Graduation Spotlight: Miller finds strength and faith through challenges, community
Kim Chaudoin |
For Lawton Miller, the journey to earning a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Lipscomb University has been marked by perseverance, personal growth and deep faith. But if you ask him what defines his college experience, it won’t be the health scares or setbacks he faced — it’s the people who showed up and the God who never left.
Miller, a Nashville native, was born 15 weeks early and spent more than two months in the NICU. While he overcame those early complications and quickly grew into a healthy and strong boy, another unexpected health challenge would come years later just after his sophomore year at Lipscomb.
A knee injury during a ski trip with friends led to a routine surgery in July 2023. But just 15 days later, Miller woke up coughing blood. He was rushed to the hospital and diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism caused by a blood clot that had traveled to his lung. What followed was a long and uncertain recovery, months of medication and the eventual discovery of a genetic blood clotting disorder.
“It was terrifying,” he recalled. “You don’t think about your mortality when you’re 21. I remember sitting in the doctor’s office, overwhelmed, crying and praying … just trying to understand what was happening. And then, in that moment, the cross came to my mind. I felt this peace, like God was saying, ‘This is why Jesus died—for moments just like this. So you could know you're not alone.’”
That spiritual clarity marked a turning point for Miller.
“The cross had never felt more real than in that moment,” he said. “It reminded me that no matter how much I felt I had messed up or fallen short, there’s grace. There’s peace. And there’s purpose.”
Though the blood clot was later declared chronic—and then, unexpectedly, gone—the most lasting impact of that season was on Miller’s perspective.
“There was a stretch where everything bad felt like the worst thing ever, and everything good felt like the best. I think it made me appreciate the good more deeply,” he said. “And it taught me to live in the freedom that God gives us.”
Throughout it all, Miller found support in the Lipscomb community. His parents were close by, and his girlfriend, whom he met during Quest Week, was a steady presence. Friends, mentors and members of his social club, Sigma Iota Delta, prayed and walked alongside him.
In one of the hardest moments, it was his mother’s voice reciting Psalm 23 that brought unexpected comfort.
“She had memorized it when she was a girl,” he said. “And she just sat there and spoke those words to me. I can’t explain what that meant.”
Miller said he doesn’t want his life story to be defined by his health challenges. “I want it to be about how the Lord showed up in those moments and about the people who were simply there with me,” he said.
While a student, Miller was involved across campus, serving on Quest Team for two years, participating in PAC and the Student Center for the Public Trust, and majoring in accounting at Lipscomb, following in the footsteps of his parents, Lawton (’87) and Mary Frank (Anderson ’87), and sister, Caroline (’20). (His brother Alex, graduated with a degree in biology from Lipscomb in 2017.) He credits his accounting professors with giving him the confidence to push through challenging coursework even in the midst of personal trials.
“I was taking Intermediate Accounting while dealing with all this,” he laughed. “That alone should qualify me for something.”
This summer, Miller will return for a second internship with HCA Healthcare. “It’s meaningful work,” he said. “Even though I’ll never be a doctor, I love the idea that I can use my skills to support a place that helps people.”
Reflecting on his time at Lipscomb, Miller said what he values most isn’t one specific class or moment — it’s the presence of people who showed up when it mattered most.
“I didn't need someone to fix it,” he said. “I just needed people to be with me. And Lipscomb gave me that.”