Lauren Chambliss, a first-year UA law student from Prattville, Alabama, comes from a house divided: Her mom attended Auburn, but her father and sister are proud alumni of The University of Alabama.
“I got to see the opportunities my sister had here at UA and that played a large role in my decision to come to Alabama,” Lauren said. “Specifically, I got to see her role and her involvement in the Blackburn Institute. I knew that was something that was going to be interesting to me before I even came to UA for my undergraduate degree.”
During her time as an undergraduate engineering student, Lauren did indeed become involved with the prestigious Blackburn Institute, a leadership development and civic engagement program specifically focused on improving the state of Alabama. Students in the Blackburn Institute participate in classes and events that helps them become connected with a network of leaders who have a clear understanding of the state’s challenges.
She was part of a team whose project received the Daniel Community Scholars Fund (DCS) award, which allows Blackburn students to see their research proposals come to fruition to improve the lives of people across the state of Alabama. The DCS program is funded by the Daniel Foundation of Alabama, whose mission is to is to strengthen communities within Alabama and improve the quality of life for citizens from all regions of Alabama through support of effective organizations that are focused on building a healthy and well-educated population.
“What stood out to me about the Daniel Community Scholars Fund was the opportunity for funding,” Lauren said. “Funding really gave us the opportunity to do something and to take action in our community; it’s like a vote of confidence for our generation to allow students to come up with a project they see a need for and give them the tools to address it.”
Lauren’s project focused on the issues surrounding the foster family system in both Tuscaloosa County and in the state of Alabama. Two of Lauren’s goals through the DCS program were to address the growing need for foster families and increase the retention of families throughout the state.
The Daniel Community Scholars Fund allowed Lauren and her team to host two campus events.
“The first event was to recruit foster parents, and it was a really successful event. We had 10 new families sign up to become foster families and sign up to start the licensing process , which trains people to meet all of the state’s fostering guidelines and requirements. This was the largest class the Tuscaloosa Department of Human Resources has ever had,” Lauren said. “The second event was a roundtable discussion about the licensure process in Alabama and ways to modernize it and possibly speed it up while maintaining the integrity of the program.”
Although Lauren started out in engineering, her passion for the child welfare system and foster care led her to change her focus to law.
“One of the reasons why I chose to go to law school at UA is because of the role that attorneys can play in a foster child’s life,” she said. “Being able to participate in the DCS program allowed me to continue learning about the foster care system. It was a good reminder that it’s very important to have new ideas and to have people who are passionate about things, but it’s also important to have experienced people who have actually dealt with issues and obstacles and know the specifics of a situation.”
In addition to alleviating financial concerns for campus projects, programs such as the Daniel Community Scholars Fund are vital for the development of future leaders such as Lauren.
“Giving younger generations the opportunity to take action often requires funding, but these programs can be a real springboard for leadership and experience in community initiatives,” Lauren said. “We can see issues and make a plan, and people trust us to use the funds wisely to make a difference.”
