Hi! My name is Lauren Sprague and I am a sophomore at UCF. My current major is Biomedical Sciences. In 2013, I graduated from Sunlake High School which is in my hometown, Land O' Lakes, Florida. In my free time I enjoy playing volleyball, hanging out with my friends and watching different shows on Netflix. One of my favorite classes at UCF was my leadership class for the LEAD program. The class was only about twenty‐five people so everyone knew each other, which made working with everyone a lot easier. In this class we were able to complete group volunteer projects and show the community our leadership skills. Although I thoroughly liked my leadership class, my favorite professor was Dr. Diercksen, who taught my General Biology class. One of the things that I liked most about her was that even though my class had over three hundred people in it, she was able to connect with most of the students because her teaching style was easy to follow and understand. I plan on taking another course that she teaches in the future. One of the main reasons I chose to join the EXCEL program was so I could meet more students with my major and also meet students that have already been through what I am going through so they can give me helpful tips on what I should and should not be doing. Having someone to give you advice is always great, so joining this program and getting a mentor was something I was really looking forward to when I came to UCF. Words of Wisdom: If you are having a problem with something, do not be afraid to ask. Chances are someone has had the same problem or somebody else has already found a solution for it.