Faith, Advocacy, and Lauren Monroe’s Journey from Baylor Law’s Waitlist to Leadership
Faith, Advocacy, and Lauren Monroe’s Journey from Baylor Law’s Waitlist to Leadership
In this episode of Counseller’s Corner, Dean Jeremy Counseller talks with second-year law student Lauren Monroe, whose path to Baylor Law School was shaped by unwavering faith, resilience, and a delayed admission that became a blessing in disguise. Lauren shares how she discovered her passion for advocacy, took on leadership through the Student Bar Association, and followed a God-given calling to serve survivors of human trafficking. From the heartbreak of waitlists to the courtroom thrill of moot court, Lauren’s story is one of purpose, perseverance, and the power of saying “yes” to the unexpected.
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TRANSCRIPT
Jeremy
Hi, I'm Jeremy Counseller, Dean of Baylor Law School. Welcome to Counseller’s Corner, and I am very pleased to be joined today by second-year law student Lauren Monroe. Welcome to the podcast.
Lauren
Thank you. Thank you for having me.
Jeremy
So, what inspired you? I think you went to Oklahoma State as an undergrad. Here you are in Central Texas now in law school. What inspired you to go to law school?
Lauren
Yeah, I really say it's my God-Given dream. I thought I was going to be an architect. That was my childhood dream. And I did that for my first year at undergrad and realized there's way too much math for me. That's just not going to cut it. And so, I switched to public relations and advertising because I'm a creative person, and I thought, this is something I would enjoy doing for the rest of my life.
But I've been a Christian my whole life, pretty much. And so, I kind of came to this realization my senior year like, wow, I've never actually prayed about what to do with the rest of my life. I've just kind of picked things that I thought I would enjoy. And so, I just prayed that God would make my dream for my life, his plan for my life.
And so, it was not a straight journey here, but there were very obvious signs, I believe, that pointed me here. And so, I would say, now, this is what I believe God has prepared me to do.
Jeremy
Now, I have been told, I don't know why I've been told this, but I've been told to ask you about the actual timing of your admission to Baylor Law School.
Lauren
Yes. So, I’ll try not to get too emotional, but I had applied before and been waitlisted for the summer of 2023, and very well-meaning people were kind of hyping me up like, this is it. You know, it's going to happen for you now. And so, I was really expecting that it, you know, summer 2023, I would be there.
And it didn't happen, and I was devastated. However, in January of 2023, my maternal grandmother was diagnosed with ALS, and because I didn't get in, in the summer, I got to spend the last six months of her life with her. And I can look back now and think, wow, that was the greatest act of love that God has ever shown me, that this did not work out the way I wanted it to.
And in the moment, of course, I'm crushed. I'm discouraged. I'm like, I want to be there so bad, you know? Why can't, why can't they just give me a chance? But I, to this day, am so thankful that I did not get to control that because I would have regretted missing those last few days with her that mean the world to me.
Jeremy
Yeah. Sometimes you thank God for unanswered prayers. Yes. Garth Brooks. Okay. Well, I'm glad we eventually got around to letting you into this law school because you've been, you've had a lot of success here. And I want to talk about some of that. So, you, I know this because I was there, you were a finalist in the moot court, in-school moot court competition, if I'm not mistaken, if I'm remembering correctly.
Lauren
Yes.
Jeremy
And, so tell me about that experience.
Lauren
That I think kind of changed the trajectory, trajectory of my in law school experience, just because up until that point, you know, everything you've experienced is an exam. You know, one day, four hours. That's kind of all you have to really track your progress. And that's not necessarily my strong suit. And so, getting able to get in front of people and speak and argue and show the knowledge that I had was super exciting.
And it was not something I wanted to go for necessarily, like the idea of doing that in front of my entire class and…
Jeremy
Big crowd shows up for the final.
Lauren
Yes. And all of the judges who are practicing attorneys, that was terrifying to me. But as soon as I got up there, it was just like I felt so calm, like this is what I’m meant to do. And so, I look for those opportunities of getting to do oral advocacy, because I really feel like that's where I'm comfortable.
Jeremy
Yeah. How’d it go? How’d the final round go?
Lauren
We did not win.
Jeremy
Okay.
Lauren
But I did hear that, you know, people who get second place do pretty okay.
Jeremy
Yeah. You remember what I, what I told you about that after you didn't win?
Lauren
Yeah. You also did not win.
Jeremy
That's right. I lost in the final round of the in-school competition. Yeah. So, you know, 20 years or so, you have to come back here and do this job. That's the price. Okay. Something else that you have done, and that you are doing is you've been really involved in our student bar association, which is, which is essentially our student government.
Jeremy
So, talk about your role, your I think your new role, in in the Student Bar Association.
