We are thrilled to introduce you to Lauren Fieldhouse, our new Special Projects Coordinator at MITS! Lauren is from Santa Ynez, CA and graduated from Pepperdine University in April of this year with a degree in Integrated Marketing Communications and Nonprofit Management. She worked with City Net, a homeless services nonprofit, on their operations team over the summer; and we were privileged to have her intern with us in Kenya last summer. Lauren is already a valuable addition to our team, and we are excited for you to get to know her more!
What brought you to MITS?
I first started hearing about MITS in my nonprofit classes at Pepperdine! A lot of my peers and professors had some sort of connection to or experience with the organization. One of my best friends, Naomi Yoder, said that she would be interning for MITS in Kenya over the summer and I thought to myself "Wait, that sounds awesome… I want to go!" I did some research about the organization and, not long after that, I found myself on a flight to Kenya to be the marketing and social media intern for the summer!
There is a lot I could say about my time in Kamulu. But since I already have a blog post on that (see July 2022!) I will keep it short and say this- it was one of the most defining times of my life. It was three months of what I consider “deep work”. I learned more about myself, my faith and God I serve, and the global church than I could have ever imagined. (I also learned I loved Ugali, that I would need to spend dedicated time on Duo-lingo to learn Swahili, and that my dancing skills were subpar compared to the students… not necessarily ‘deep work’ but important to mention). I left feeling like family.
That being said, when Brad Voss approached me with the potential to join the actual team, I was so honored. After a lot of prayer and conversations with trusted family and friends, the decision was a confident and excited yes!
What are some words you live by?
The simple, yet powerful reminder to “be with Jesus, be like Jesus, do what He did” grounds a lot of my personal and spiritual life. Another more lighthearted quote that may have shaped a lot of my personality would be “How hard can it be?”. Ironically, this gets me into some sneakily difficult situations… I credit my parents for teaching me this one.
What is your ideal weekend?
I would go on a long run outside, Facetime my family, visit a fun coffee shop, play beach volleyball, and play card/board games with my friends!
What excites you most about working for MITS?
MITS is doing big things. I got to experience that firsthand with the Kenyan team. I was so impressed with the energy, passion, and care that went into the work being done there. When I talked to Brad about the direction MITS is heading and the ways the organization plans to grow over the next couple years, I knew I had to be a part of it. I am excited to learn from those who have been doing this work so well!
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