Author: Emily Gautreaux

Southern Day Trips to Take in Summer 2021

If you live in the American South, then you’re familiar with the majesty of the surrounding area, and due to the close proximity of the interesting attractions, you might not always feel inclined to spend multiple nights or days visiting what’s practically in your backyard. If that is true, then consider taking a southern day trip to a spectacular, nearby state, and it’s easy thanks to Southern Living’s list of suggested day trips to take in the Southern United States.

Gatlinburg SkyLift Park; Gatlinburg, Tennessee

While this park isn’t for the faint of heart, it is for those who are unafraid of incredible heights and breath-taking sights. Located in the heart of Gatlinburg, Tennessee is the Gatlinburg SkyLift Park that gives you the perfect vantage point from which to see the majesty of the expansive Smoky Mountains. Whether you’re looking down at Crockett Mountainfrom 500 ft. above, taking a breather at the SkyDeck atop the mountain, or braving a stroll down SkyBridge, the longest suspension bridge in the United States, your adventurous side will no doubt be satisfied. After taking the SkyLift to the top of Crockett Mountain or walking down the 680 ft. SkyBridge, you can stop by the SkyCenter to check out the gift shop, grab your professionally-taken photo of you atop the Skylift, or just relax with delicious concessions while looking at the greatest view imaginable.

The United States Naval Academy; Annapolis, Maryland

Since 1845 the United States Naval Academy has been rigorously training officers for the U.S. Navy and the Marine Corps in Annapolis Maryland, and the campus is available for public visitation. Once you’re at the academy, there’s plenty of history to uncover about the prestigious entity that is the nation’s Naval and Marine forces. Visitors stopping by on a day trip might be attending a raucous sporting event at the Brigade Sports Complex or the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, where recruits are often engaged in a Navy game of football, lacrosse, or hockey. Those more inclined to learn about the history of the United States Navy or its academy might want to take in an exhibit at the Naval Academy Museum, see what academy life is like for a midshipman by booking a guided tour, or pay resorts at the crypt of naval hero John Paul Jones. The Naval Academy is located on the northeastern coast of Annapolis, Maryland, and while many residents have grown up with training officers jogging or marching down the streets of the city’s downtown area, many go their whole lives without visiting the Naval Academy, so book a day trip and learn about the history of the famed branch of the U.S military.

Everglades National Park; Florida Everglades

It’s not every day that you can visit a near-mythological landscape that emcompasses 1.5 million acrees of wetlands.Book a day trip to Southern Florida and see the truly unforgettable sights of Everglades National Park, where anything is possible. One popular entry point to the Everglades is located deep in the heart of Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, and it has a 2.1 mile-long boardwalk from which you can see the towering sights of the cyprus trees above. Not only are some of the trees 135 ft. in height, but the Sanctuary is the single-largest stand of old-growth cypress trees in the world. While visiting, you can also check out the hundreds of alligators that line the canal banks of the 720,000-acre Big Cypress National Preserve. Many want to experience the Everglades first-hand and fast-paced, so if that sounds like you, then you’d be well-off booking an airboat adventure ride at the Sawgrass Recreation Park. Once aboard, you’ll be able to hear authentic, Florida-specific stories and see over 100 mammals and reptiles that have been adopted and rescued over the past few decades.

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LDOE to offer Free Virtual Therapy through Ochsner Health

After teaching during a pandemic and one of the most active hurricane seasons ever recorded, Louisiana teachers will soon receive free mental health virtual therapy visits thanks to a partnership between the Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) and Ochsner Heath, according to this press release from the Louisiana Department of Education.

This partnership will offer four free virtual therapy visits to over 160,000 public school educators and support staff across the state, where they can connect with licensed mental and behavioral health providers through a secure virtual platform. The visits will be accessible through participants’ smartphones, tablets, and computers, and they can be booked after individuals browse profiles of healthcare providers and choose a clinician who best supports and serves their particular needs.

