Lara Marie Schabauer has been coordinating the NextGenBuddies project since the summer of 2026, and she puts her heart and soul into it. She particularly appreciates the fact that the project focuses on people facing intersectional disadvantages and reaches them at an early stage – namely during their childhood and adolescence – before inequalities become entrenched. She believes that social background should not determine which doors are open to a person. This commitment led her to Vienna, where she completed her Bachelor’s degree in Sociology at the University of Vienna.

She is currently in the final phase of her Master’s degree in Social Innovation at Salzburg University of Applied Sciences. She works on democracy, social inequality and project development.

Her guiding principle is to look closely at issues, which is why she continues to develop her skills outside her studies – most recently by completing a course in Mental Health First Aid.