Meet the Blogger

Lauren Renee Kornegay

“Everything I’m not, made me everything I am.”

A Taoist monk once proclaimed that “the journey is the reward,” and for 24-year-old Lauren Kornegay, this has been nothing but the truth. The Oxon Hill, Maryland native’s less-than-traditional journey is what continues to influence her path and her desire to be a community activist and educator.

Lauren’s childhood did not exactly fit a cookie cutter mold. In fact, Lauren spent time in foster care until her cousin and her husband adopted her.  After being placed in a permanent home, Lauren flourished.  She was always surrounded by family and was involved in countless church and community activities.  Out of all of Lauren’s extracurricular activities, she credits Girl Scouts of America as being a major force in her life as the organization taught her the importance of both education and of service to others.

After leaving a tremendous mark on the Oxon Hill community, Lauren graduated from Oxon Hill High School in 2006 and enrolled in The Morgan State University.  During her time at Morgan, Lauren’s passion for philanthropy developed. She became an active member of a number of service-based organizations that catered to both the campus and to the greater Baltimore community.  Throughout her matriculation, Lauren was a catalyst for growth and sought to bring positive change to anything she was involved in.  Although she remembers her years at Morgan as harboring some of her greatest memories and lessons, Lauren’s college experience was also marked by significant tragedies.  During her sophomore year, both Lauren’s biological and adoptive mother passed away.  While many expected for their passing's, which happened within months of each other, to break her, Lauren simply allowed this test to enrich her testimony.  Upon her completion of matriculation in 2010, Lauren obtained work at Potomac Job Corp where she maintains a commitment to community education.  At Job Corp, Lauren is able to help young adults with backgrounds much like hers through education and mentor-ship. 

Inspired by Dr. Rose Milligan’s book, Nigger Please, Lauren started her own business in 2012. The Agenda promotes the support of Black-owned businesses by creating positive media that highlights African-American entrepreneurs and their endeavors.  As a blog-focused entity, The Agenda serves as an avenue to economically empower the African American community and encompasses Lauren’s passions of education, community involvement, and service.  Lauren lives by the late Christopher Wallace’s quote, “You can’t change the world unless you change yourself.” In spite life’s hardships, Lauren understands her purpose and continues to believe in the power of her passions, positivity, and of philanthropy and one day at a time, she strives to change the world by changing one mindset at a time.

Bio by Jasmine T. Curry