The four virtual visits will be available to Louisiana public school teachers and support staff at all K-12th grade school systems and early child care centers that serve children from birth to age four, including all traditional Louisiana public and public charter schools. After the four initial visits are booked and completed, participants can choose to continue their sessions by booking new ones at a discounted rate.

State Superintendent of Education Dr. Cade Brumley said of the state’s educators, “Louisiana educators have done hero’s work through a pandemic and one of the most active hurricane seasons on record for our state. They have been there for our children and families during this stressful year, and this partnership with Ochsner is one way we can be there for them.”

According to a survey published in August 2020 by  The Hechinger Report, approximately 40 percent of surveyed Louisiana early childhood educators reported clinically relevant signs of depression, likely caused by not only personal problems but also the uncertainties of the upcoming school year as a result of the Covid-19 landscape.

The initiative to offer virtual mental health services from Ochsner Health to the state’s educators is a part of a three year, a million-dollar initiative that’s funded by the LDOE’s allocated funds from the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEER) to adequately respond to the health needs (both mental and behavioral) experienced as a result of the pandemic.

Governor John Bel Edwards said of the initiative, “It is critically important that the state provide mental and emotional support for our teachers and support staffs who unselfishly give so much of themselves to ensure that education continues for our students during this unprecedented pandemic. The Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEER) is being used to fund the partnership between the Louisiana Department of Education and Ochsner, and I’m grateful that we are able to support our education workforce.”

Qualifying educators and support staff unfamiliar with virtual therapy visits will be surprised by how much they resemble in-person office visits and also be thankful for their convenience. When joining a secure video conference call with their selected, licensed provider, patients will be first asked about the medical history, current symptoms, and goals for therapy. Taking in this information, the provider will assess the situation and then develop and recommend a treatment plan. The visit is a part of Ochsner Health’s Anywhere Care, a private, secure, HIPAA-compliant tool that enables patients to consult online with a provider safely and confidently.

After a whirlwind year of uncertainty, confusion, and unfamiliarity, it’s helpful to know that the state Department of Education is supporting the mental health of its teachers. Ochsner Heath’s Vice President of Telemedicine, April Radford said, “We recognize that the COVID-19 pandemic has presented unique challenges to educators – both frontline teachers and administrative staff.”

For more education-related information, click here.

Two “Make Ahead“ Appetizer Dishes

Whether you’re hosting or attending an event, it’s always a great idea to have a delicious appetizer recipe stowed away in your back pocket, and it’s even better when you can make that recipe hours ahead of the event, leaving you plenty of time to prepare. Well, with this collection of “Make-Ahead” Appetizers from Martha Stewart, you’ll be quite prepared and celebrated for your next event.

Artichoke Dip with Fontina Appetizer

A well-prepared artichoke dip is never underappreciated or under-valued at a social function.

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
  • ½ medium-sized yellow onions (diced small)
  • 3 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
  • 3 14 oz. cans of whole artichoke hearts (drained and coarsely chopped)
  • ⅓ cup dry white wine
  • 4 oz. of room-temperature Neufchatel cream cheese
  • 2 ¼ cups Fontina Cheese (¾ lbs, cubed)
  • ¼ cup of fresh parsley (chopped)
  • 8 pitas, each cut into 6 wedges

Directions:

  • Preheat your oven to 400°F. Then, heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large skillet that is set to medium heat. Once heated, add your chopped onion and cook it until it’s softened. After about 5 minutes, add garlic and cook until it’s fragrant. After approximately 1 minute, add the artichokes and wine, and cook it all until the liquid evaporates, totaling about 8 minutes.
  • Remove your skillet from the heat and stir in the cream cheese until it’s all blended, then fold in 1 ¼ cups of Fontina cheese and parsley.
  • Afterward, transfer the mixture to a 2 qt. baking dish and sprinkle 1 additional cup of Fontina on top. Place the dish in the oven, baking it until it’s golden and bubbling, which will be about 30 minutes.
  • While the dish is baking, toss your pita with 1 tablespoon oil and spread the pitas out on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until it’s golden and crisp. This is usually about 15 to 20 minutes. Serve your dip alongside warm pita chips.

