N the Red
Features
7
Laura Giffel
2007 graduate runs for Indianapolis citycounty council Ben McHenry
mchenben000@hsestudents.org
F
or alu ni aura iffel, co unity involve ent has long been a guiding principle. o , she seeks to co bine her affinity for civics ith her desire to help others to gro a successful political career in ndianapolis. iffel as a e ber of the first class at , and as here hen any of the current traditions developed. he also had the uni ue e perience of being part of the first e The eople tea . re e ber rs. aternoster co ing to our class to recruit students to oin e the eople and being i ediately interested, iffel said. y father is a huge history buff and govern ent had been a regular topic of conversation in y house gro ing up. e the eople allo ed e to gro a solid foundation in good govern ent and learn ho to engage in civil discussions. iffel initially planned on an entirely different career path before eventually running for office. fter graduation attended urdue niversity to study social studies education, but uickly fell in love ith y psychology classes and s itched to behavioral neuroscience, iffel said. graduated in three years and enrolled at niversity of ndianapolis for a aster’s in clinical psychology. iffel currently orks for an ndianapolis non profit clinic as a behavioral analyst, helping the fa ilies of children in need, along ith her budding political career. Both of these careers have benefited fro her involve ent in school. n high school played volleyball and co peted in both e the eople and peech Tea , hich allo ed e to practice any interpersonal skills use today, iffel said. n college played on the club volleyball tea and
served on the leadership board of y sorority, ig a appa. iffel and her husband oved to do nto n ndianapolis in , here any urban neighborhoods ere still recovering fro the recession. hile any fa ilies had recovered, the housing arket had not, as about of the houses in a given neighborhood ere vacant. The housing situation otivated iffel to act. e bought our house and i ediately got involved ith our neighborhood association since e ere concerned about solutions for vacant and abandoned housing that plagues our city, iffel said. as frustrated ith the lack of ove ent on the vacant properties and anted to ensure that neighbors had a voice hen fighting for their uality of life. fter living in ndianapolis, iffel has seen first hand the troubles that any ndianapolis residents face that she has not. This, co bined ith her e perience in the city of ishers and , have given her a uni ue perspective on ho to help those in her co unity. ro ing up in ishers allo ed e to have a safe and nurturing teenage e perience, iffel said. ’ve co e to learn that any in ndianapolis and ndiana do not gro up ith si ilar opportunities, so a passionate about i proving the uality of life for those around us.
Laura Giffel smiles as she sits on a bench in downtown Indianapolis for a photoshoot as part of her county-council campaign. Photo used with permission of Laura Giffel.
