Laura Reagan’s main concern always has been studying and learning about her surrounding culture.
The 1981 EdinburgHigh School graduate has a career riddled with accomplishments, from publishing an award-winning book to serving seven years as the executive director of the Boys & Girls Club of McAllen.
“It took me 12 years to put my degree together because I was always more excited about life than I was school,” she said.
The bilingual author and counselor moved to the Rio GrandeValley at age 3.
Reagan was motivated to study sociology after taking an intern course at the then-University of Texas Pan-American, but her involvement in the field goes back even further. Before graduating from the University of North Louisiana, Reagan worked as a substance abuse counselor for adolescents.
Her debut novel, published in late 2016, is titled “How to Raise Respectful Parents: Better Communication for Teen and Parent Relationships.”
The book was a finalist for the 2017 Best Book Awards in the category of Young Adult non-fiction and received the Pinnacle Book Achievement Award in summer 2017.
It acts as a guide for teens to navigate adult culture and can be purchased on Amazon and at Barnes & Noble.
As a mother of two adult daughters and after having a 20-plus-year career in sociology, Reagan has had a lot of practice in the field.
The “premise of the book is co-creation,” she said. “We, as adults, cannot assume that we know the world that we’re going to be giving to (our children) because (of) technological advances.”
A more complete version of this story is available on www.myBrownsvilleHerald.com