The Breakfast Club Podcast – Loren LaRosa Speaks at the Thurgood Marshall Fund Leadership Institute

Date: October 10, 2025
Host: Lauren LaRosa (with contributions from The Breakfast Club team)
Location: Leadership Institute, Washington, D.C., via the Thurgood Marshall Fund
Audience: 500–600 HBCU students from across the U.S.

Episode Overview

This episode transports listeners to Lauren LaRosa’s keynote at the Thurgood Marshall Fund's Leadership Institute, an event supporting students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) as they navigate the transition from academia to the professional world. The conversation is intimate, motivational, and sharply honest, focused on professional development, personal branding, navigating setbacks, and the unique power of HBCU community.

Key Topics & Insights

1. Setting the Scene and Purpose [02:29]

• Lauren addresses a large audience of HBCU students who are at a pivotal moment in their educational journey. She sets the context:

  "It's about 5 to 600 HBCU students. They had no idea I was coming... Today was like one of the closing days where we speak into them and they introduce that I’m here and I’m here to talk to them. It’s based on professional development and just, you know, figuring yourself out in college." [03:02]

2. Pathway From Delaware State to Media Success [04:47–10:11]

• Lauren’s journey started at Delaware State University, where she majored not in communications but marketing:

  "A lot of people think that I studied journalism, that I was a communications major. I was a communications major for about a day... I felt like I needed the business and professional development more." [06:00]

• Early on, she hustled for on-campus visibility—radio, vlogs, events, modeling troupe—building a brand before “branding” was common.
• The strategic foundation from her business degree set her apart in a crowded digital world:

  "The only way I can set myself apart is to really understand the business of me. Like, what is my brand, who am I speaking to?" [07:23]

• She chronicled her transition to LA and NY via YouTube, inspiring others, especially as a first-generation graduate.

3. The Leap of Faith: Moving to LA [10:23–15:12]

• Lauren details the courage to relocate and the realities of starting over, including setbacks and second chances:

  "You just get on a plane and go... I found a friend I could, like, just crash with for, like, a couple months, and I’m gonna figure it out. Went there once. It didn’t work. I ran out of money, couldn’t find a job." [10:30–11:12]

• She discusses how her upbringing in a tough, ambitious household gave her resilience.
• Lauren underlines the importance of owning one’s unique identity—even when misunderstood or underestimated:

  "People not having a me in the room was my superpower. Took a little minute, but I realized it. And once I realized that, you couldn’t tell me nothing." [14:53]

4. Advice for Overcoming Adversity [18:03–21:23]

• For first-gen students and anyone on a new path, Lauren says:

  "The best thing you can do is to always be a student... When you’re the first at doing something, you’re going to mess up. But what I do is I learn from that." [18:26]

• She urges students to take advantage of peer networks and mentorship—even if those mentors are virtual.
• Lauren stresses persistence in seeking knowledge and asking for help:

  "If you ever find yourself in a room with people you can actually learn and progress from, and you do not try and do that… you are wasting your scholarship money." [19:28]

• She encourages active, daily self-encouragement and self-coaching:

  "Talk to yourself, baby. Learn how to coach yourself, okay? Because the world is going to try and humble you. Don’t let them do it." [20:48]

5. Responsibility to Uplift Black Voices [21:30–26:27]

• Student Madison Brythway asks about Lauren’s sense of responsibility for representing Black voices:

  "As a Black person in the world, you want to feel Black responsibility, period. Every job I’ve ever had... a lot of that was they didn’t have a Black person." [21:57]

• She shares the high stakes of being the only Black face on mainstream platforms:

  "If anything goes out wrong in such a sensitive time, it’s like, yo, the whole world at one point was like, it’s Lauren’s fault, because you’re seeing me on camera, and I’m the only Black face you’re seeing." [24:03]

• HBCUs foster pride, versatility, and a spirit of community, teaching her to “show up” authentically and help others—core to her professional identity.

6. Managing Professional Relationships in Entertainment [29:05–32:05]

• Student Kalandra Carter asks about handling tricky industry relationships:

  "If I have a personal relationship with anybody and I’m a speak on something on air, I talk to them first off air... And then that extends into...okay, so while we’re talking...what do you want to say for yourself?" [29:43]

• Lauren’s policy is honesty, but with clarity between fact and opinion:

  "Sometimes I say in my opinion. So people know the difference between here’s what is actually happening and here’s how I feel. But people gonna get upset. You cannot get around that." [30:20]

• Her advice: Don’t let fear of opinions stop you, and maintain your boundaries and integrity.

7. Final Encouragement for Students [32:05–34:15]

• Lauren’s closing advice centers on trust, action, and instinct:

  "Warning comes before destruction. You are going to try things and you should throw things at the wall, see if they stick... You have an instinct and you have a gut for a reason... Listen, because those warnings will come, that gut instinct will come, but ain’t gonna come too many times before you get in your own way." [32:26] "Start now. Don’t wait until you graduate. Don’t wait until you move to your dream place... These tables are going to be there for y’all to pull up a seat to or for you to create for yourself. But you got to execute to do any of that, right?" [33:39]

8. Community and Brand: Brown Girl Grinding [34:19–35:22]

• Lauren highlights her platforms for continued connection:

  "I’m Lauren LaRosa everywhere... and then my favorite brown girl grinding. I call it the online group chat. So we inspire, we lift up, we have a little bit of fun." [34:25]

• She attributes her breakout growth (e.g., YouTube subscribers during Diddy trial coverage) to just starting, without waiting for the “perfect” moment:

  "Do it now. Don’t wait...all that’s iPhone footage. Do it now. Don’t wait for things." [35:17]

Memorable Quotes

• "The only way I can set myself apart is to really understand the business of me." — Lauren LaRosa [07:23]
• "People not having a me in the room was my superpower." — Lauren LaRosa [14:53]
• "Don’t underestimate where you are right now. Don’t rush it. Spend these last couple months...really just enjoy being, like, for the most part, bill-less and worry-less." — Lauren LaRosa [12:27]
• "As a Black person in the world, you want to feel Black responsibility, period." — Lauren LaRosa [21:57]
• "Your instinct and your gut will tell you so much of what you should be doing. Listen, because those warnings will come..." — Lauren LaRosa [33:08]
• "Start now... Don’t wait until you graduate... These tables are going to be there for y’all to pull up a seat to or for you to create for yourself." — Lauren LaRosa [33:39]

Important Timestamps

• Intro to the Event & Scene Setting: [02:29–04:29]
• Lauren’s Journey & Del State Experience: [04:47–10:11]
• On Moving to LA, Setbacks, and Brown Girl Grinding: [10:23–15:12]
• Blueprint for Overcoming Challenges: [18:03–21:23]
• Being the Only Black Voice in the Room: [21:30–26:27]
• Professional Relationships in Entertainment: [29:05–32:05]
• Final Words of Encouragement: [32:05–34:15]
• Lauren’s Socials & Brand: [34:19–35:22]

Tone & Style

Lauren is candid, uplifting, and deeply practical. Her stories blend inspiration (overcoming adversity, valuing community, embracing identity) with grounded career advice and hard-won lessons. She maintains a direct, lively, “big sister” energy throughout.

This episode is a must-listen for anyone stepping into their professional life, especially HBCU students and first-gen graduates seeking reassurance, real talk, and actionable inspiration.