Category: Features

  • Connecting with Cardinals: Luis Arevalo

    This week on Connecting with Cardinals, we sat down with Luis Arevalo, chemical engineering major, to chat about his favorite LU moments, the importance of Latinx/Hispanic heritage month and how he became a cofounder of the LU Hispanic Society.

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  • Lekeitha Morris: A Superpower

    If there is power in words, someone who enables another to speak, must be a superpower. University has such a superpower. Lekeitha Morris, associate professor in the Department of Speech and Health Sciences. Lekeitha empowers individuals with communication disorders to communicate and best of all, she shares her superpower with her students.

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  • Bridge Builder: Thomas Kalb

    As the first director of University's Center for Midstream Management & Science, Thomas Kalb shares his knowledge and experience in the energy industry with LU students.

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  • The Storied Life of Amy Smith

    As University's Director for the Center for Teaching and Learning Enhancement, Amy Smith leads the way in creating innovative online courses while students learn at home during the pandemic.

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  • Kaye Shelton, higher education’s score keeper

    In 2001, Kaye Shelton was one of 33 people in the United States to get her master’s degree in online learning, completely online. The accomplishment, achieved on a laptop from the bleachers of her three sons’ baseball games and between loads of laundry, making dinner for her family and consulting in the technology industry, ignited Kaye’s passion for online learning and teaching and positioned her to be a pioneer in the online educational space. Kaye then went on to pursue her Ph.D. From the comfort of her home, and as her husband drove her to see her sons play baseball all over the country (One son played for the Los Angeles Dodgers.)

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  • Melissa Baldo: A Positive Influence in the College of Business

    For Melissa Baldo, the greatest challenge of teaching online during the pandemic has been missing face-to-face interactions with her students.

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  • Lindsay Simon: LU’s regulations researching phenom

    Lindsay Simon continued to support University students through the pandemic by researching regulations at home for online education.

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  • A million-dollar man: Ryan Lee

    Each year Ryan Lee awards millions of dollars to University students. Well, not personally and not without help from his colleagues, but as LU’s assistant director of operations in LU’s Financial Aid Department, Ryan certainly plays a critical role ensuring students get the funding they need for their educational pursuits. A native of Illinois, Lee finished his bachelor’s degree in economics eight years ago and entered the career field of financial aid where he enjoys the technical side of job.

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  • Holden Gray: An IT Problem Solver

    As the client computing lab specialist in University’s Office of Information Technology, Holden Gray helped faculty and staff transition to online learning and working from home during the coronavirus pandemic.

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  • On the frontlines of campus security: Yatara Martin

    Yatara Martin finds fulfillment providing security for the students, faculty and staff of University.

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  • The backbone of the Campus: Facilities Management

    From flowers to floors, the ambiance of University is the pride of the men and women who work in Facilities Management. The largest department on campus, comprising more than 100 employees and responsible for the grounds, custodial services and overall maintenance of the campus, they work tirelessly to keep their customers - the students, faculty and staff of LU – happy, safe and productive, even during a pandemic.

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  • Aaron Capps

    When Aaron Capps learned to sign the alphabet as a child, he found his life’s passion and a career. Now he’s one of just a few on the LU campus who can communicate in American Sign Language “stratified squamous epithelium.”

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  • Tara Austin

    One of LU’s newer hires is a super soccer sensation home after a stint in Sweden, but she’ll never tell you that. Neither will Tara Austin share that she recently qualified for the Boston Marathon or that she raised $5,000 for local organizations impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the accomplished athlete does get animated when talking about LU athletics, her role as an academic specialist for the Cardinals and what she looks forward to when the pandemic is over. Tara, a Beaumont native, graduated from Kelly Catholic High School where she was an award-winning soccer player. She attended Belmont University in Nashville, playing soccer for the Bruins.