Lauren
Yes. So, I've had two different roles so far, but starting in the summer, I will be the executive president. And so, I really love student government. I think it's a great way to kind of leave the place better than you found it. And so, I always think, you know, I'm going to spend so much of my time and energy here that I hope to just bring a little good back into it and find a way to make it better than I found it.
Jeremy
What kind of duties do you have in the new role? The executive president.
Lauren
I see it most as a service role. Being someone that can advocate on behalf of the other students, serving the other people that are on the SBA board. There's quite a few of us. And so, there are a lot of various different things that, you know, the role entails. But the attitude I'm trying to take towards it is like, I will do anything necessary to serve the people on the board with me, and then also serve my peers.
Jeremy
Yeah. One of the things that I’ve done since I became Dean is meet with the executive board of the SBA, once before the Christmas break, and once after we have lunch, and we talk through issues. And it’s been great. It’s been really good meetings, and it’s the students. It’s funny because they are more organized for that meeting. They have an agenda.
Y'all are so organized. I'm like, I wish all my meetings were this well organized. So it's, and they've been the, the, the feedback, the meetings; the students are so thoughtful and good ideas. And we sit there as equals, and we talk. This is what we can do. This. We can't do this, or we can do this later.
It's been it's been one of the real highlights for me of being the Dean. So, I hope that continues on.
Lauren
Yeah. I got to sit at the last one.
Jeremy
Right.
Lauren
And I think it was just a great candid conversation of, you know, the things that we're looking for as students, but also getting your insight of the things that you're working on or, you know, being able to talk candidly about, hey, what would this actually look like? And what are some things that might be in the way that prevent us from accomplishing this right now?
Jeremy
Yeah.
Lauren
But what can we do going forward?
Jeremy
And it's such, it's such a good thing because we have different perspectives. You know things I don't know and I know things you don't know. And we not all when we all bring those to the table, we get, I think to good, good decisions and, and I, I really, like those. Okay. I, I think you worked before you came to law school.
You worked with, at a firm. And I think some of the people you worked with, real Baylor lawyers. Can you tell me about that? And what maybe how that influenced your decision to come to law school and maybe Baylor Law School in particular?
Lauren
It definitely influenced it. I have a good friend, Joanna, who's a double bear. And the first maybe 20 minutes into me working at this firm, I'm introduced to her and she's like, I'm Joanna, I'm a Baylor lawyer. And so that was just I mean, there are people, you know, in the office that were not Baylor lawyers, but the ones that were, you know, the capital B capital L. I heard that a lot.
Like, I'm a Baylor lawyer. And I had a conversation with my friend Joanna again prior to kind of really putting my full effort into applying to law school. And I remember her being like, oh, Baylor’s so tough, you know. Practice court, all these things, it's so tough. And I was like, well, I've actually kind of been thinking about going to law school. immediately.
You got to go to Baylor. There's no other option. Baylor is the one for you. Like, what do we have to do to get you there? And so, there's just a difference, I think. And for me, again, loving the oral advocacy stuff, it just felt like a great fit of getting that training before going out in the world and just even seeing the difference day to day between a Baylor lawyer, and maybe someone who went to a different school.
Jeremy
Well, we're a proud lot. There's lots of great law schools out there, but I think Baylor lawyers are very proud of being Baylor lawyers. And it's that intense experience that makes you makes you proud of it when it's over. But also, you look back on and say, you know, that was a big help to me to be prepared for the legal, for the legal profession.
It seems I think right now you're working at the McLennan County District Attorney's office, and I'm wondering if you're thinking that prosecution may be in the future for you, if that's something that you're interested in.
Lauren
Definitely. I think, again, kind of going back to that God-Given dream, a lot of my passion for coming to law school is to help human trafficking survivors. And so, I'm not exactly sure what that looks like right now. But I have loved my time in McLennan. I'll be at the DA's office this summer. And that courtroom experience and getting to try cases, you know, weeks into your job is just fascinating to me.
And I love to go to my internship right now and hear the evidence and see kind of what they're thinking and what witnesses to call first. It's just I've seen I've had the blessing of seeing civil and criminal now. And so, I just I know that criminal and particular prosecution is probably going to be what I do.
Jeremy
Do you do you have sort of an aspiration? Not that you need to know this right now, but thoughts of, of doing something after that, or maybe be a judge or something else entirely. What are your thoughts on that?
Lauren
Yeah, I've thought maybe of kind of going into a government agency that did, you know, human trafficking work or even a nonprofit, and, you know, having that experience as a prosecutor, as a practicing attorney and kind of being able to give that back to, you know, nonprofit who couldn't really afford that legal advice, something like that. That's a little more specialized than a DA's office.
But I think it's such a good foundation to get in and try cases and see how the criminal system works first, and then hopefully go into something a little more, fine tuned.