Italian Seafood Salad Appetizer

This light, fish-filled salad that is packed with flavor, protein, and color always surprises guests with how wonderful it tastes.

Ingredients for Appetizer:

Directions:

  1. In a large bowl, whisk together your lemon zest, salt, pepper, sugar, and garlic. After it’s combined, whisk in your oil and chopped parsley. While you’re mixing these, bring 4 qt of water to a boil, after having put 6 tbsp sugar and ¼ cup of salt in the pot.
  2. Once the water is at a rolling boil,  add the squid, and blanche for 30 seconds until it is slightly tender. Then, transfer the squid to an ice bath with a slotted spoon to stop its cooking. Once it’s cool. Drain the squid of water, place it on a paper towel to dry, and transfer it to the bowl of dressing.
  3. Return your pot of water to a boil, add your shrimp, stir it once, cover it, and remove it from the heat. After letting it stand for three minutes, use your slotted spoon to remove the shrimp and place the pieces onto a plate to cool slightly. Pat dry, and place in the dressing with the squid.
  4. Return the pot to a boil and add the mussels. Then, lower the temperature to medium heat, cover it, and simmer until the mussels open (approximately 3 to 5 minutes). Drain the pot, transfer the opened mussels to a plate, allowing them to cool, and remove all but 10 from their shells and add them to a bowl with the rest of the seafood. Reserve the remaining mussels left in their shells for serving.
  5. Then, it’s time to toss your seafood and dressing together with the fennel, bell pepper, celery, crab, and parsley leaves. Toss thoroughly, seasoning with salt and pepper and either store it (up to 8 hours) or serve immediately with reserved mussels and lemon wedges.

For more delicious recipes, click here.

Louisiana Film Crews Starting to Return to Work

As safety measures begin to loosen across the state, many Louisiana cities are seeing a resurgent increase in film production, according to an article from The Advocate that details just how local film crews are getting back to work.

The article featured a spotlight on local film director Richie Adams as he was framing the streets of downtown Baton Rouge to look like New York City for his upcoming feature The Road Dance, which is set to be shown in festivals later this year. The film is an adaptation of the John MacKay novel of the same name, and it chronicles a young woman’s overcoming of adversity in a pre-World War I landscape.

Just as The Road Dance was using shots of the brick buildings of France Street for an afternoon, many film production crews began April by finding their footing once again as camera operators, boom microphone holders, lighting technicians, and others are picking up the phones to return to Louisiana’s film productions that were halted as a result of 2020’s stay at home ordinances. If Louisiana production crews weren’t returning to paused projects, then they were accepting contracts for new productions as a result of the Film market’s increased demand to produce and release content for various streaming platforms and reopening theatres.

Todd Lewis is a producer for Crimson Pictures, a New Orleans-based production company that has been a part of many film and television productions filmed in the south like Looking for Alaska (2019), Fantastic Four (2015), and 21 Jump Street (2012). When interviewed, he remarked that as of recently most film crews across the state are booked throughout the fall saying, “we kind of stayed down most of the summer like everyone else, then we got geared up again in September. It’s been a boom ever since. It’s a great thing that we’re having a hard time finding local crew. It means that everybody is working.”

Business is definitely beginning to pick up again, as there were at least a half-dozen film productions actively filming in the state of Louisiana in March and another six slated to begin filming sometime before the end of May. These twelve or so film productions spaced out over a three-month period are approximately the same number of projects that found themselves in various stages of completion when the stay-at-home order was declared on Friday, March 13, 2020.

According to Director Richie Adams, local film production crews are still about “a year out from” being back to some semblance of normal or at least pre-March 2020 levels of efficiency, productivity, and financial competency. As per Adams’ perspective, when it comes to actively filming in the wake of the pandemic, the question becomes: “can your production handle the extra burden of COVID safety and protocols because it’s a financial burden to the production?”

