When Lauren Slavin ’21 came to Seattle Prep she had a number of interests: Tennis, Cross Country, Academics, and Theater. As a high school freshman, little did she know that after 4 years at Prep, she would be heading off to New York City to one of the top drama schools in the world, NYU-Tisch School of the Arts.

In fact, it was not until Junior year of high school when the pandemic changed hit that Slavin even thought about Drama as a college option. “I remember sitting down my junior year with my college counselor and planning which business schools I’d apply to. When school was let out and we were quarantined, I think we were all forced to reflect and evaluate. Conveniently, this was right about the time when I needed to start making decisions about my future.”

When Slavin started writing her essays she “found that all I wanted to write about was theater and how it has affected every part of my life. The turn around was really quick, but I think it came down to “Why not?” I have no idea what my future looks like, but I was more afraid of growing old and realizing I never gave it a shot than trying and failing”.

Slavin’s love of Drama was something she found when she was really young. “I became really focused on theater when I was five years old; I watched an older friend of mine (a Prep alumni, actually) perform in Annie and I remember being so inspired and jealous and ready to audition for whatever show I could”.

After determining that she wanted to pursue drama after High School, Slavin applied to and was accepted to NYU-Tisch School of Arts, in the drama department. Tisch Drama is thought of as a top 10 drama program, with famous alumni including Adam Sandler, James Franco, and Kristen Bell.

Slavin is excited about starting at Tisch in August, but she knows that with excitement comes a little bit of nerves, “I am really grateful to be in my program, and, really looking forward to finally building a class schedule around my passion and work alongside people who love what I do. I am slightly nervous about being so far from my entire family that has always been rooted in Seattle, but more so excited for a big change!”

As thrilled as Slavin is about NYU – Tisch, she will miss so much about Seattle Prep. In addition to missing her friends she has met at Prep, she will miss little things like “…sunny days on the plaza come to mind first. It sounds silly, but there’s something about being able to wear a skirt to school and not get cold that really makes me happy. It usually means that we get to eat lunch outside, spring sports are in season, and classes start to ease up a bit before finals.”

After a successful 4 years at Seattle Prep, there is no doubt that Lauren Slavin will excel at NYU – Tisch School of Arts. The move from Seattle to NYC is a little daunting but, she is up for the challenge and will excel with the change, as she did at Prep four years ago.