create friendships between two groups is to share stories. Why else would the Torah, the Bible, or the Quran mainly be comprised of stories if not to draw people together under one banner?
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I write stories that I hope will change people's perspectives and make them more understanding of the crazy, but magnificent, world we live in.
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After all, it is through ordinary people coming together and choosing what is good, true, and beautiful that the world can be changed.
"I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples." - Saint Mother Theresa
Work Experience
Chick-fil-A
March 2017 - December 2019
Berry College Hospitality & Events
August 2019 - December 2021
Parresia Ministries
May 2021 - August 2021
Berry College Public Relations Department
January 2022 - present
Valkyrie Magazine
January 2022 - present
Make-A-Wish Georgia
May 2022 - August 2022
Drive Thru Team Member, Training Team Member
This is where it all began. My strong foundation in organization, management, team training grace under pressure, and love of connecting with people can be attributed to my first job at Chick-fil-A.
Some of my accomplishments include:
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Oversee all employees working in the drive-thru
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Ensure that all orders in the drive-thru are taken and filled in less than 60 seconds
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Set a record for 130 cars in the drive-thru served in 1 hour
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Train new hires both in hospitality inside the restaurant and in the drive-thru
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Handle a drawer of around $500 on a daily basis
Event Services Assistant
Student Supervisor August 2020 - December 2021
The Hospitality and Events Department is where my community management, team leadership, and customer service skills matured. I was given a great deal of freedom to explore my gifts by my encouraging bosses. From maintaining relationships with my clients and vendors to training my team of customer service and efficiency, I learned how to take charge of my skills and put them to use in a professional environment.
Communications Intern
Parresia Ministries was my first introduction to the community-oriented world of non-profit work. Working under the founder Tricia Gunn, I organized and set up a digital filing system for over 11,000 files and recorded data on every file in Excel. I also helped her prepare for a brand relaunch:
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editing new teaching videos with Adobe Premiere Pro
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creating a social media calendar and content with Adobe Illustrator, Fresco, and Canva
Public Relations Assistant
Through working the Public Relations department at Berry, I learned the value of having a diverse community as a foundation. I was able to research stories on how events at Berry College have impacted individuals and entire communities. In writing press releases on art exhibitions, concerts, and lectures addressing social issues, I was apart making Berry College not only a desirable school for future students, but also as a cultural center of the community.
Writer
It is in long-form article writing that my creativity flies. At Valkyrie Magazine, I learned how to collaborate with a group of other writers on common themes across all of our stories and spreads to create a cohesive and thought-provoking final product. Because of my efforts and dedication to ensuring that our magazine and blog posts could inspire hope and change in the community, I was awarded "Most Valuable Writer" for our Spring 2022 issue.
Creative Services Intern
One of the greatest pleasures of my life has been writing the stories of these amazing children who have such joy in their lives despite facing the tremendous challenges of having a critical illness. Part of my duties at Make-A-Wish Georgia was to call wish families to hear their stories, and then adapt the outpouring of their hearts into written word and digital art for the wider Make-A-Wish community. It was an honor to share in the joy and sorrows that these families have faced.