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Three St. Joseph’s Academy graduates have followed in their mothers’ footsteps, not only in their choice of professions, but in their specialties and clinics, as well. 

Dr. Lauren Petit, a 2011 SJA graduate, joined the Baton Rouge Clinic’s Dermatology Department in September of 2023. Her mother, Dr. Jan Wampold, has been a member of the same department since 1991.

Lauren’s favorite classes at SJA were Biology with Linda Messina and Calculus with Jamal Tajdaran. She carried her love of science and math to Louisiana State University, graduating in 2015. She earned her medical degree from LSU Health and Science Center in 2019. She completed her residency in internal medicine at Brookwood Baptist Health in Birmingham in 2020 and her residency in dermatology at the LSU Health and Science Center in 2023. She served as chief resident in 2022-2023. 

Jan graduated from LSU in 1979 and earned her medical degree from the LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans in 1984. She performed her internal medicine residency at Emory University in Atlanta from 1984 to 1987 and her residency in dermatology through LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans, completing the program in 1991. 

Lauren grew up in a household in which both parents were physicians. “Having them as role models is what brought me into medicine,” she said. “I saw how rewarding it is to use your skills to help patients every day.”

When Lauren joined the Baton Rouge Clinic, she moved into her mother’s old office. Having visited her mother’s workplace throughout her youth, the opportunity to assume the very same space was “a dream come true.” So was the experience of being taught by her mother, who also serves as an assistant professor with the LSU Dermatology Department, while she was in residency. 

Jan said working with her daughter is a blessing. “I love the practice of dermatology, and I am so happy that she chose this field,” Jan said. “Of course, I was thrilled that she joined me at the Baton Rouge Clinic. I love when she visits me at lunch or between patients to discuss cases or just talk. I am so happy that I can give her input from my past experiences, and she enhances my practice with her new ideas.”

Lauren agrees. “I love working alongside my mom and getting to see her almost every day,” she said. “I can always go to her with questions, and she has lots of experience to learn from. We love to just chat and hang out on our lunch breaks, too.”

Dr. Meaghan Flechas Smith, a 2012 SJA graduate, joined her mother, Dr. Michelle Langlinais Flechas, herself an Academy graduate (class of 1985), at Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Health Pediatrics at Perkins, part of the Children’s Hospital network.

Meaghan graduated from the University of Mississippi in 2016. She earned a master of biology, medical sciences degree from Mississippi College in 2017. In 2021, she earned her medical degree from Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine in Shreveport. She completed her residency in 2024 in the department of pediatrics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where she founded the Intern Mentorship Program. 

Michelle majored in microbiology/pre-med at Louisiana State University and graduated from LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine in 1993. She completed her pediatric residency at Charity Hospital in New Orleans in 1997. In April of that year, she joined the Pediatric Medical Center, since renamed Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Health Pediatrics at Perkins. 

Meaghan’s favorite classes at SJA were Pre-calculus with Jamal Tajdaran, Algebra with Ellen Bush, Health and Physical Education Fun Intense Training (FIT) with Liz Fontenot and Spanish IV with Ileana Alonso. She was a member of the SJA soccer team.

Michelle’s favorite classes were Biology with Sister Jean Fryoux and Chemistry with Sister Ursula Harelson. “They gave me a love for science and a great foundation to go into medicine,” Michelle said. “When I was in medical school, we were only 30 percent female. SJA gave me the confidence that I would be successful.” 

Meaghan said practicing with her mother is a dream come true. “She is the one who inspired me to go into pediatrics,” she said. “For as long as I can remember, I have been shadowing my mom at work. I even did my St. Joseph’s Job Shadow Day with one of her partners, whose practice I’ll be taking over once he officially retires. I have learned so much from her over the years, and I’m absolutely thrilled to finally be working alongside her.”

Mother and daughter both graduated from St. Aloysius. Michelle is a sustainer in the Junior League.

“I am so proud that my daughter has joined my practice,” Michelle said. 

Dr. Kate Ford Chiasson, a 2004 graduate of St. Joseph’s Academy, co-founded Ford Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery with her mother, Dr. Ann Ford Reilley, in September of 2020. The duo is one of the few mother-daughter plastic surgery practices in the country. 

Kate, whose father was also a physician, graduated from Washington and Lee University in 2008 and earned her medical degree from Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Shreveport in 2012. She performed her general surgery internship and residency at Ochsner Clinic Foundation in New Orleans, completing the program in 2017. She completed her fellowship in plastic and reconstructive surgery at the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2020, then moved home to Baton Rouge to open her practice. She specializes in breast and body contouring surgery as well as breast reconstruction. 

Ann graduated from Ursuline Academy in New Orleans, then earned her undergraduate degree from Louisiana State University. She earned her medical degree from LSU Medical School. She did her general surgery training with LSU at Charity Hospital in New Orleans, then traveled to Nashville for her plastic surgery fellowship at Vanderbilt University. She returned to Baton Rouge to join Associates in Plastic Surgery in the summer of 1985. She retired in 2015 after a 30-year career but returned to the workforce five years later to serve as advisor and to assist Kate in selected cases. 

“Being in practice with my mom means having a business partner who 10,000 percent has my back all the time,” Kate said. “There is total trust. There is no business partner in the world who understands my professional and personal needs and dreams as well as my own mom. She is so selfless and giving of herself to the practice, all because she hopes for my success. We call her the CEO, chief enthusiasm officer. She had such a long and successful career, and it brings me so much joy to be able to care for her former patients now as their needs change. We love having a family business.”

Ann made history as the first woman in Louisiana to be certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and the only woman to be elected as president of the Southeastern Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons. She said she loves working hand in hand with her daughter. “It gives me great pleasure to spend time with Kate in the clinic and the operating room,” Ann said. “I am filled with pride to see how skilled she is as a surgeon, to see how much her peers respect her and to see that her patients are so grateful for her compassionate care. Because we are of different generations, we combine my years of experience with her knowledge of the latest techniques and innovations in our specialty. Between the two of us, we have over 50 years in the operating room.” 

Kate said it was difficult to narrow her list of favorite SJA classes to just a few but said she especially enjoyed French with Marie Richard, Glynis Davis and Jacqueline Labat; English with Janie Simmons; Geometry with Kathy Meares; Calculus with Jamal Tajdaran; and Fine Arts Survey with Stacy Rennhoff.