Lainie Lawrence belted her heart out, and, as the final curtain fell on Rose Drama Club's spring production of "Guys and Dolls", the 2025 graduate couldn't help but grin at the audience before her in Hatfield Hall. She had just achieved her lifelong dream of playing the lead role in a musical, but the moment represented something even bigger: bringing people together, one of Lawrence's biggest passions.

"I think that's what I've put as my pivotal pillar in my Rose career," said Lawrence, a Noblitt Scholar who earned a degree in chemical engineering with a minor in Spanish. "Everything I do ties back to that central idea of community. Everyone always says the community is what makes Rose amazing—and it is." 

Lawrence played an integral role in strengthening that community for many. As both an admissions tour guide and a Rose-Hulman social media marketing ambassador, Lawrence's smiling face and bubbly personality has often been among the first interactions with Rose-Hulman prospective students have had. She has welcomed them with playful social media trends, personalized tour recommendations, and effervescent warmth, helping every student feel that Rose-Hulman is a place they could belong. Several of the students went on to enroll at Rose-Hulman, where they looked to her as a mentor. 

"It was one day in my life, but to them, it may have made their college decision," she said. "They put a lot of trust in me. It's very heartwarming and humbling." 

Lawrence also sought to bring people together and build communities within communities at Rose-Hulman. Under her leadership as president, the Rose-Hulman chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) provided a place for students to find community within their major and field. They were even able to build industry connections at the national AIChE conference in San Diego, which they attended at no cost to them, thanks to Lawrence's determination.

"If someone takes the initiative, you can do whatever you want at Rose. If you want something and ask for it, people will help you get there," she explained, noting that the same philosophy had led her to a research project that created vegan ice cream out of avocados, coconuts, and soy milk.

Lawrence also joined and quickly interwove herself into the fabric of Chi Omega sorority her sophomore year, though she had never seen herself in a sorority, because she sought a community of women in STEM.

"Chi Omega has given me the opportunity to be a mentor for women on campus," she said. "I think is crucial as a woman on campus to just be able to have your girls."

Even beyond campus, Lawrence strives to help everyone find a community where they feel seen and safe. Lawrence studied abroad in Spain during the summer of 2023 and honed language skills that came in handy at her internship at MARS Petcare in Leipsic, Ohio last summer. Lawrence noticed that the company required contractors to watch a safety video before entering the manufacturing site. However, many of the contractors spoke mostly Spanish, and the videos were entirely in English. Lawence volunteered to transcribe and translate the entire video into Spanish so that its important message could be understood by everyone. Her commitment to the community earned the respect of supervisors, as well as an offer to return to MARS Petcare full-time after graduation, which Lawrence accepted.

"The MARS community parallels the Rose community," she said. "They bring people together."

Perhaps it is only fitting that someone so committed to bringing people together would gravitate toward an activity where crowds come flocking. Lawrence has been part of theatrical productions since fourth grade, but to her, performing arts at Rose-Hulman occupy a unique corner of the universe. 

"You wouldn't think a lot of engineers are theater nerds, but they are," she laughed. "Anyone who's in a show at Rose is not because they're a theater major who has to do it. These are dedicated kids who are taking time out of their busy schedules because this makes them happy and this is their passion."

"Finding those people who understand blasting Broadway songs in your car and screaming them at the top of your lungs was really fun," Lawrence said.

Lawrence performed in numerous productions, including "Mamma Mia," "Beauty and the Beast," and "Godspell." She taught herself to play the ukulele for "Godspell."

Theater at Rose also helped Lawrence hone another skill: exercising creative freedom. Through "Guys and Dolls", she worked hard to find her unique take on the Miss Adelaide role and how she wanted to bring the character to life. Lawrence flourished, both on the stage and in her position as a resident assistant, which required similar levels of creative freedom to connect with her residents.

The adrenaline of unleashing that creativity on stage kept her going through her final show, until after the performance when it was time to "strike the set"—a theater term for tearing down the stage set at the end of a show's run.

As they struck the set, it struck Lawrence that these were her last memories to be made with Rose Drama Club. The vocal director tapped her on the shoulder as she was removing staples, offered her a hug, and commented on what a pleasure it had been to work with her.

She had, once more, stirred a campus crowd to connection. Though she's now crossed into a different stage of her life, Lawrence's character will sing on. Whether she is singing, leading, or innovating with ice cream, Lawrence will continue to draw people together to form an everlasting community.