Laura Brown, 2014
- Head Women’s Golf Coach
- DSC employee since 1998
Degrees and schools where awarded: Bachelor of Science in Recreation from the University of Florida
Career/Professional honors: 2010 Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) National Coach of the Year; 2011, 2010, & 2005 LPGA SE Section Coach of the Year; 2009 Inducted into NJCAA Women’s Golf Coaches Association Hall of Fame; 2005, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014 NJCAA National Coach of the Tournament Award.
Outside interests: Playing golf and tennis, spending time with family and friends, relaxing by the pool or at the beach with a good book and taking my dog for walks.
What did you do prior to joining Daytona State College: I played professional golf both on the LPGA and Symetra Tour for seven years.
What professional projects are you working on right now: I stay active throughout the year on maintaining my affiliation with the LPGA by serving or participating in events. I am currently the president of the NJCAA Women’s Golf Coaches Association and have hosted the NJCAA National Women’s Golf Championship for 10 years. I also volunteer for the LPGA Qualifying School that comes to Daytona Beach each year, and try to participate in LPGA sanctioned events and seminars when my schedule allows .
What has been the most rewarding thing about your Daytona State College experience: Being able to coach talented student athletes and seeing that I make a difference in their lives has been very rewarding. I have been very fortunate during my 16-year coaching career at DSC to win seven National Championships, have four individual National Champions and produce over 60 All-Americans. I am very proud to say that my players have proven themselves in the classroom as well. This year they won the NJCAA National Academic Award for best academic team in the country with a 3.77 team GPA. We have also won the Florida College System Activities Association (FCSAA) award for best academic team in the state four times.
What is one goal you still hope to achieve in your career: I feel like I have achieved most of the goals I have set for myself and my program. That being said, I would like to continue our tradition of being the best women’s golf program in the country by continuing to win national championships and also continue to have our success in the classroom. My goal each year is to recruit top-quality student-athletes and provide them with the opportunity to be successful, lead them as best as I can and hope to make a difference in their lives.
In life: Simply to be the best person I can be and to make a difference in people’s lives by making a positive impact. Do things that make me happy and spend as much time as I can with family and friends.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever gotten: Never give up on your dreams.
One thing people are surprised to find out about me is: I like to cross-stich. It relaxes me and I find it therapeutic.
Last book read: Defending Jacob by William Landay
If they could bottle your personality what would the label read: Sarcastic humor
Who are the four people in the history of the world you most admire: The entire US Military – they have provided us our freedom and continue to keep us safe. They give the ultimate sacrifice and I respect their incredible commitment to our country; Abraham Lincoln, Danny Thomas (Founder of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital) and my grandfather.
The Daytona State of Mind to me means commitment to our students by providing them with opportunities and the resources to be successful.
