From First-Generation Student to Attorney: Lauri Chaudoin’s Story

From her beginnings as a first-generation college student to returning 25 years later as an attorney, Chaudoin's connection to Belmont runs deep. 

Lauri Chaudoin shifts in the plastic chair on the deck outside of Bongo Java, a coffee shop across from Belmont’s campus, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary.

The timing was not lost on Chaudoin. “It was 30 years ago I sat here and [Professor] Regine [Schwarzmeier] told me I should become a lawyer.”

Professor Schwarzmeier had been an advocate and mentor for Chaudoin during her undergraduate years, and this idea served as a catalyst for her future career path.  

“Fall semester of my senior year, I'm sitting out here talking with Regine at Bongo Java, and she says, ‘You know what? I think you would make an excellent lawyer.’” Chaudoin said. “And I hadn't really thought about law school at all. Because I'm a first generation undergrad.”

This was November 1993, her senior year, and the next to the last day to register for the LSATs, which are used as a standardized assessment tool for law school admission. But Chaudoin had already experienced so many serendipitous moments in her Belmont journey, she thought she had nothing to lose. 

A Miraculous Journey 

Rewind to 1990.

Chaudoin was preparing to graduate from Glencliff High School in Nashville as her family had moved there from Oklahoma her freshman year. Many of her peers had plans to attend Western Kentucky University, and she planned to join them, having already paid her housing deposit. 

As she recalls, "In the spring of 1990 when I was getting ready to graduate, we had this big awards day in the gym,” she said. “Belmont just showed up with a full scholarship. I believe it's similar to today's Rose Park Scholars, but it's exclusively for first-generation college students at Belmont."

She received a full scholarship to Belmont College without even submitting an application. This scholarship was particularly significant because Chaudoin would become the first member of her family to attend college. Known as the "Centennial Scholarship," it was named in honor of Belmont's 100-year anniversary. Belmont would become “University” one year later.

She continues, "That moment changed everything, and everyone around me was saying, 'You should really consider Belmont now. It's a great school.'"

Chaudoin married her high school sweetheart, Danny, during her sophomore year at Belmont, a marriage that has now lasted 31 years. She laughs as she recalls life in married housing, "They were these huge two-bedroom apartments for like $200 a month. They were built in the 1920s and stood where the Leu Art Gallery is now." She added they enjoyed eating at the original location of the International Market “two or three nights a week."

Chaudoin contributed to the student newspaper, The Belmont Vision, and spent a lot of her time in the newspaper’s office on the second floor of Gabhart being mentored by the late Thom Storey. She interned for local news Channel 4 during her junior year, which eventually led to a part-time assistant producer position where she wrote on-air scripts for anchors Cynthia Williams and Demetria Kalodimos. 

Fast forward to 1993.

She said, "Fall semester of my senior year, I'm sitting out here with Regine at Bongo Java," and describes her struggle with finances and the realization that earning $4.25 an hour wasn't enough to make ends meet.

"I hadn't really thought about law school at all," she said. However, Schwarzmeier’s encouragement ignited a spark in her. "She said, ‘I think you'll be perfect for that.”

Law School Bound

As she looked into the possibility, Chaudoin discovered that the deadline for the last LSAT was fast approaching. Panic set in. "And the deadline was the next day for the last LSAT for fall admissions," she said. Her determination led her to explore grants to cover the LSAT costs. Chaudoin was told by both Vanderbilt and the University of Tennessee that there were no grants available at that late date. She shared, "I thought, well, I'll still be a poor broadcasting employee next year, so let me call Vanderbilt back and see when to start calling for next year’s grants." It was through a stroke of luck that she secured a grant. "They said, are you the one that just called? I said, yes. They said, ‘I just found one in the bottom of the file cabinet, and it's yours if you want it," she said. Chaudoin's path to law school was set in motion.

However, Chaudoin’s decision wasn't made lightly, considering her husband's dream of becoming a Nashville firefighter. She explained, "I couldn’t ask him to give that up for me to go to law school when he had been striving to achieve his dream for years and I had thought about law school for five minutes." So, she decided to take the LSAT, thinking, "If I don't get what I need to get into Vanderbilt... it's not meant to be." To her astonishment, Chaudoin scored exactly what she needed, and her journey into law school began.