In 2020, there were 44 filed applications by film and digital media companies that estimated that they would spend $542 million in the state, which is nearly 31% lower than the 75 applications estimating an expenditure of $783 million in 2019.

Chris Stelly, the executive director for Entertainment and Digital Media at Louisiana Economic Development (LED) said of the gradual resurgence of the state’s film industry, “what we’re noticing is traditional supply and demand economics. The supply has been exhausted, while demand continues to remain at an all-time high. You’ve got all these streaming options that just need content.”

As local pandemic measures continue to cautiously scale back, and many are returning to work in Louisiana’s film production industry, some signs give a glimmer of hope to “return to normal.” As of April 2021, seven companies are estimated to spend $61.7 million across the state this year on various productions, and while it may not match the pre-pandemic costs, it’s definitely a refreshing step in the right direction.

 For more Louisiana-related articles, click here.

 

 

Four Nicholls Online Programs Received National Recognition

This past year has brought a large wave of Academic acclaim for the online degree programs offered by Nicholls State University, according to various press releases from the school. Just throughout the month of April alone, the school has received top national and state-wide rankings for its online programs for Health Sciences, History,Sociology, and English.

The national recognition for each online program comes from various academic outlets, and the awards and rankings serve as a testament to not only the strength of the Thibodeaux University’s notorious online degree infrastructure and program but also the University’s successful pivoting and refocusing on online learning in the past year due to the state’s stay-at-home measures.

Online Bachelor’s Degree in Health Sciences

The University’s online Bachelor’s Degree program for Health Sciences received critical acclaim and a top ranking in the state from TradeCollege.org, which ranked the school’s Allied Health Sciences program number 1 in both “Most Popular Online Bachelor’s Degree Trade Schools in Louisiana” and “Most Popular Online Trade Schools in Louisiana.”

Claire Bourgeois, the program coordinator for Nicholls’ Health Sciences program reacted to the acclaim by saying, “It is an honor to be recognized as the Most Popular Online Degree. This would not be possible without the hard work and commitment of our faculty members and students. The faculty always goes above and beyond to provide a quality education to a diverse group of students.” Nicholls’ Health Sciences Program offers students two concentrations for its online Bachelors degree program: Pre-Professional and Health & Wellness. More information about Nicholls’ Health Sciences program can be found here.

Online Bachelor’s Degree in History

Nicholls’ History online Bachelor’s Degree program for History received a Top 40 ranking from Intelligent.com, with the site naming the program No. 35 in the nation and highlighting the school as having the best focus on modern history.

Dr. Paul Wilson, the department head for Nicholls History and Geography said of the program, “although we’re a small program, we do emphasize the importance of modern history to give students a greater understanding of the world around them.” Intelligent.com also ranked the university’s in-person History program as No. 17 in the nation back in March 2021, particularly highlighting the graduate school’s preparation as one of the best in the nation. More information about Nicholls’ History program can be found here.

Online Bachelor’s Degree in English

Nicholls University’s online Bachelor’s Degree program in English was named one of the best undergraduate English and writing programs in the United States by College Cliffs.

Dr. Robert Alexander, Nicholls’ English, Modern Languages, and Cultural Studies department head credited the program’s success to the “faculty’s commitment to offering a variety of excellent courses in a timely manner so that students can progress efficiently toward their academic and professional goals.” Study.com compiled its Top 15 list by including online degree programs from the “most prestigious” schools across the nation, with Nicholls being one of only two Louisiana schools making appearances on the list.

Online Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology

The university’s online Bachelor’s Degree program for Sociology was recently named as the No. 18 online sociology degree program in the country from Study.com, with the school being one of only two Louisiana universities on the list.

Tina Granger, an instructor and Sociology program coordinator for the university attributed the program’s acclaim to the structure of the curriculum by saying, “we have uniquely structured our degree to provide individuals with real-world knowledge of the social forces, facts and global issues that shape our daily lives.” More information about Nicholls’ Sociology program can be found here.

