Twenty in their 20s: Jake Polansky, Rain Scott-Catoire and Elizabeth Scott
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Jake Polansky, 29
Director of strategy and research, Baton Rouge Area Chamber
• 2024 Council for Community and Economic Research Economic and Workforce Development Applied Research Award
• LSU Department of Public Administration’s Astrid Merget Public Service Award
• Leadership Baton Rouge – Class of 2024
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• Mentor for the Baton Rouge Youth Coalition
What you wanted to be when you grew up
“Architect.”
Your superpower
“Being generally grounded and even-keeled.”
Life hack
“Living in a walkable neighborhood. It’s possible, even in Baton Rouge.”
Your secret for making new friends
“You have to go out, do stuff and join groups. I’ve met some great people at free events, community meetings and just generally being away from my apartment.”
What more people should know about BR
“If you’re new here, it takes some time to find your footing. But, once you do, it’s a great place to live and work.”
It’s Friday night. Where y’at?
“Getting drinks at River Room, The Vintage, The Gregory or at an event. Or at Shabbat services.”
Goal before turning 30
“Be (mostly) done with wedding planning.”
How fitting is your sun sign?
“Libra. I think I’m pretty balanced?”
Office or WFH?
“Office.”
Go-to workday lunch
“I eat lunch at home. Perks of walking to work every day.”
Culture fix
“Severance, The White Lotus and Love Is Blind—shoutout to my amazing fiancee for getting me hooked on that last one. I’m currently reading Little Bee by Chris Cleave (also a fiancee suggestion) and just finished Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar.”
What’s in your picnic basket
“Peanut butter banana sandwiches and a bottle of red wine.”
Advice for your 18-year-old self
“You know so little about the world, even though you think you know a lot. Take some time to really think about your interests and what you want to do in this life.”
Rain Scott-Catoire, 25
Pianist and vocalist, Karma and the Killjoys
Instagram: @KarmaandtheKilljoys
• Produced and engineered Karma and the Killjoys’ 2024 EP, Synthetic
• Planned the band’s first tour, including an Austin, Texas, opener for Jukebox the Ghost
• Nominated for OffBeat Music & Cultural Arts Foundation’s Best of the Beat Music Awards – Best Rock Artist and Best Rock Album
• Teaches Baton Rouge Music Studios piano lessons to students ages 6 to 60
Your superpower
“Music.”
When you grew up, you wanted to be…
“An actor. I pursued acting and theater all the way through college.”
Life hack
“Going for a walk is almost always the answer.”
Go-to workday lunch
“A po-boy from Cannatella Grocery.”
What’s in your picnic basket
“Bread and cheese. If I could eat like a medieval fantasy character on a long journey every day of my life, I would.”
What more people should know about BR
“How awesome our music scene is. There are so many fantastic musicians here.”
How fitting is your sun sign?
“Libras apparently struggle to make decisions… but I can’t decide if that’s accurate or not.”
Culture fix
“My obsession with the animated series Arcane is alarming and even concerning. I wish I were joking.”
Office or WFH?
“My office is my home studio, where we record all of our music.”
It’s Friday night in Baton Rouge. Where y’at?
“If my band isn’t playing, I’m at home like the grandma I am, cozied up with a book, playing video games or Dungeons & Dragons with my friends.”
Your secret for making new friends
“I’ve made so many awesome musician friends by playing shows together or discovering them online and becoming each other’s biggest supporters.”
Advice for your 18-year-old self
“You’re more creative than you think. It’s in you, so let it grow.”
Goal before turning 30
“Tour across the country with my band.”
Elizabeth Scott, 26
LSU Ph.D. candidate, Pennington Biomedical Research Center (PBRC)
Instagram: @Liz.C.Scott
• PBRC’s first recipient of National Institutes of Health’s predoctoral fellowship
• Presenter at multiple national and international scientific conferences
• Author on 12 scientific publications
• Senior counselor for Louisiana Girls State
Your superpower
“Invincibility and adaptability.”
What you wanted to be when you grew up
“First a teacher, then a veterinarian, then a pediatrician. Turns out I’m now becoming a doctor in a different way.”
Go-to workday lunch
“Hummus and chicken shawarma from Serop’s Express.”
What more people should know about BR
“The BREC park system is amazing. I’ve never lived somewhere with so many accessible parks.”
Life hack
“The schedule-send function in Outlook. Scheduling emails for the next morning keeps me productive without disturbing people.”
Advice for your 18-year-old self
“Don’t be afraid of failing. What matters is what you learn and how you adapt from failures.”
Goal before turning 30
“My professional goal is to have submitted an NIH Pathway to Independence Award grant. Personal goal: Run a marathon.”
Office or WFH?
“While I absolutely love snuggling the cats and dog on the occasional WFH day, experiments have to be run in the lab. Just about everything I do is hands-on, and I love it that way.”
How fitting is your sun sign?
“Virgo is pretty spot on, especially the perfectionist, hardworking and introvert tendencies. Patience, not so much…”
Culture fix
“I’ve been loving the Kristin Hannah novels, especially The Women. On the fantasy side, the Shades of Magic series by V.E. Schwab is a recent favorite.”
Your secret for making new friends
“Running with Happy’s Running Club and playing beach volleyball.”
It’s Friday night in Baton Rouge. Where y’at?
“If I’m out, it’s playing at Mango’s Beach Volleyball and having a few beers with friends. If I’m in, I’m sipping wine while I read a book or play video games with my husband.”
What’s in your picnic basket
“An assortment of cheeses and a nice bottle of prosecco. And probably some fruit or chocolate.”
This article was originally published in the May 2025 issue of 225 Magazine.
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