Community Education has been fortunate to hire some of the best community collaborators over the years. Christopher Lauth, who came to us with a background in higher education and nonprofits, was one of them.
Lauth was Community Education’s associate director and enrichment coordinator.
“As someone who values community and civility, I was most proud to meet members of our community and discover how much talent and expertise we had among ourselves,” Lauth said.
“It was incredibly rewarding to leverage the strength of our community by providing a pathway for people to share their talents, skills, and passions with others,” he continued. “All people experience satisfaction in sharing and learning from others. In a way, we weren’t just providing education but connecting like-minded people and forming friendships. How could you not love doing that work!”
Lauth said his biggest challenge while at Community Education was navigating the early period of the COVID-10 pandemic.
“We really didn’t have all the information, but we had to do the best we could and communicate expectations to our families and clients,” Lauth said. “We quickly pivoted to enable remote work and move enrichment classes online.”
Lauth, who holds a bachelor’s degree from Flagler College and a master’s degree from Canisius College, is now the director of operations for Ronald McDonald House Charities in Tampa Bay, Fla.
He said he is blessed to find rewarding careers serving others. In this new role, he leads a team of caring individuals who support families while their children receive life-saving medical care in the local hospital and from medical partners.
“When you work in the nonprofit field, you wear many hats,” Lauth said.
Working at Community Education prepared Lauth for his current position in countless ways, but he said two stand out.
First was the wide latitude he had at Community Education to continue learning and practicing in a variety of areas, including people management, family management systems, technology, and other fun projects.
“The second was seeing how important making connections with others is to expand your mind, horizons, and your network of friends to help support you through all of life’s journeys,” Lauth said.
“I was immensely proud to be a part of the team at Comm Ed and was especially proud of Bowling Green-Warren County for the resources they put into creating such a robust and adaptive Community Education in our county,” Lauth said. “We are incredibly lucky to have such an organization in our county.”
Lauth said the people he came to call his work family at Community Education meant more to him than they will ever know. “They enriched my time in Bowling Green,” said the Great Meadows, N.J. native. “I’m excited to see what the future holds for this great organization and this great team!”
Lauth lives in Tampa Bay with his dog and constant companion, Bernie.