Lenny/profile

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> ― Lenny
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## Personality

As Lorenzo had to take care of his sisters so early on, he had to learn to be responsible at a very young age. From babysitting and taking on a “third parent” role, he knows just how important it is to listen to authority and respect those around him. Lorenzo would also be considered someone that is very passionate about work and life in general. He loves how he's in a position to help people by growing better and more sustainable crops, and is very eager to come into work everyday and leave with more information on how to help.
However, in the event where someone might criticize his actions or values, Lorenzo becomes quite closed off and sensitive. While he tries not to show it, he is highly vulnerable to criticism. He is trying to change himself so that he doesn't take it personally, but as he is a more introverted individual, it is sometimes very difficult for him to break this toxic mindset.

## Background

Being the eldest to three younger sisters does a lot to someone. Especially if that someone is named Lorenzo Diaz. Born in Foz do Iguacu, Brazil, the boy had a few quiet years before sibling chaos started. At just eleven years old, Lorenzo was already taking care of six-year-old Lilla, four-year-old Talia, and one-year-old Eloa. He had to grow up and learn responsibility a lot quicker than the other kids, and promised his parents that he would be a good influence on his sisters. Between babysitting and extra studying, Lorenzo didn’t have a lot of time for himself. On the days where his parents “relieved him of his duty”, Lorenzo would escape to the outdoors and spend hours sitting in nature, listening to the rush of the rivers and the swaying of the leaves. He cherished moments like these, where he could be alone and just listen to his thoughts. It was times like these where he started to gather an affinity towards plants, rolling around in the grass while he tried to compare two leaves together. It was his idea of fun, despite it being a bit lonely sometimes.

Forward to the start of his sophomore year in high school. Lorenzo was a bumbling mess. His limbs hurt from his huge growth spurt over the summer, his voice was still cracking, and he needed a new bed so his legs wouldn’t stick out. The only solace he had was biology class, where he studied his heart out, learning about different plant cells and organisms as a distraction from everything around him. By the time he finished high school, he was offered a fully paid scholarship to the University of Alberta to study plant biology. The choice was hard on him to decide. On one hand, he didn’t want to leave his family, but on the other, it was a fully paid scholarship to do something he loved. He didn’t want to pass it up, and no matter how much his sisters screamed and cried, Lorenzo’s parents knew that was what their son wanted to do, and finally agreed to let him go.

Their final goodbyes at the airport had definitely caused a scene. Lorenzo, suitcase in hand, was trying to coax Eloa off his leg while also trying to stop his other two sisters from running away with his luggage. It was hard to leave them, but he promised to visit whenever he could. After finally getting them to comply (and almost missing his plane), it dawned on Lorenzo that he was gone from his home and entering a completely new country.

University life had its ups and downs. He met a lot of amazing people with similar interests, all while building up his resume. In his second year, he found a job working at a small start-up that a couple of his seniors set up, just to earn enough money in order to visit his family back in Brazil. In his third year, he opted to go take a year of co-op, working under a renowned agronomist with fifty other students to study crops and the technology of production. He loved how agronomy combined both his love of studying plants along with helping others, so he worked diligently in order to be noticed and hired once he graduated from university. For his fourth year final thesis, he wrote about how he wanted to create transferable plant cells in order to help third world countries with their food production. This caught the attention of the agronomist and sure enough, Lorenzo was hired for his research lab right after he graduated.

Plant labs were no joke. Even though Lorenzo had hundreds of lectures and labs at university, nothing could prepare him for what was to come. During his first three months of working at the lab, he had pages and pages of notes, documenting everything he’s learned and the experiments he’s been conducting. Everything was a learning experience, and Lorenzo fell in love with it. So much so that he didn’t even complain when his hair started to sprout white strands, laughing it off like it came with the job. Skip to two and a half years of working at the lab, Lorenzo was called into his senior’s office. There was a job opening for head researcher at a research lab in New York City, and despite how young Lorenzo was, there seemed to be no one more fitting for the job than him. There was going to be an interview a week from then, so his senior advised him to get ready and plan out what he was going to say. That night, Lorenzo started packing and editing his resume, making sure it was in tip-top shape.

He landed in NYC with two days to spare. After settling down in his hotel room, he decided to explore the city a bit more. His interview wasn't for in another 48 hours, so why not look around to pass time?

## Trivia

* Is demisexual (meaning that he doesn't experience any sexual attraction unless he forms an emotional connection first).
* Father of many many different houseplants-- his favourite one (by far) has to be his Christmas Cactus though.
* His left ear lobe is slightly cut due to a piercing gone wrong in his teenage years.
* The white in his hair is actually natural!! it started growing during his first few months at work where he was experiencing a high volume of stress but he was too lazy to dye it back to brown LOL
* Fluent in Brazilian Portuguese & English

## Quotes

* > "*Say Something Here*"
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― name & when / to whom