Epithets


Lover of Mountains
I grew up close to the Teton mountain range and my family spent a lot of time together in the outdoors. From a young age, I have enjoyed hiking, skiing, climbing, camping, kayaking, and any activities that will get me outdoors. All of my screensavers and desktops display mountains. I crave the adventure and raw beauty of the mountains and in my spare time, you can usually find me planning my next outdoor trip. I feel closest to God, closest to my true self and closest to home in the mountains.

Boss Baker
Another passion of mine that developed at a young age was my love for baking. I love to experiment and try new recipes. I have dedicated many hours to perfecting the "pizookie", which has been voted as "best pizookie" by my friends and family.  I don't mess around with desserts and take flavor combinations, high-quality ingredients, and texture very seriously. Just say "cookie" and you've got my undivided attention.

Twin Sister
I was blessed to come into this world with my best friend and twin Liza. Oddly enough, we don't know if we're identical or not. The doctors told my parents we would have to do DNA testing to find out, and they were wiped out from having twins that they decided just to go home. We may not know if we share the exact DNA, but we share a lot of similar interests. We both love to bake and spend time collaborating on recipes and ranking recipes. Liza also loves to spend outdoors, so we regularly take twin trips together to hike, ski, camp or climb. In high school, we played as doubles partners on our school's tennis team. I like to say that having a twin is akin to cheating at life. I have a built-in tennis partner, study buddy, adventure crew, shoulder to cry on, comic relief and best friend.

Passionate Problem Solver
I love to be involved, solve problems and work towards goals. Here at BYU, I've had many incredible opportunities to exercise this passion for learning and growing. I've served on presidencies for the Entrepreneurship Club and Management Consulting Club. These experiences have provided me with more hands-on learning and problem-solving. I look forward to an internship in management consulting where my work will be solving problems! I also enjoy solving "problems" on the rock wall. Bouldering (a type of rock climbing) requires you to work through "problems" on the wall. I enjoy the challenge of discovering creative ways to maneuver up the wall and reach the top. My favorite kind of problem-solving is in social impact. I am currently working for a nonprofit called Resol, which works to mitigate poverty among Venzualan refugee women in Ecuador by providing them with training and capital to start businesses. Whether it's on the rock wall or in the board room, I find satisfaction in tackling difficult problems.



Comments

  1. Steve StenquistJanuary 20, 2020 at 12:33 PM

    I really like the mountains too! That's great that you've been able to have so many adventures outdoors. I'm from the east where we really don't have mountains at all so I am just now discovering how much I love to hike and climb and all that fun stuff. That's really cool that you've been able to do it for so long!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AllieJanuary 20, 2020 at 4:51 PM

    I love to bake as well! I have not tried to make a pizookie but it sounds amazing. Reading about your baking makes me want to make some cookie dough. Feel free to bring cookies to class someday! And I hope that everything is going well with your work with Resol!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Andrew WilsonJanuary 20, 2020 at 11:45 PM

    My wife and I love the mountains and outdoors too!.It's so fun to see that you are pursuing so many of your passions. Especially your humanitarian work with women from Venezuala! It sounds like you are making an incredible difference for them and setting an amazing example for those around you. Keep it up!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Cody RobertsJanuary 21, 2020 at 9:56 AM

    What an awesome picture of the mountains! Where is that at? My wife is from Colorado and we try to go back to Colorado and spend time in the mountains as often as we can. One of our goals is to hike as many of the 54 14k mountains in Colorado. This past summer I hiked Mt Nebo (the tallest in Utah Valley) and it has an incredible view. I enjoyed that hike much more than Timpanogos because it gets a lot less traffic and has a little more mountaineering involved in the assent. If you have the chance, you should try it!

    ReplyDelete
  5. shwnJanuary 21, 2020 at 12:16 PM

    Mountains are beautiful. I understand how you feel because I also grew up surrounded by mountains. You’ll have to share your pizookie with the class! Those are the bestttt! And that is so curious about your twin. Do you both look very similar? And good for you for wanting to solve problems instead of make them. You can help so many people by doing that.

