July 2019 – Alumni Blog

Any way you look at it, Lauren Copeland Trahan (’95) is a care-giver. As an anesthesiologist, Rodan + Fields skincare consultant, wife and mother of two, living in Tulsa, Okla., she’s passionate about providing all that is necessary for the health, welfare, maintenance and protection of the people in her circle, whether they are her patients, customers, family or friends.

After graduating from Vanguard, Trahan went to the University of Texas at Austin for her undergraduate degree in Nursing. Throughout her time in nursing school, she said she knew that she wanted to go on to be a physician, so she took all of her medical school prerequisites during the summers in order to be eligible to apply for med school. She was accepted to the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston, where she completed her residency training in anesthesiology after medical school. 

“I have some wonderful memories of Galveston,” she said. “I loved my years in medical school, as well as the incredible anesthesia training I received there. Galveston is also where I married my husband, Beau. We went on to start our family there. Our oldest daughter, Abby, was born on the island.”

After graduation from her residency, Trahan and her husband moved their family back to Waco as Beau was hired to be a part of the Baylor football staff. She joined Mid Tex Anesthesia, where she became partner and practiced for eight years. “During my time at Mid Tex, I provided anesthesia to patients at Providence Hospital, Fish Pond Surgery Center, Waco Surgical Center, as well as a few private medical offices,” she said. “We loved our time in Waco. Mid Tex was a perfect job for me right out of residency. I was fortunate to have some incredible partners and was able to work with the best surgeons. It was an incredible medical community.”

The family loved their time in Waco, Trahan said. “We made some of our best friends in Waco and had our second daughter, Anne, while we were there,” she said.  “We were also fortunate to live close to my parents, which was a dream come true. However, the Lord had other plans for our family. After eight seasons at Baylor, Beau was hired as quarterbacks coach at the University of Tulsa, so in 2016 we moved our family of four to Tulsa, where we now live today.”

Caring for her patients and getting to meet so many different kinds of people is one of the things she loves most about her job.  “I see all kinds of patients from the healthy to the sick, and infants to the elderly,” she said. “Coming to the operating room is nerve wracking for most patients and their families, so putting them at ease and getting them comfortably and safely through the perioperative period is always a good feeling. In the last three years, Trahan has really worked on learning and performing ultrasound guided peripheral nerve blocks. “This technique has more recently become the standard of care for many surgeries, and was not something we were taught in residency 10 years ago,” she said. “I have thoroughly enjoyed learning and training on this technique as it is a wonderful and efficient method for controlling post-operative pain for a variety of surgeries.  I love seeing patients who are comfortable and pain free in the recovery room.” Serving patients is something Trahan said she’s known she wanted to do since elementary school. 

“My father, Jim Copeland, is a physician and practiced medicine in Waco for 44 years,” she said. “He was a huge influence on my decision as he sparked my interest in medicine. Growing up, I spent time working in his office and shadowing him while he made rounds at the hospital. Seeing him and his love for his patients, his gentle bedside manner, and his devotion to his practice is what influenced me the greatest.” Speaking of family, the Trahans stay on the go with the many activities of their daughters Abby, 11, and Anne, 9. “They both currently love volleyball, and Beau and I love watching them play,” she said.  “As you can also imagine, football is a huge part of our family & lives.  We all love the game and are grateful for the friends we have made and the relationships we have developed with our football family over the years.  Plus, the girls and I love watching Beau coach, and we love cheering for our team on Saturdays.”

As if her life as a mom and a physician weren’t busy enough, Trahan decided to start her own business as a consultant for the Rodan + Fields skincare line. “I was new to Tulsa and did not know a lot of people,” she said. “I had some new friends here who were consultants with the company, and were finding great success in their own businesses. It looked like fun and I felt like I could do what they were doing. It is a fantastic stress-free outlet for me, is something I am very passionate about, and it brings me great joy to see my customers love their skin.”

Trahan said she graduated from Vanguard with an excellent education that prepared her for what she would encounter in college, medical school as well as residency. “I had a very good grasp on all of the basic subjects,” she explained. “I was proficient in writing, and I knew how to study.  The study habits that I developed at Vanguard definitely prepared me for my studies in college and nursing school, and especially for medical school and preparing for my board exams.” A seamless transition from high school to college — and then on to her post-graduate work — is what Trahan said she experienced after Vanguard. “It all built upon itself,” she said, “but the preparation I received at Vanguard was a tremendous contribution to my ability to do well in school.” 

Long-time French teacher Mary Helen George was Trahan’s favorite during her time at Vanguard. “She worked so hard to make learning fun for her students,” Trahan said. “She truly loves the French language and the French culture, and she loved sharing it with her students. She made it fun for us both in and out of the classroom. We made crepes in the classroom. She took us to the French Bakery for yummy French food. She planned a memorable trip to New Orleans where we learned all about the French culture. Plus, she taught us the French language so well. I placed out of 10 hours of foreign language at UT thanks to her incredible teaching. I will always remember the fun we had in her class.”

Work hard and take advantage of every opportunity afforded to you — that’s Trahan’s best advice for current students. “You have so many incredible resources available to you at Vanguard, and this is the time to make the best of them” she said. “In addition, while studying and working hard are extremely important because you are laying the foundation for college prep and everything you will learn beyond high school, it’s also important to make time for your friends, family and mental health. Be sure you are taking care of yourself and making memories with your friends and family before you graduate,” she said. “Maintaining balance is important.”

Alumni, if anyone would like to reconnect with Lauren or get more information about R+F, she can be reached at lctrahan@gmail.com.