Senior Spotlight: Lauren Boone
Dec 16 | Women's Swimming & Diving
Diver Lauren Boone is looking to make headlines whether it's helping a Rutgers swimming and diving program on the rise or a future in broadcast news.
"I basically started diving because my brother did," said Boone. "Then I just kind of followed him and then I never left. I was six years old, and now I am 22."
There was no fear in Boone's eyes as a six-year-old. Standing at the end of the board her coach turned Boone upside down, flipped her over, told her to reach and dropped her into the water. It was love at first splash.
"I just got it," she explained, "and it was so much fun."
That fun was something she wanted to take to the next level.
"I was in seventh grade and I knew I wanted to dive in college," said Boone, who also mentioned playing soccer in high school. "Diving was always my main thing. It was what I was best at and it just felt like it was like mine."
Coming out of Concord Community High School in Elkhart, Indiana where Boone was known as "the diver" in her small town, she had ample chances to go to any school thanks to her success both in the classroom and on the boards. Not only did she have a litany of accolades from the pool including three NISCA All-American honors, three section championships, four state championship qualifications and two appearances as a state finalist along with school and pool records, she was also an Academic All-American and valedictorian of her class.
"The Ivy League and Rutgers were basically my final choices," Boone remembered about her recruiting process. "It was something about the people at Rutgers that just pulled me in. I loved the coach, Fred (Woodruff), the team was great and the support staff and academic advisors made me feel like I belonged here."
Since arriving "On The Banks", Boone has grown both on the boards and in life.
As a freshman, she was the runner-up on the 1-meter and a third-place finisher on the 3-meter at the ECAC Championships while last season she was an NCAA Zone qualifier. Boone was one of four Scarlet Knights to qualify for zone diving last season and finished in the top 20 with a career-best score on platform. Her zone appearance was on the heels of capturing Rutgers' top performance in the event at the 2020 Big Ten Championships.
For Boone, though it's the family-like environment that attracted her to Rutgers in the first place that stands out among her favorite memories.
"It was one of the best weeks of my life," she recalled of the team's annual winter training trip to Puerto Rico during her sophomore season. "The team that we had was incredible and we all bonded really well."
By 5 a.m. Boone and her fellow Scarlet Knights were at the pool training, but throughout the trip the team found themselves growing closer.
"We would sit at dinner with Fred and tell family and childhood stories for hours," she recalled.
"We'd sit around the table for three to four hours just talking. We spent multiple hours a day of training and we'd all hang out, but it made it seem like a family."
The Rutgers family-like environment extended to more than just the pool though. Boone found family throughout the department being active with Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and as a member of RVision.
Boone has been of the most active members of SAAC, a group of student-athletes that look to enhance the Scarlet Knight experience and provide initiatives to grow beyond the field (or in this case - pool) of play. Chances are if there was a community service project, Boone was there. Voted by her peers to serve on the SAAC's executive board over the summer, she has also been active in numerous community service events traveling to Jamaica on a Soles for Souls service trip and serving as a liaison to the Embrace Kids RU for Kids program. Whether it was volunteering for the Scarlet Day of Service on campus, assisting with sales with Popcorn For the People that supports opportunities for adults with autism and other disabilities or reading to children thru the Somerset Community Action Program, she always found a way to give back with her fellow Scarlet Knights throughout the department.
The journalism major also found a way to turn a volunteer experience – namely an internship within the athletic department – into a future career.
"I got the courage to ask somebody," she said of her start in video. "I've always loved sports, all sports not just diving, and so I was looking on ScarletKnights.com for job opportunities for students and I saw a position with RVision."
RVision, the Rutgers athletic video department responsible for live broadcasts on Big Ten Network Plus along with various features, was looking for freshmen and sophomores to help out on game days and editing video.
"I went in and interviewed and then I just kind of got locked in," said Boone who had no previous experience in the field. "They taught me everything from graphics to camera positions to directing. I kind of always knew that I wanted to be in journalism after that because of the number of people I could talk to and the things I could do in sports and elsewhere."
Mornings were spent at the pool, but in the afternoons, Boone could be found behind a camera wherever there was an event or a story to be told.
However, just like when Boone was young and got her first taste of diving and knew she wanted to take it to the next level, the same has been true of her start in journalism
"This past summer and fall I interned with NBC and was able to see how it was on a national level," she said noting her involvement in covering the 2020 presidential election and the NFL racial justice movement along with pitching various sports ideas.
Now with graduation on the horizon, Boone is looking to take advantage of getting a degree from a school right next to one of the biggest media markets in the world – New York City.
"There's no place like it," she said showing off her necklace with the New York City skyline that she hasn't taken off since she got it. "Everywhere I've traveled, New York is my favorite and now it's home to me. I love New York. You hear everything, you see everything, and that's where you should be for national news. It was another thing that drew me to Rutgers. All the situations and stories that are happening in the city, it's amazing."
Nonetheless, lessons learned from the diving board stick with Boone as she prepares for her next segment in life.
"One thing I've definitely learned is you do the best and do things you enjoy," she said. "As long as you're finding a way to have fun and still have a passion for it, it's almost limitless what you can do. Diving is an individual sport, but it's also so important to be on the team. As long as you are performing you also have to focus on the team. If you're just focusing on yourself, it's not going to go well. It's never the same as if you have the people behind you and if you are behind other people too."
Boone is also quick to credit the people who have been behind her – her teammates.
"My teammates have definitely taught me how to have fun," she smiled recalling times they had lifted her up including scream-singing High School Musical after a tough day of classes.
Even though her time "On The Banks" is coming to its closing moments, Boone is excited about where Rutgers swimming & diving has been during her career and where it's going.
"We're definitely getting more talent," she said of the future of her team. "Our incoming classes get stronger and stronger each year. We're also a unique team. We're all from very different places and with all that talent and competition coming in it's about figuring out how to be the best we can be. We've been the underdog and hopefully, at one point, we won't be an underdog anymore. More a kind of powerhouse."
"Since Lauren arrived 'On The Banks', she has strived to be a leader academically, athletically and in the community," said head coach Fred Woodruff. "Her efforts have been exemplary. She has contributed with her courage, work ethic, leadership, and passion for the team and sport she loves. We are especially proud of her achievements outside the pool where she has contributed as a leader in community outreach locally and beyond. Regardless of what she elects to do in her future, Lauren will continue to succeed as a leader and in serving others who may be less fortunate than herself."
While the page is being turned on Boone's final story as a Rutgers diver on the boards, be sure she's not done making headlines yet.
For previous stories in the Rutgers Swimming & Diving Senior Spotlight Series:
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