Lauren Garcia
Lauren Garcia knew of East Carolina University’s stellar reputation for developing health care workers and its spirited student body.
But it was meeting ECU students that factored greatly in her decision to become a Pirate. “I talked to people doing incredible things and achieving feats I didn’t even imagine were possible in college, then realizing — that could be me,” she said.
Garcia is one of 20 students who will join the EC Scholars program this fall.
EC Scholars is the most prestigious undergraduate award program offered at ECU. The four-year merit scholarship recognizes outstanding academic performance, commitment to community engagement and strong leadership skills. Students receive an Honors College scholarship and a stipend for study abroad for a total value of nearly $64,000.
“The EC Scholars program brought me this feeling of community that I could not find anywhere else,” Garcia said. “It’s an understood theory that the people you surround yourself with impact your potential. Joining the scholars, I know that my peers and I will constantly push and motivate each other to fulfill our highest potential.”
The program will bring countless opportunities such as studying abroad, getting involved in research and offering a supportive network to help her succeed, she said.
Garcia plans to major in environmental health and multidisciplinary studies with a concentration in security studies on a premed track.
She is interested in the connection between weather, air quality and health. “In the coming years, it will truly be interesting and necessary to assist communities with their environmental health, especially as the world evolves and adapts to climate change.”
After earning her undergraduate degree, Garcia plans to attend medical school and hopes to work for an international health organization or nonprofit, providing humanitarian climate migrant aid and helping with sustainable development.
At ECU, she would like to get involved with premedical and service groups and some Honors College student-founded organizations like Students for Equitable Health Outcomes and Sustainabilibees.
She’s considering studying abroad in Sweden or Denmark to learn about green development and environmental policy initiatives. Another possibility is Spain, where Garcia’s aunts traveled before the pandemic, piquing her interest in the country’s community and architecture.
Soon, her classes will end at Athens Drive Magnet High School in Raleigh, where she has been a STEM Academy and Health Science Career Academy member. She founded and served as president of the school’s annual Winter Charity Gala, raising more than $10,000 for health-centered charities. She has been a member of Health Occupations Students of America, the FIRST Robotics team, the National Honors Society and Key Club, and has served as costume designer for the high school theatre technical crew.
She has worked as a camp counselor, interned at a senior living center, and served as a hospital cancer center ambassador and on the Cary Teen Council. Since last summer, Garcia has been a teen climate ambassador with Youth Engaged in the Science of Resilience, part of the N.C. Museum of Natural Science and UNC Institute for the Environment, where she has explored the local impacts of climate change and designed art sculptures out of waste products.
This summer, Garcia intends to become certified as an EMT and pharmacy technician and hopes to volunteer with an EMS or work at a pharmacy. She also plans to travel, hike and spend time with family and friends.
Garcia, 17, is the daughter of Catherine and John Garcia of Cary.
“Joining the scholars, I know that my peers and I will constantly push and motivate each other to fulfill our highest potential.”
High school: Athens Drive Magnet High School
Intended major: Environmental health and multidisciplinary studies with a concentration in security studies
Hometown: Cary