Staff Spotlight: Lauren Rice

Job title: Development Analyst

Years at Make-A-Wish: One

Work anniversary date: January 4th, 2022

What’s a typical day look like for you? Similar to other team members’ responses to this question, each day is a little different for me! Depending on the day and week, I have various report requests to fulfill for the development team, batches to process for gift entry, stewardship touch points to create, data services projects to clean up, and dashboards to revise and implement.

Favorite part of your job: My favorite part of my job is getting to support the team. I love being able to serve in different ways and working together to find the best solutions. Everyone at Make-A-Wish is inspired by our mission in a unique and personal way, which makes the day-to-day work that much more meaningful!

A memorable wish experience: These past few months, I have had the sweet opportunity to be a part of Reagin’s wish for a horse. On the initial discovery call with Sara, the family shared with us how the horse, Smokey, had saved Reagin’s life before her cancer diagnosis. So, her wish went far beyond the simple (and still beautiful) desire to own a horse. Earlier in March, Meredith led us in planning a wish reveal for Reagin, and it was incredible. Seeing her family and community from the stables gather to celebrate was lovely from beginning to end.

Hobbies: I love to read! I also love to paint cards and letters to send to long-distance friends and family.

Something people might not know about you: When I was in middle school, my dream career was to be an actress. My family and I flew to Los Angeles one summer for acting agency auditions, and it was a blast! Now, my face turns red nearly any time someone looks at me for longer than a few seconds, so I’m not sure when my acting aspirations changed, but here we are!