A Matter of Circumstance

By: Kate Norum

In a world full of uncertainty, the one thing that always remained constant for Lauren Sisler was sports. Growing up in Roanoke, Virginia, she was always active with gymnastics and wanted to become a sports doctor after seeing the impact they made in orthopedics and therapy, she was no stranger to getting help in this regard. After receiving a gymnastics scholarship to Rutgers University, Sisler initially started out in sports medicine, but ended up changing to communications. During her freshman year at Rutgers, catastrophe struck. Lesley and Butch Sisler, Lauren’s parents, both unexpectedly passed away from a prescription drug overdose. 

“It was tough for the longest time, to even talk about it.” Sisler said about her parents death. Throughout the years she has become an advocate against addiction and wants to help spread more awareness. Especially diving more into the notion that it doesn’t matter who you are, where you come from, that this could happen to anyone; becoming more aware is critical.

There became a new passion for Sisler, who was fixated on sports medicine at first, had a change of heart and ended up becoming more proactive with communications. Internalizing all the thoughts that washed over her, losing her parents and being a collegiate gymnast was not easy. “I enjoyed connecting with people, hearing their stories and sharing with them.” Sisler said on why she ended up changing her major at Rutgers to communications. 

After her parents passed away suddenly, she relied heavily on her support system including her aunt, uncle, brother and gymnastics teammates to push through it all. “My uncle and aunt were my biggest support system after my parents’ died and still are, not to mention, my team kept me in check despite everything.” Pushing her to go back and finish her semester strong and keep on moving forward. “People around me wanted me to succeed, even if I didn’t fully feel capable of accomplishment, they kept me going.” 

While at Rutgers, Sisler worked an internship for the TV network on campus, gaining experience in everything from behind-the-scenes to being in front of a camera and she also had another internship with CNBC, getting more insight into finance from another perspective. After graduating, Sisler ended up moving back to Roanoke, Virginia, where it all began for her and started working at CBS Affiliate, WDBJ7, covering high school and college sports. From there she worked at a WTAP in West Virginia as the weekend sports anchor.

Eventually she moved to Birmingham, Alabama and started working at WIAT, the CBS affiliate, in 2016. From the roller coaster ride, Sisler has been on since college, she has been grateful throughout the process and has constantly been perfecting her skills in this craft, where she is currently working for AL.com as a sports reporter/host and is also a SEC Network sports reporter on  ESPN. 

“Readjusting and redefining my life without my parents was and still is hard, but the support keeps me going,” Sisler said on how she copes and still remains dedicated fully to her work. The last thing Sisler wanted to say was that, “ Life is more than the wins and losses, it’s more about the connections you make in the long run.” On that note, no matter what happens, always make time for people and celebrate every little moment, as it all becomes a big moment. 

Thank you to Lauren Sisler for sharing your story and bringing to reality that the toughest moments can bring out the strongest people. 

You can follow Lauren on Twitter @LaurenSisler or connect with her LinkedIn 

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