Lauren Adler is a former Viking who graduated in 2007.
Now a Puyallup councilwoman-elect, Adler reflects on her time at Puyallup High School and shares a peak into life before social media was a prominent aspect of adolescent life.
Adler’s Viking legacy began in 1950, when her grandparents graduated from Puyallup High School and as time went on, so did the rest of Adler’s family.
“I graduated from Puyallup in 2007. I’m a third-generation Puyallup Viking, so both of my maternal grandparents graduated from Puyallup in 1950, both of my parents graduated from Puyallup in 1973, my sister graduated in 1997 and me in 2007. Of course, most of my aunt and uncles and all cousins are PHS graduates too,” Adler said.
Since Adler’s family was so connected to the community, she felt excited to involve herself in a plethora of activities.
“By the time I got to PHS, it was exciting. I come from a family of athletes and people involved in the PHS community when they went to high school, so it was a really exciting time and I really wanted to contribute in my own way going to Puyallup,” Adler said. “I think pretty quickly I threw myself into trying to get involved as much as I can as a sophomore. Over the three years, I found myself in leadership, my senior year I was ASB Vice-President, I was in Viking Ladies, DECA. Being involved in the school community was really important to me.”
Adler believes her time in high school and junior high contributed to her current life on city council and has stayed true to herself throughout time.
“I think if you were to ask some of my former teachers that are still teaching and any of my closest friends, anyone who knew me while I was at Puyallup, or even at Aylen, they’d probably tell you, ‘It’s no surprise that Lauren has continued in her career in the way that she has and is now going to find herself on city council,’” Adler said.
During her time at PHS, Adler found herself connected to a multitude of teachers and peers. One of which is Jamie Mooring, who still teaches English and Student Government.
“Leadership was always a big part of my time at PHS. Jamie Mooring, Mo, is still a very good friend of mine and has been a constant in my life since 2006 when I had her as my junior English teacher, Leadership teacher and ASB adviser, so we spent a lot of time together my junior year and most of my senior year,” Adler said. “I think if you were to ask her, ‘Is it a surprise where Lauren ended up?’ She’d probably be like, ‘No, Lauren is very much the same person now as she was at Puyallup. Just trying to get involved and make things better than she found it.’”
Another large part of Adler’s high school experience was DECA, which helped Adler develop a mindset she still uses today in her career and life.
“My DECA and Business and Marketing teachers really helped set the frame of mind in which I interact with individuals professionally and personally,” Adler said.
In 2007, social media apps were on the brink of becoming a large part of everyone’s life. This shaped Adler’s experience with connection.
“I would use the word transformative [to describe my time at Puyallup High School] and the reason why is because when I was at Puyallup, I was in the sweet spot of being in a graduating class where social media had just started to become something, but it wasn’t everything,” Adler said. “Everyone had a cell phone, but they weren’t iPhones. It was this transformative time of being in high school where you were on the preface of social media blowing up, but it wasn’t all-consuming.
Adler says the community while in high school was so real, you had to go to school to see people.
“There were times where you had to meet up in the courtyard or the atrium to make your plans about what you were going to do for the football game that Friday night. It was tangible. That’s not to say that it’s not real today, it’s just so different,” Adler said.
Throughout her life, Adler has seen friends hit major milestones, attributing this to being present and putting effort into the friendships.
“I’m 35 years old now and I have been present, because of that time investment, to see friends get married and have children, hit career milestones, navigate life and I think obviously those relationships wouldn’t be as strong if I wasn’t present and showed up for people every single day,” Adler said.
As Adler has seen in her life, she firmly believes establishing relationships and being in the moment has developed her life positively.
“As you enter the workforce or go onto college, identifying those people that really inspire you, that you see as a role model, if you can establish relationships, be present with them and invest time with them, that will be incredibly beneficial and will have a return on investment for years and years,” Adler said.
Adler offers a tidbit of advice to current and future Vikings.
“The more time you can spend investing in your relationships will yield fulfillment in the present. I am a very avid social media user. People can find me. But I spend a lot of time investing in relationships with people I’ve known since kindergarten,” Adler said.