Jeremy
Yeah. Well, you got a bright future ahead of you. You've been very, very successful here at the law school. And you will and you'll continue to be. So, now we have come to the lightning round after pause because they insert a thunderclap right there. And, you know, sometimes I talk right over the thunderclap. Okay. Here the these are questions, and your answers have to be short.
Okay?
Lauren
Okay.
Jeremy
Because, on account of it being a lightning round. What is your go to late night study snack?
Lauren
Chocolate chips. Kind of random.
Jeremy
Not as random as, say, nerd gummies.
Lauren
Yeah.
Jeremy
It's not that random. If you could swap roles with any Baylor law school staff or faculty member, who would it be?
Lauren
Professor Bates.
Jeremy
I'm going to pause the lightning round here for a moment. Why?
Lauren
I would love to know what goes on in this head.
Jeremy
No, you're swapping roles, not brains. You're not seeing inside. I, we all would. All of us like that. But that's not the that's not the question here.
Lauren
I don't want to teach contracts. So, I take that back. Maybe I'd switch with you.
Jeremy
Okay.
Lauren
See what it's like to teach Civ Pro.
Jeremy
Well, because you finished second in the moot court competition, you're obligated to do that at some point. So, you can have any animal as a safely domesticated pet. Not a dog, not a cat, not a fish. What would it be?
Lauren
Polar bear.
Jeremy
Good answer. What's your favorite kind of hangout spot in Waco?
Lauren
Honestly, probably my apartment. I'm a homebody. Yeah.
Jeremy
Same. Yeah. Same. If your personality were a color, what color would it be?
Lauren
Green.
Jeremy
Most, what's the most impulsive purchase you've ever made?
Lauren
I bought really expensive headphones, like quarter two. I thought I needed noise canceling headphones.
Jeremy
Yeah. Do you still use them?
Lauren
Yeah.
Jeremy
Do you regret that impulse?
Lauren
Sort of.
Jeremy
Yes. Okay, okay. You have to eat the same breakfast every day for a year. What is it going to be?
Lauren
Eggs Benedict?
Jeremy
What's a song that gets stuck in your head?
Lauren
Let's do this by Hannah Montana.
Jeremy
If you could teleport to one place on Earth daily for lunch, where would that be?
Lauren
Bora Bora.
Jeremy
Have you been to Bora Bora?
Lauren
I have.
Jeremy
Okay.
Lauren
It's life changing.
Jeremy
Good food there?
Lauren
Oh, yeah.
Jeremy
Okay, I understand you may have a question for me.
Lauren
Yes. I know, and I don't know how many people know this, but you took a sabbatical a few years ago and became a prosecutor during that time, so I'd love to know what inspired you to take on that role and what you learned from it.
Jeremy
Well, it was 15 years ago now. There came a point where I was on the practice court faculty, and there came a point where we didn't have anyone teaching practice court. There was like this gap of time, or we didn't have anybody teaching practice court who had any criminal trial experience. So, I was willing to go there. In fact, I was enthusiastic about it to go spend six months there.
And it was a great it was just a great experience. I, you get the opportunity to get into the courtroom, try cases. The cases matter. They're meaningful. And you get to make a difference. I mean, you know, students who want to be prosecutors, even though that's not what I did right out of law school, but people who want to, students who want to be prosecutors.
I think sometimes students like, well, I could make more money doing something else, which is true. But boy, you can make a big difference and keep yourself very professionally fulfilled in being a prosecutor. And you know, you have to be a prosecutor forever. You can go do something else. And I just loved it. And I've always thought if I had it to do over again, I would give, becoming an assistant district attorney more thought.
It never even, I never even strongly considered it when I was in law school. And knowing what I know now, boy, I should have given it a lot more thought, because it's just, you know, especially if you're working with, with great people in the particular DA's office. It's, it's a, it's a wonderful thing. And if you want to get in front of a jury, if that's important to you, there's no better way to do that frequently that I'm aware of than being an assistant district attorney.
I mean, you can if you're, if you're willing, you can try. You know, a couple cases a month. Yeah. In some DA's offices. So, I think it's a great a great option for you.
Lauren
Did you do misdemeanor or felony?
Jeremy
Both.
Lauren
Okay.
Jeremy
Did both. Yeah, I did both of them. I actually found that the misdemeanors were harder.
DWIs are, it's hard to get a conviction in a DWI case compared to some other cases. You know it's, it's hard. And so, I think a lot of times that's how you cut your teeth when you're a, a new assistant district attorney. And for good reason. Because those are hard cases. They're, they're not hard in terms of the amount of evidence that you have.
But they're hard in terms of persuading a jury a lot of times.
Lauren
Very cool.
Jeremy
Lauren, thank you so much.
Lauren
Thank you for having me.
Jeremy
Great. Appreciate you.
