Where does a life of flunking school, courthouses, scholarships and a trip to Istanbul, Turkey get you? Well, according to Lauren Fluker, there’s never a testimony without a test.
While Fluker never dreamed she’d see the likes of any of these things, they indeed happened and it may have been the best thing experiences that have happened to her.
Growing up, Fluker had no clue what she wanted to do for a career. Although, she knew she didn’t like school. Fluker would flunk classes and head to the mall with her friends and it would later lead to her mother having to go to court due to Laurens poor choices.
At her previous college, Fluker recalls a memory where she almost flunked school. She said, “I can remember one time where I dropped my history class three times and almost faced getting on academic probation ‘cause I just was not into school.”
However, after in her third attempt in applying to Clark Atlanta University, her decision-making started to get better.
She acknowledges the fact that Clark probably would have paid more attention to her had she not flunked class so much and made up for it in the courthouse, but third times a charm. “It hurts me to even think what my life would even be like had I not gone to Clark,” Fluker said. She added, “Clark is my school, go Panthers.
Somewhere between getting her acceptance letter to Clark, she’s become a true bookworm. An excited Lauren said, “I always want to learn more. I always want to improve on some skill set.” Her friends seem to agree with her.
Lanaighyah Beard, Flukers friend of six years, spoke very highly of her. Compared to her earlier years, Beard was very proud to acknowledge that Fluker has grown up. “She became a real strong independent woman,” Beard said.
Upon arrival at Clark, Fluker was allotted the opportunity to study abroad to Istanbul, Turkey. “Everybody wanted to speak to me and take pictures and hold babies. I felt real presidential,” Fluker said laughing.
Her 10-day adventure helped her realize that, different from America, being black was praised in Turkey. Not only that, but slavery was a foreign topic to them and all they knew was love. Flukers trip took place around the same time and location of Osama Bin Laden’s capture and that worried her, but she made sure everything was safe before hand. “She’ll be hesitant to try something, but she’ll do a lot of research before she tries it,” Beard said.
Fluker added that she always makes her next move, her best move and that she now makes decisions that will positively impact her future.
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