I own the escape room that you don’t escape from in old town Lakeville.
I wouldn’t necessarily say that I was “led” to this career. I would more describe it as the career being aggressively thrown at me. This is not a bad thing at all! I am a fairly hesitant person due to things that have happened in my past, so getting this opportunity and it being such a short timeline actually helped me in the long run. I am very privileged to have the opportunity that I do, and I am extremely lucky to know the people that were able to help me make this happen. I have personally run almost 600 groups through the three puzzle rooms here at LPR, including before it was LPR. Out of those 600 groups I have learned so much about how people interact with one another and it’s fun to think about how people might do their jobs, manage a team, parent their children, get along with/bully their friends, and even how people deal with their in-laws! I don’t think I would’ve ever known how much I love this work if I hadn’t randomly decided to apply for a new job back in 2019. After five years working at Target and unsure what my career path was looking like, I decided to take a leap. That leap got me a new car, a house, and now my own business. It’s insane.
Q: Please tell us about your current, past, or future career. What do you love most about what you do?
Hey look, the spot where I can talk about my favorite bits of Escape Rooms for hours! People tend to forget that I can see and hear everything they do and say while in the rooms. I have to watch as I am helping people to by providing “clues” as they are solving the puzzle. I always tell people that this is a psychologist’s dream job/research project. I put people in a room for an hour and watch as they interact and work together to reach a goal. On a daily basis, this job is extremely interesting and so rewarding but can be challenging too while trying to communicate! There’s so many different groups of people that come to LPR; it’s interesting to see how people work together! Let’s take a group where some of them have done an escape room before and they know what they’re doing, and some in the group are new to it and don’t know what to expect. The adults in groups that show their friends the ropes, explaining what to do first and how to solve the puzzles, listening to their friends’ ideas and encouraging them to follow through always prove to be the “leaders”. They make sure to take the time and explain something to someone who may not understand what’s going on, regardless of their age or experience… or even if they have very different dynamics. These groups do the best because the entire group knows what’s going on. And let’s face it, nobody comes back to work on a puzzle they’ve already solved! My favorite part is seeing a group come in with friends and doing our speakeasy room, but then they come back later and bring their kids to do our pirate room. The BEST family groups are the ones that make sure the kids are involved and having a good time, while making sure they aren’t forcing their kids to participate. Ooo… But I do get a lot of satisfaction out of telling the parents that ignore their children that their children are correct and they should listen to them. It’s quite fun!
I have always been extremely interested in figuring out what makes people tick. I’ve always wanted to know why people act the way they do and on top of that, what kind of conclusions can be drawn from their actions. And overseeing each escape room while people are trying to solve the problem definitely fulfills this interest of mine!
Q: What are a couple of your favorite restaurants in our community?
It’s so hard to choose! My favorite thing right now is the Taphouse Salad at Northern Taphouse. I like to add steak to it!
Q: How long have you lived or worked in our community?
This will be the start of my fourth year working in Lakeville.
Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would it be and why?
Key West, Florida. Specifically old town Key West. I was born there, and it is hands-down my favorite place to visit. My second choice would be Venice, Italy. This is actually the eight year anniversary of when I went there with my high school choir! That was one of the best trips I’ve ever been on. As for a place I’ve never been, I’ve always wanted to explore the western United States. Visit Colorado, Arizona, and northern California. I really want to drive into the middle of the desert and camp in my car! I want to see what the sky looks like with no light pollution.
Q: What is one of your favorite movies? TV shows?
I have a very long list of favorite shows and movies…we’ll do top threes. Top three shows are The Good Place, Star Trek: The Original Series, and Galavant. Top three movies are Venom, Knives Out, and The Mummy.
Q: What advice would you give to people?
There is no such thing as “wasting time”. You do not have to be productive every single second of every single day. Just because someone else is “grinding” by waking up at 4am doesn’t mean you have to. Take your life at your own pace, and if you need help, ask for it.
Q: What is something on your bucket list?
Perform. Not just at a karaoke night, but actually performing somewhere.
Q: What is your go to band when you can’t decide what to listen to?
Avi Kaplan.
Q: If you could choose anyone that is alive today and not a relative; with whom would you love to have lunch? Why? And where locally would y’all meet for this lunch?
I have no idea who I’d bring, but I know we’d go to Tapestry Coffee!
Q: (Even for friends or family), what is something interesting that most people don’t know about you?
I have auditioned for The Voice twice!
Q: What is the most beautiful place you have ever been?
It’s honestly a two way tie between Key West, Florida and Seville, Spain.
Q: Favorite month? favorite holiday? and best single day on the calendar?
October, Halloween, and my birthday or course! Which is surprisingly not on Halloween.
Q: What would you rate a 10 out of 10?
Labyrinth Puzzle Rooms & More #selfpromo
Q: Who inspires you to be better?
My mom.
Q: What is one or two of your favorite smells?
The ocean, real lavender blooms, and rain.
Q: Finally, what 3 words or phrases come to mind when you think of the word HOME?
Home is wherever I am. It is its own entity. It changes with who I am at the moment. Side note: my house is 102 years old and is probably haunted by a friendly ghost…
