Written by Drew Lascot
Photo by Lindsey Brand
Walking into the office of the new Fitness and Wellness Coordinator, one is immediately greeted by the sign behind the desk: “Life is short. Don’t be lazy.” Lauren Schiller embodies this very quote, having found her new position at FRCC less than a year after graduating with her masters.
Hailing from Wyoming, Schiller had an affinity for Colorado for quite some time; visiting Denver with her friends wasn’t uncommon before she moved.
“I’ve always seen myself living in Colorado,” said Schiller. “‘Cause being from Wyoming, we’d come down for weekend trips and hang out in Denver. I’ve always loved it down here; there’s always so much to do, and the weather’s beautiful. A lot less windy than Wyoming.”
Schiller attended Casper College for two years, then University of Wyoming to finish out her bachelor’s and earn her master’s in kinesiology and health, but that wasn’t always her aspiration. Growing up, Schiller had a plethora of interests: basketball star, veterinarian, optometrist, but one always stuck out.
“I wanted to be a teacher,” said Schiller. “My mom’s a teacher, so I always thought I might get into that. I love kids and would love to work with them. I went to school for that at first, then as I got into the studies a little more, I decided that may not be the place for me to be.”
It was Schiller’s older sister studying the same kinesiology major that steered her college education toward the body. Fitness has always been a key quality of Schiller’s life, with sports playing a big part of her childhood.
“I played everything…” said Schiller. “Basketball was my big sport, soccer, volleyball, I played softball, did some track in high school.”
FIFA Women’s World Cup champion and Olympic gold medalist Mia Hamm was a big source of inspiration as a kid.
“I wouldn’t say I necessarily look up to athletes these days, but my family is still a big inspiration for me,” said Schiller. “My mom has always been a very strong woman and has always been there for me and has always supported me in everything that I’ve done, as well as my sisters. I’ve kind of taken the same path as her. [Schiller’s older sister] She’s in the healthcare field, she’s an occupational therapist, so she kind of does similar things to what I do, as far as exercise science things. I look up to her in that way, her and I have a lot of the same interests. I can go to her whenever I have questions on anything I might be questioning about the field.”
Schiller spent her summer of 2018 relaxing and doing part-time work with some full-time job searching, before applying for her current position. She’s now settling in, noting the friendly staff, and the benefits of working not far from home. Despite her healthy habits and the sign above her desk, she concedes that she does enjoy being lazy watching Netflix “like probably everyone else,” having seen Friends all the way through several times.
Open to any and all questions regarding health and fitness classes, Lauren Schiller can be found in her office on floor B, room B0504.
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