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  • LU’s Hostess with the Mostest: Paula “Polly” McNeel

    As the assistant director of scheduling, operations, & event services of the Setzer Student Center, Paula McNeel is a truly essential worker of University.

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  • Kevin McGee: LU's Man of Action

    Since he was five years old, Kevin McGee has had a passion for making videos. Now, storytelling is part of his career as the video coordinator for University.

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  • The Coolest Cardinal: Troy Parker

    As the HVAC Supervisor, Troy Parker has been keeping Cardinals cool for nearly 14 years. He and his team have been working to complete maintenance work on campus during the pandemic as essential employees.

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  • Yinka Jenmy: Banding Together, Making it Happen

    Yinka Jenmy brings students together in and out of the University residence halls, leading student disaster response teams in hurricanes and in the coronavirus pandemic.

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  • LU's Peaceful, Fast Custodian: Robin Woodard

    Robin Woodard brings peace and passion to her work as a beloved custodian while pursuing her degree at University.

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  • Missy Barnes

    As the face of the LU Undergraduate Advising Center, Missy Barnes is passionate about helping students grow and succeed at University.

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  • Marc Paine: Purchasing and Protecting

    University Associate Buyer Marc Paine shares his experience with maintaining essential orders during the coronavirus pandemic.

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  • LU Student Health Center celebrates distinctive accreditation

    University’s Student Health Center celebrated receiving a state accreditation.

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  • LU students advance in Moot Court competition

    Two University Moot Court teams participated in the University of Louisiana-Lafayette Invitational Moot Court Tournament.

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  • Data Speak: Boling’s Journey from LU to Disney

    Chelsea Boling shares how helped guide her and her journey to where she is now.

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  • Honors Students Spend the Weekend at the SETX Food Bank

    Reaud Honors College Students continue the legacy of volunteering by spending the weekend at the Southeast Texas Food Bank.

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  • University and Pietzch MacArthur Elementary celebrate Martin Luther King Day

    The office of Global Diversity and Inclusive Excellence hosted an event to honor and celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

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  • University Alum donates oil maps to Special Collections

    University Alum donates 96 oil maps to Special Collections.

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  • LU’s Forret makes headlines about history

    Jeff Forret, University history professor and Distinguished Faculty Research Fellow, is making headlines regarding his new book, “Williams’ Gang: A Notorious Slave Trader and His Cargo of Black Convicts.”

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  • LU continues to feather its N.E.S.Ts

    University donated 165 books to its three N.E.S.Ts.

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  • Kerr, the real deal teaching broadcasting at LU

    KFDM Anchor Greg Kerr hopes that by imparting real-world broadcasting knowledge with University students, some of them will do what he’s done - take some risks and build a career they love.

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  • After Homelessness | Hope and Place

    Freshman students Quinton Haynes and Elie Germain never saw themselves attending a university. Now, having overcome homelessness and poverty, their determination and work ethic remind us what it is to be a Cardinal, and why We Are LU.

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  • Dean Spotlight: Lynn Maurer

    With a background in political science, Lynn Maurer, new dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, is focused on working to empower LU's underserved populations. “I’m dedicated to the idea of inclusive excellence in the diversity of education, by recognizing varying financial needs and helping students at-risk academically,” Maurer says.

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  • Making the Possible Achievable

    As a faculty member of Washington State University, Associate Professor Ashwini Kucknoor had a desire to mentor students far more than possible at such a large institution. The search for greater student interaction led to her coming to University. “At LU, we professors get to teach at the undergraduate and graduate levels,” she says. “This allows me to develop relationships with my students that last for years."

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  • We Are LU | A Catalyst for Change

    In 2017, Hyattye Simmons received one of three LU Distinguished Alumni Awards for mentorship of at-risk students and his work towards keeping them on the path to graduation. He enrolled at University in 1977, just two weeks after making history as the first African-American male valedictorian to graduate Burkeville High School. He credits LU as “the bridge that helped him prepare for the outside world.”

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