Rising second-year law student Natalie Marionneaux has always wanted to follow in her father’s footsteps and become an attorney, and her desire to remain close to her family in Baton Rouge as she pursues her goal led her to LSU Law.
“As the oldest of five in my family, I knew I wanted to stay close to home and be close to my siblings, while also attending the same law school my father did,” said Marionneaux, who earned her bachelor’s degree in political communication from LSU. “I have even been taught by some of the same professors who taught my dad, which has been super cool.”
At LSU Law, Marionneaux has immersed herself into student life and found early success. Along with earning Hebert Scholar academic honors by finishing in the top 10% of her class during both semesters of her first year of law school, she has won CALI Awards in multiple classes for achieving the highest grade.
“All of my professors are so educated in their fields and so passionate about teaching. It makes it easy to learn from professors who genuinely care about teaching, and care not only to relay the information but to get to know the students and offer to help whenever they can,” she said. “Additionally, my classmates have been one of the best aspects of my experience. I am surrounded every day by such a diverse group of people who challenge, encourage, and inspire me all at once!”
Professor Clare Ryan’s Legal Traditions and Systems of the Western World class particularly interested Marionneaux during her first semester, due in no small part to the unique legal perspective it provided.
“Professor Ryan went to law school in a common law jurisdiction and worked in a civil law jurisdiction in another country, so she provided a really unique, interesting perspective,” she said. “I am so appreciative that LSU Law provides us with such great, informed professors who are able to teach us about Louisiana law while also allowing us to learn about the law used in other states so that our degree can be useful anywhere.”
In her free time, Marionneaux enjoys reading, writing, walking the LSU lakes, and working with rescue animals at Baton Rouge area shelters. She has volunteered at the shelters since her high school years at St. Joseph’s Academy and she has adopted two rescue dogs of her own, Marvin and Luna.
As the recipient of multiple scholarships, Marionneaux said she is extremely thankful for the donors who are helping her achieve her goal, adding their generosity has inspired her to help law students in the future.
“I am so thankful to the donors who are investing in me and future students by providing scholarships such as the Class of 2008 Scholarship, which I received. It means so much that even recent LSU Law graduates care and are able to donate,” she said. “It really shows the impact of being an LSU Law graduate and it inspires me to donate in the future as soon as I can help others as I have been helped. It is truly an honor to receive a scholarship like this, and it’s extremely useful in aiding with the many expenses that comes with attending law school. I could not be more thankful.”
Support LSU Law scholarships
To attract and retain a talented student body at LSU Law, we must offer meaningful and nationally competitive scholarships. Every major law school in the country attracts top students through scholarships, and the LSU Law Center is a part of this very competitive environment.
Resident tuition has increased to over $23,000 for first-year students. With fees, room and board, personal costs and transportation, the cost of a legal education may exceed $35,000 per year.
The Law Center works diligently to attract outstanding students, and private scholarship funds are critical to our efforts to provide financial assistance to deserving students.
Learn more about how you can support scholarships at LSU Law.
