Gift of 'Love' by Laura Ann Johnson '08 Featured in Chicago Tribune

October 21, 2009, Greencastle, Ind. — An act of kindness by Laura Ann Johnson, a 2008 graduate of DePauw University, is featured in today's Chicago Tribune. A feature notes that when the 23-year-old Johnson "decided to cut her long blond hair earlier this month, she donated it to Locks of Love, a nonprofit providing custom-made hairpieces for children who suffer from medical hair loss."

The piece adds, "Johnson, who graduated from DePauw University and now lives in Maple City, Michigan, is director of Leelanau Outdoor Center, a team-building and nature studies facility for students in fourth-grade through high school. She aspires to be an opera singer and plans to get her master's in music."

"I love it, but it's really short," Johnson tells the Tribune of her new hairdo. "It's a big change, but compared to what (the children) are going through, it's nothing. I think I'll do it again." She adds, "I've found it interesting that my hair hasn't changed anything about my personality or who I am ... it doesn't matter what my hair looks like, I can still be who I want to be."

Find the complete article -- "Woman cuts crowning glory for 'love'" -- at the newspaper's Web site.

Send this story to a friend. Share