The Southern Editor
Vice President of Student Life Dr. Lauren Albaum was recently named one of the Top 40 Under 40 emerging leaders by the Tampa Bay Business Journal.
Albaum is the first member from Florida Southern College to make the list in recent years. FSC is also one of three higher-education universities to include employees on the list, alongside the University of South Florida and the University of Tampa.
Nominated by her colleagues Heather Pharris and John Grundig, Albaum didn’t expect to win the award.
“If you look at the list of awardees, they are pretty incredible from a list of international companies in some really impressive positions,” Albaum said. “It’s an honor for not just me, but for Florida Southern, to be recognized as one of the employers.”
Her title wouldn’t have been possible if she never made the switch from musical performance to higher education administration.
During her collegiate years as a musical performance undergraduate at Florida State University, Albaum juggled 21 credit hours alongside rehearsals, homecoming director duties, SGA tasks and different civic president responsibilities.
These leadership positions in her extracurricular activities are what formedher love for higher education administration.
“I found that while I absolutely reveled in the opportunity to be on stage and to perform and to share my art with others, I wanted a career that I could help students find their fit, which as a first-generation student happened for me,” Albaum said.
She wanted to apply the skills she learned from musical performance and reflect the love she felt from administrative role models as a higher-education administrator, herself.
And she did just that.
After receiving her bachelor’s degree in musical performance, Albaum went on to receive her Master’s in Education at the University of South Carolina. While earning her master’s, she was an advisor to all student organizations and USC’s Midlands Technical College in academic affairs. She also facilitated homecoming and planned Tiger Burn– an annual tradition that kicks off rivalry week with Clemson University by burning a 30-foot tall tiger.
Outside the classroom, Albaum was a supplemental instruction advisor for Gamecock Athletics, working with “at-risk football players” to guarantee their success on and off the field.
Later, she transitioned to the University of South Florida to earn her doctorate degrees in higher education and higher education administration. While advising chemistry students, she built USF’s division of health advising.
In 2016, Albaum startedFlorida Southern. Starting as the Director of Health Professionals and STEM Career Development, she has been promoted to Executive Director of Career Services to Interim Vice President of Student Life to her current role asVice President of Student Life.
Albaum has integrated her research from her doctorates into each of these roles. She’s fascinated by why students are motivated to be successful and how these motivations change overtime.
She also uses this philosophy in her personal life. Her background is what motivates her to be a successful mother, leader and volunteer.
“I find it incredibly important to show my daughter the value of giving back,” Albaum said. “I grew up in a space where I desired a true maternal presence and I didn’t have it. My mom passed away when I was two. And although my dad did everything he could, we had very limited means and we were the product of many social services for young children. So I have dedicated a portion of my life to give back to causes that specifically benefit women and children.”
There are many volunteer programs Albaum is a member of, including The Junior League of Greater Lakeland, United Way of Central Florida and the Explorations V Children’s Museum.
Albaum’s drive to give back is infinite. She states that as long as she makes an impact on her staff and students every day, she is content. Nothing is more important to her than that.
