Siftie Spotlight: Lauren Stasko, Senior Program Marketing Manager

This is part of a monthly series in which we get to know Sifties.

Lauren Stasko is our Senior Program Marketing Manager and has been with Sift for 11 months.

If she could eat just one food for the rest of her life, it would be hummus. Just with a spoon, no other foods needed – no pita, no veggies.

Where is your favorite place to be?

In the summer I prefer to be on a beach, in the winter I prefer to be on a mountain snowboarding or doing snow activities.

For the snow I prefer Tahoe, partly because it’s the closest and we’ve been getting a lot of snow these past few seasons. I started skiing on hills when I was five in Michigan, and as I gradually moved west I started snowboarding on real mountains.

I like all beaches in general. Two years ago I went on a trip to Nicaragua, which had one of the nicest, cleanest, most secluded beaches I’ve been to.

What movie can you watch over and over without ever getting tired of?

Mystic River. I actually watched it over the weekend. There’s something about that particular story that never gets old, no matter how many times I watch it. I love Sean Penn and I love the suspenseful, murder mystery type of anything – books, movies, TV shows. That’s the genre I gravitate towards.

What’s the best concert you’ve been to?

The xx, in San Francisco two years ago. They played two shows at the Bill Graham Civic and both sold out. They’re from England and don’t come to the US very often. They’re all around amazing. Very talented musicians that have great voices live, and they also have a DJ in their band, which is unique.

If you could visit any place in the world, where would you go and why?

Niseko, Japan. They’re supposed to have the best conditions for skiing and snowboarding and there’s a bunch of resorts in the area. I’ve never been to Japan and would love to see other parts of the country, but Niseko would be the reason I would want to go – and then see everything and eat everything else.

What would people be surprised to learn about you?

I play classical piano. I’ve played off and on since I was seven, and have been taking lessons for four years now since I moved out to San Francisco. I played until I was 15 or 16 and I thought it wasn’t cool anymore, so I quit. Four or five years ago I was like, “I really miss this,” and I ended up finding a really great piano teacher out here and have been taking lessons ever since.

I always really enjoyed playing and only ever played classical music; right before I quit playing for a while, my teacher at the time picked out music for me and didn’t let me choose what I wanted to play, which I think was part of why I stopped. I got to the point where I realized I didn’t have enough productive hobbies, and it’s much easier to pick something back up that you have a foundation for.

Once I started taking lessons again I quickly got back to the place where I was when I was consistently playing, which made it more enjoyable, as well as finding a supportive teacher who let me play what I want.

As you get older, what are you getting more and more afraid of?

I always try to keep in mind that the older people get, they often use age as a crutch or a reason to not do or try something. Whether I’m making big life decisions or small choices, I try to stay aware of whether I’m factoring in my age. I try to not put myself in the mindset that I’m too old to try or master something.