Lauren Albaum, 36

Lauren Albaum loved her college years — so much so that when it came time for her to graduate from Florida State University with a bachelor's of music in vocal performance, she realized she never wanted to leave. 

"I was blessed early on in that I fell in love with higher education — and not just the actual process of going through it myself, but finding you could work in it. And so that's what I did. I graduated from being a college student myself and just continued in that space."

Photo by Mark Wemple

She's worked her way up from entry role positions as an admissions counselor at her alma mater's College of Music, to multiple academic and career advising roles roles at the University of South Carolina, Hillsborough Community College and the University of South Florida, before landing at Florida Southern College in Lakeland, where Albaum is now the vice president of student affairs. 

Her position means Albaum is also chief student affairs officer at FSC, overseeing more than 15 departments dedicated to enhancing the student experience, from counseling and housing services to academic support to student conduct and career services. 

Since she took on the challenging new position in December 2022, her department at FSC has earned numerous national accolades, such as being named a Top 25 Best Career Services office by The Princeton Review for three consecutive years. That ranking found that 99.1% of recent graduates from FSC achieve positive outcomes within six months of graduation — a testament to the work of Albaum's Student Affairs department. 

"There's an incredible team of supporters on campus that work to ensure that students find their fit and that they thrive," Albaum says. "We're really the fabric of support on campus that is outside of the classroom, but incredibly important in students' higher education experience."

Albaum's work extends far beyond the FSC campus. She can often be found collaborating with local businesses to connect students with internships, service opportunities and career networks to ensure not only academic, but professional success. 

She was recently honored by the Lakeland Chamber of Commerce with the Athena International Young Professional Leadership Award for her dedication to empowering others and fostering community growth. 

In addition to her work with FSC, Albaum has served as president of the Florida Children's Museum, the Junior League of Greater Lakeland, the Southeastern Association of Advisors for Health Professions and the Florida State University Young Alumni Network. 

"I think Lauren is exceptionally talented and particularly accomplished for a person of her age," says Albaum's mentor and Florida Southern College President Jeremy Martin. "One of her greatest attributes is the quality of any executive — she can just get things done. So, she has the strategic thinking and capacity to make the plan, but then where so many other leaders can fail, she has the ability to implement a plan and to get others to follow her leadership."