Law student turning experiential learning into career opportunity
With growing partnerships, increased clinic offerings and more staffing to support student experiences, the experiential learning program within Belmont University’s College of Law is identifying new ways to recognize student success and excellence.
In the program, students get substantial lawyering experience under the supervision of a licensed attorney in a live legal setting, through which they can earn academic credit.
This year for the first time, Belmont Law nominated students for the Clinical Legal Education Association (CLEA) awards. CLEA exists to advocate for clinical legal education as fundamental to the education of lawyers.
The Outstanding Clinic Student Award and the Outstanding Externship Student Award allow colleges to recognize students who are making a significant impact as legal champions through clinical experiences even before they graduate.
Belmont nominated recent alumna Anna Cathryn Mauro (JD ’26) for the Outstanding Externship Student Award, recognizing her extensive involvement in the experiential learning program.
Mauro’s externships helped turn hands-on legal training into a post-graduate career opportunity. Her selection for CLEA’s Outstanding Externship Student Award reflects both her academic excellence and Belmont Law’s growing emphasis on experiential learning.
Outstanding Externship Student: Anna Cathryn Mauro
This May, Mauro graduated from Belmont Law with honors after completing four different externships during her tenure at Belmont Law, earning her honor cord for distinction in experiential learning.
She was nominated for CLEA’s Outstanding Externship Student Award by her Practical Issues in Poverty Law instructor, professor DarKenya Waller, for outstanding performance related to her work for the Honorable Jill Bartee Ayers on the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals.
Mauro entered law school knowing she wanted to pursue criminal law, and she says that her externships deepened her understanding of the field and the many roles within it.
“Hands-on experience is really important to the law school and aligns with Belmont Law's philosophy of getting their graduates' practice ready,” she noted. “I was able to get a 360-view of criminal law, seeing the different sides.”
Belmont Law students can complete up to three field placements for credit, but Mauro went a step further by auditing a fourth opportunity, clerking under Judge Ayers. During that time, she built relationships within the judicial community which ultimately helped secure her next step after graduation: a post-graduate clerkship with Judge Timothy Easter.
“Chambers is such a small world that I got to see Judge Easter and several other judges and build relationships,” she said. “So, when Judge Easter needed a clerk, my name was a natural fit for consideration because he already knew my name and my work. I’m grateful for how all the pieces fit together.”
As she celebrated her graduation, she also reflected on another defining component of her law school experience: being a mother and a law student.
“I’m so grateful to my fellow law school moms who walked before me and beside me,” she said. “I was blessed to also have many law professors who are mothers themselves, and I value their example.”
Belmont Law helped Mauro fulfill her lifelong dream of becoming a lawyer while providing support along the way, both professionally and personally. Her award reflects the ambition, expertise and professional readiness that current students and recent graduates cultivate during their time in the program.
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