CA plans community service trip to Guatemala By Alli Hoff One January night, a group of college students from the International Youth Volunteerism Summit conference dined at an Ethiopian restaurant.  Lauren Roach, 21, remained in her seat while the rest rushed the dance floor to enjoy “silly keyboard music.”  Northwestern University senior Roach happened to be seated next to the development director of the Colegio Miguel Ángel Asturias in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala.  “He was visiting as part of the conference,” she said.  “Everyone else was dancing but I stayed and talked to him.” While the other students danced, Roach said she had the chance to talk in depth to her neighbor.  By the end of the evening, he had offered her a volunteer position working in his development office at the Guatemalan school.   Three months after finishing her stint as the community associate for the 2007 journalism cherubs, Roach will travel to Central America. Roach’s October departure marks her first trip out of the country, she said.  During her stay in Guatemala, she will raise money to help Colegio Miguel Ángel Asturias open more schools.  The school’s website reported that its main goal for the future is to provide educational opportunities `for the children of poverty-ridden Guatemala.	Lauren Roach sits on the black leather couches in the lobby of the McCormick Tribune Center.

The length of Roach’s stay is still to be determined, she said.  Because the job is voluntary, she will receive no pay.

“We’ll just have to see how long that will last,” she said.

Roach’s interest in volunteering comes from her love of planning events and enjoying their outcomes, she said.

“I hate when people say that I only do community service because I’m altruistic or self-righteous,” she said. 

As a student at Northwestern, Roach said many of her activities were philanthropic.  She was involved with the Suitcase Party, an event that raises money for a charity each year.  Roach also sat on the executive board as the philanthropy chair for Jones Residential College.

As a result of high school Advanced Placement credits, Roach graduated after just three years at Northwestern.

“I’m not really sure how that happened,” she said.  “I changed my major about five times.”

Although she entered Northwestern as a pre-med student, Roach graduated with a degree in communications studies.  She settled on this program because of its many professional avenues into multiple industries, she said. 

Roach became further involved in the communications program as a community associate in the Communications Residential College.

Roach’s job as a CA at the Residential College provided the opportunity to work during the Cherub summer, she said.  Cherubs director Roger Boye acted as the master of the CRC and advised the executive board.  Roach said he offered her a job as CA for the summer.

“My main job is to walk the line between instructors and students,” she said.  “I meet the needs of the instructors and try to help the cherubs out when I can.”

Although much of Roach’s summer was spent dealing in teenage-speak, her new priority is learning Spanish for her trip to Guatemala.  She said the language barrier is her main concern about the trip.  Although she is “proficient” by Northwestern standards, Roach said she plans to attend language school during the first few months.

Despite her worries about speaking Spanish, Roach said she is excited for the experience ahead.

“I’m really looking forward to being with really intelligent people in the field that I hope to go into,” she said.