While the University is no stranger to receiving various awards, critical acclaim, and national recognition in the springtime, it cannot be undervalued or understated that this awarding of four separate online degree programs from four separate outlets in the same month is a credit to not only the school’s academic achievement, but also it’s long-standing commitment to its student body, as evidenced by their flexibility in how to earn its highly-valued degrees- be it in person or online.

For more education-related information, click here.

The Greatest Walking Tours of the American South

Southern cities have so much to see and learn about in terms of local art installations, unique architectural trends, and natural history that sometimes the best way to see it all is by booking a walking tour with a knowledgeable resident and expert of your destination. Thanks to Southern Living’s curated list of “2021’s Best Walking Tours” to be found in the southern United States, you’ll be properly prepared the next time you’re in a new location with a rich history.

If you’ve never taken a walking tour, it’s essentially a more calculated attempt at learning a wide array of a city or town’s history by hearing it from a knowledgeable tour guide instead of you driving around the city picking up your facts through context clues. These tours are typically found in the town’s busiest areas and they can range from the general “learn about the history of this district of New Orleans, Louisiana” to “popular filming locations in Savannah, Georgia.” There’s truly something for everyone depending on your particular interests or level of prior knowledge you come to the tour with, but here are our favorites from Southern Living’s “2021 South’s Best” list.

Walkin’ Nashville Music City Legends Tour

Nashville, Tennessee

If you’re a fan of the golden age of country music, then there’s no city quite as fruitful as Nashville, Tennessee since no other city rivals it in terms of country music’s legacy, superstars, and impact. When booking the “Walkin’ Nashville Music City Legends” walking tour, you’ll learn just how much the genre has evolved over the past century and exactly how the city itself played a role in making the greatest legends of country music such as Dolly Parton, Conway Twitty, Loretta Lynn, and plenty others into the notable icons they are today.

This two-hour tour spans only about one mile of Nashville, but it’s less about walking and more about the story of the biggest names in music that have the city to thank for some aspect of their success. When on the tour, you’ll be inundated with anecdotes, music history, trivia, and more as you’re brought to notorious Music City landmarks like Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge, Ryman Auditorium, Printers Alley, and The Maxwell House Hotel, all of which have played a significant role for country music’s biggest stars. The tour ends in maybe the city’s most sought-after location, and after over 90 minutes of insider information about the genre, there’s no place else you’d rather find yourself than the Country Music Hall of Fame, where you can let yourself go wild and at your own pace! Book a ticket today and learn more about not just country music but the city that calls the genre its primary export.

Fredericksburg Walking Tours

Fredericksburg, Texas

For many, the attractions found on a walking tour are the immediate draw, but the regimented schedule of a tour guide’s well-meaning itinerary is a drawback. If that’s the case, then this history-rich, self-guided tour of the 175-year old town of Fredericksburg, Texas is the perfect way to learn about the legacy of the town’s historic district that has garnered some natural recognition of its own.

Once you set forth on the tour, you’ll immediately notice that Fredericksburg’s streets are incredibly wide, and sure “everything’s bigger in Texas,” but the width of the streets is due to the fact that the founders of the town had an outstanding need for a full team of oxen to be able to turn around in the street before being hitched up on one of the street’s still-accessible metal hoops (found along the sidewalks). The tour allows you to independently survey the town’s historical district according to the areas that interest you the most– whether that be admiring the Admiral Nimitz Gallery of the National Museum of the Pacific War, learning about Fredicksburg’s founding history in the iconic Vereins Kirche Museum found in the center of Marktplatz, or setting down for one of your three meals at the unforgettable Rathskeller Basement Restaurant in Frederickburg’s Historic Keidel Hospital Building. Sure you may have to spend multiple days taking in all that this notable Texan city has to offer, but that’s just the price you pay when you’re learning about one of the more architecturally and historically rich towns in the Southern United States.

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