Brayden’s Story

Video posted April 25, 2013 in News by Lauren Weaver

Brayden Shelly was born with a heart defect, a double aortic arch, and just months after he was born had to undergo heart surgery. As a result, his mom created 'Brayden's Happy Heart,' a soon-to-be non-profit that provides blankets and pillows for young children in hospitals. With over 70 blankets ordered, in over 25 states and Canada, Brittany and Jason have stayed motivated and determined to change the lives of others. Their story is a true testament to the strength that comes with parenthood.

About the Contributors

Lauren Weaver's photo

Lauren Weaver

Senior / Visual Journalism

Lauren Weaver is a senior at Penn State who will be graduating in May 2013 with a Baccalaureate degree in Visual Journalism with a minor in International Studies.

She has a great deal of experience in the travel industry, working as a Production’s Assistant for the online travel company, Travelscream, Inc., two years. During her career, she used a variety of online marketing techniques to increase visibility in search result pages and helped maintain social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter to increase global brand exposure. She also assisted in the management of daily production and distribution of travel deal promotions, deal newsletters and blog posts. She was given the opportunity to blog Travelscream’s website and with this opportunity she was able to independently research and write about areas of travel that she believe are interesting and important.

During the fall semester of her senior year, she interned with The National Geographic Society in Washington, D.C. The internship was a hands-on opportunity where she was able to learn online content planning, production and publishing for a major media website. She also researched and wrote short pieces for National Geographic Traveler’s award-winning blog, Intelligent Travel.

Upon graduation she hopes to travel, write and learn more about the world around her.