    ReplyDelete
  6. UnknownJanuary 21, 2020 at 2:09 PM

    That is so cool that you have a twin!! I have always wanted a sister because I grew up with four brothers, so a twin sounds even better. I also love the mountains and being outdoors, I want to know your favorite hiking spots in Utah!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Cameron ClarkJanuary 21, 2020 at 2:16 PM

    Holy smokes that view is amazing! Is that the Teton Mountain range in the picture (that might be a dumb question). And that's so cool that you have a twin! I've always wondered what it would be like to have one. You sound like a serious baker- my experience pretty much ends at watching the Great British Baking Show. I've sure you've heard of it!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Kenya LundJanuary 21, 2020 at 2:49 PM

    Laura, great page and great photo! BYU is a good university for lovers of mountains, with a view of the Y 24/7! That is so funny that you don't know whether you and your sister have identical DNA! Great story.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Lauren DemoulinJanuary 21, 2020 at 6:00 PM

    Pretty picture! I love the outdoors as well! I don't know where you're from, but you should try to make it out to Washington, where I'm from. There's so many gorgeous hikes I know you'd love! I wish I was a better baker, you should bring in something you've baked sometime!

    ReplyDelete
  10. UnknownJanuary 21, 2020 at 6:27 PM

    It's awesome to enjoy the outdoors, where did you go on your favorite trip? I enjoy being outside camping and hiking as well but it has to be above a certain degree, because too cold makes it hard to sleep on long trips. I also have a brother who is a year younger than me but looks just like be. Always wish I had a twin. I'm assuming you look alike if you don't know if you are identical?

    ReplyDelete
  11. Alyssa ScarpaciJanuary 21, 2020 at 7:53 PM

    Hey, Laura! Problem-solving is an awesome skill to have and nurture! The world needs more people like you— willing to work together to solve problems instead of just placing blame and nothing more. I admire that! Also, I think it’s super awesome that you love to rock climb— power to ya!

    -Alyssa Scarpaci

    ReplyDelete
  12. Rob DixonJanuary 21, 2020 at 8:18 PM

    It has been fun to read about the things you are passionate about. How funny that you never found out if you are identical twins with your sister. I can relate when you talked about her being your tennis partner. My brother just older than I was my doubles partner in high school. There are few things more fulfilling that solving a problem!

    ReplyDelete
  13. JaredJanuary 28, 2020 at 7:42 PM

    Laura,

    That is so cool that you have a sister you get along so well with! What a unique situation, I would be interested to figure out the answer. Sounds like you have quite a future in baking, maybe I'll see you on a competition baking show one day! Love hearing how much you love the mountains, as I do as well. Best of luck baking and exploring.

    -Jared

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Modern Temple and a Mycenaean Palace

Image
Much of Western Civilization has been greatly influenced by Greek philosophy, art, medicine, and democracy. The Greeks also greatly impacted the field of architecture; the United States is spotted with buildings that incorporate ancient Greek architecture such as Lincoln Memorial , the U.S. Capitol Building and the Second Bank of the United States . However, not all of this influence can be attributed to the Greeks. The root of Greek architecture comes from their predecessors, the Myceneans (Cartwright). Even in modern times, traces of Mycenaean architecture can be found embedded in monumental buildings in the United States. This paper will discuss the similarities and differences between the Palace of Mycenae and a more contemporary building, the Salt Lake Temple , and what the structure of these buildings conveys about their respective cultures.  Although the peak of the Mycenaeans civilization vanished more than 2,000 years ago, the Mycenean Palace shares significant similarit
Read more

Highlights from Classical Texts

         Since I was a little girl I have loved to read. One of my favorite things to do after school would be to get a snack and sit down with a good book. I loved the Harry Potter series, Shannon Hale’s books and many other contemporary pieces and I never ventured into older writings. I am grateful for the opportunity we had to read more classical literature in this class because it opened my eyes to the beauty and relevance of these more ancient texts.          I remember preparing for the first day of class and opening the Iliad for the first time. I was surprised by its careful craftsmanship, impressed with its strong emotional resonance, and enraptured by the story it told. I had heard of Homer’s writings but knew they came from an early time period, so I expected the writing to be somewhat primitive. Reading the first paragraph quickly informed me that I was wrong. Homer writes, “RAGE: Sing, Goddess, Achilles’ rage, Black and murderous, that cost the Greeks Incalculable pa
Read more