Lauren Sutter smiles as she opens her cell phone. She proudly shows the picture of her dog Lucky in a Santa hat, and talks about how obsessed she is with him. She is dressed comfortably in a sweatshirt and sweatpants, with her short dark hair pulled back in a tight ponytail. She exudes a laid-back energy, but as she talks about journalism and her Jewish faith something changes in her. There is a conviction in her voice, and an excitement in her eyes, that makes you realize she is anything but laid back about the things that are important to her.
Lauren Sutter was born in Ridgewood N.J. in 1987. She moved to Wesley Hills, N.Y. with her mom and older brother Justin when she was 8, and then settled in her current town of Suffern, N.Y. more than10 years ago.
As a junior at Boston University, Lauren is studying magazine journalism and Judaic studies. When asked why she chose to study journalism, Lauren shrugs, “I honestly have no idea,” she said. “I like to write and I was trying to figure out what to do so I chose journalism.”
Trained in opera and Broadway singing, the performing arts may have been a career path but Lauren decided against it. “Parts of me think I should have kept up with it,” she said.
While she does not sound passionate about her major, her enthusiasm comes out as she to talk about it. “I think journalism has the power to change things, and I firmly believe that the world is due for a change,” she said.
It is Lauren’s minor, Judaic Studies, that seems to really light a fire within her. Raised in a Jewish home, her faith really helps to define who she is. She attended a Jewish day school and after spending the summer in Israel, she knew that was where she wanted to end up.
“There is still anti-Semitism and it’s important to show the other side and what the Jewish people are all about, and that you can’t always judge,” she said.
After graduation, Lauren hopes to move to Israel to work at the Jerusalem Post. When asked why she would want to move that far away she says, “There is a comfort level for me there. There is something so different then there is in America.”
The people close to Lauren regard her as “insightful and compassionate,” according to close friend Dani Tor. “She has a wisdom beyond her years,” says her mother, “she is an independent individual who is understanding, and can think things through.”
As for where Lauren will be in five years? “I could see Lauren getting paid to travel the world,” Dani says. Her mother just says, “Lauren will be in a place she wants to be, and whatever field she goes into she will be a star.”