“I always joke, it was the closest thing to Legally Blonde except I wasn't following a guy there,” she laughed. “God has these plans, you know, and it's like, it's gonna happen one way or the other.”

Chaudoin's career took off when she attended Vanderbilt Law School. Afterward, she secured clerkships and eventually landed a position at one of the esteemed downtown law firms, an experience she affectionately refers to as working at "one of the fancy downtown marble floor law firms." However, her path took a different turn as she chose to transition to an in-house counsel position to achieve a better work-life balance, especially as she desired to start a family. This shift led her to become an in-house attorney at Rogers Group, which, has strong connections to Belmont. 

An Adoption Law Ministry

After 10 years, Chaudoin decided to open her own practice, Chaudoin Law. Throughout her career, labor and employment law had been her specialty, complemented by experience in corporate and contract law during her time in-house. However, Chaudoin always had a strong inclination towards adoption law, a passion that developed after her experiences with infertility. She had given birth to three children but felt a deep connection to the idea of adoption.

Driven by this calling, Chaudoin decided to pursue adoption law through Continuing Legal Education (CLE) courses. She recalled her journey of self-education: "I just started training myself to do adoptions on a ministry basis. So it's my pro bono ministry. I do pro bono and low-cost adoption." Remarkably, the second adoption she ever facilitated was for her own family. “The second adoption I ever did was with my own son,” she said. In just one whirlwind weekend, their family grew from three kids to four, when a church friend with a 2 ½ year-old cousin, called in search of a loving home for him. The grandparents who had temporary custody of the child saw the immediate connection and love between the boy and his newfound family. On that Sunday, they made a life-changing decision: they would allow the Chaudoin family to adopt him.

Chaudoin finalized the adoption of her son in early 2013, but a terrible diagnosis struck at the same time: stage three breast cancer. 

A Shocking Diagnosis

Chaudoin's journey took an unexpected and challenging turn with this diagnosis. She reflects on this period, saying, "I was shocked at age 39 to be diagnosed. I did six surgeries, chemo and radiation," she said. But it was in the darkest hours, immediately following her diagnosis, she found solace in a verse from the Bible that assured her of preservation during times of trouble (Psalm 138:7). “God told me on the second day I would not die from this, and this gave me the courage to press on," she said.

Chaudoin endured the battle and continued her commitment to make a positive impact, which extended beyond her legal practice. She devoted her time to serving on the board of a non-profit organization, Chosen With the Mission, which supports a school in Uganda. This organization has helped transform the lives of hundreds of students who would otherwise not have access to education.

In 2018, Chaudoin's daughter, Hannah, expressed her desire to attend Belmont. This opportunity led Chaudoin to consider returning to Belmont as well. She stumbled upon a job posting for the Title IX position, which required legal expertise in discrimination law. Title IX (referred to as “Title Nine”) is a federal civil rights law in the United States that prohibits sex-based discrimination in educational programs and activities that receive federal funding. 

Chaudoin felt that the role had been tailor-made for her. She joined Belmont in February 2018 and served diligently in the challenging field of Title IX, supporting survivors and striving to create a safe campus environment. She recalls her experience, saying, "I viewed my time in Title IX as a ministry. It was tough, but it was very rewarding... you really get to help people on all sides of the equation and make a difference in very challenging situations."

Serving the Belmont Community

After five years of passionate advocacy, Chaudoin made another pivotal career move when she was offered the position of Deputy University Counsel at Belmont by Jason Rogers, Executive Vice President for External Engagement and University Counsel. She accepted this new role with enthusiasm and a commitment to continue serving the Belmont community.

Chaudoin's journey, marked by resilience, faith and dedication, exemplifies her unwavering commitment to making a difference in the lives of others. Reflecting on her transformational journey, Chaudoin shared, "Being back at Belmont 30 years after walking onto campus as a first-generation college student, now as Belmont’s attorney, is such a privilege and honor. It just makes me so grateful for Belmont and so happy to be here."