Student pens winning Paul Simon Essay

Illinois Valley Community College changed Lauren Frost’s life by giving her a fresh start.

After a rocky first year that left her feeling that she wasn’t college material, Frost took a break. She worried that she wasn’t ready to return, but her career ambition had changed, and personal struggles had been overcome, so she enrolled in Spring 2023 classes.

“I couldn’t shake my failures off and feared I wouldn’t be welcomed back. But IVCC didn’t judge me for my previous setbacks ... it felt like I was given a fresh start,” Frost wrote in her winning essay for the 2024 Paul Simon Student Essay Contest. Students were asked to describe how IVCC changed their lives.

Frost, of Princeton, will read her essay at the College’s Commencement Ceremony at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, May 18. In addition, her essay has been submitted for the Illinois Community College Trustees Association statewide Simon award.

Her experiences on her hiatus from classes helped clarify her career direction. An interest in becoming a social worker flexed slightly to absorb her love of music. “I discovered how important music is for mental health and concluded I wanted to become a music therapist. If I hadn’t returned to school, I wouldn’t have the same conviction about the career I want.”

After graduating this spring, Frost will pursue a degree at Illinois State University.

Support from faculty, classmates and family has motivated and encouraged her. Her parents are IVCC graduates and she is the first of her siblings to go to college. Her mother's encouragement to submit an essay carried this simple reminder. “Look how far you’ve come.”

“IVCC didn't dwell on my former dereliction as a student. Instead, the focus was on my future. I wouldn’t have wanted to start my college journey at any other school,” Frost concluded.