In the words of Stelos founder Bill Poston, Lauren Darby is the strong moral compass behind his businesses. It all started in 2014 in the Housley Principled Leadership Seminar when Lauren took Bill’s class not once but twice.

“You’re either stupid and didn’t get it the first time or you actually care,” Bill told her. They agreed on the second, and from there Lauren grew in her leadership positions across campus.

Lauren grew up in the rural farming town of Stephenville, Texas. Her family owned a farm, so she learned everything it takes to care for animals.

“I appreciate that I grew up with a lot of land and got to spend a lot of time outdoors,” Lauren said. “Even though I hated it at the time, waking up early to feed the animals was good for my work ethic.”

She was unsure where she wanted to go to college. Most people in Stephenville and in her family stayed in the area after graduating high school, but Lauren wanted to branch out.

Lauren’s grandfather went to Texas State in the 20’s, and she loved flipping through his yearbooks. Following in his footsteps, she toured the campus and fell in love with it.

From there, Lauren joined a new sorority on campus, Gamma Phi Beta and was able to build the foundation as the founding class. One of the women in Lauren’s sorority told her she saw leadership potential in her and encouraged her to apply for one of the open leadership positions. Lauren eventually became the president of Gamma Phi Beta.

“It’s so important to tell someone when you see something in them,” Lauren said. “That really changed things for me”

Now 8 years later Lauren oversees all People and HR operations at The Launch Box, one of Bill Poston’s new startups. Since April, she’s hired 35 people and continues to build relationships and support employees.

Lauren’s main priority is seeing the world and constantly expanding her comfort zone. In 2022, she has plans to work on both of these things while working remotely.

Alumni Profile: Lauren Darby