Tag: Louisiana education

AHEAD Program Gives Louisiana High Schoolers Inside Look at Health Careers

For two years now, Louisiana high school students have been able to participate in a week of educational activities pertaining to the healthcare field thanks to the School of Allied Health Professions at LSU Health Shreveport, and according to this feature article from The Shreveport Times, this second year of the AHEAD program was twice as successful as last year’s program when it premiered.

AHEAD, also known as the Allied Health Education and Discovery program, is an annual five-day opportunity for Louisiana high school students to engage in the various types of health, health science, and medical programs available at the School of Allied Health Professions at LSU Health Shreveport. According to the Director of admissions for the school Madeline Barclay, “this is a program for Louisiana high school students to learn about all the different academic health programs we have at the School of Allied Health Professions.”

Despite this annual tradition having only completed its second year, enrollment numbers have doubled from when the program premiered in 2021. According to Barclay, “we had one session with 20 students in 2021, and it was so popular that we expanded it this summer to two sessions, 25 per session.”

The AHEAD program is a 5-day experience that is free to Louisiana high school participants in which the students engage in full-day sessions that include hands-on, interactive activities within each medical or health-aligned discipline. According to LSU Health Shreveport, “students will receive tips for success in college and guidance on how to pursue a professional career in healthcare. Our emphasis will be on recruiting students from underrepresented backgrounds with the primary goal of contributing to a diverse educational environment.”

Students participating in the AHEAD program are able to choose from several medical and health-aligned disciplines to study and observe during the week-long sessions. The high school student participants are able to participate in field trips and career-focused activities that give participants specific insight into the following health professions: Medical Laboratory Scientist,

Nurse, Occupational Therapist, Physical Therapist, Physician Assistant, Public Health Professional, Respiratory Therapist, and Speech-Language Pathologist.

While last year’s camp of 20 students was large enough to populate a single session in June for the nearly two dozen participants, this year’s doubling of the program’s capacity warranted two summer sessions, which is certainly encouraging for the AHEAD program, as it’s projected to be an annual tradition. This summer, 50 total students from 13 separate Louisiana high schools attended the summer program, which was hosted by the School of Allied Health Professionals as two separate week-long camps.

Makenzie Boucher from The Shreveport Times spoke to local high school students participating in the AHEAD program this summer. One local high schooler who was interviewed about her experience participating in AHEAD was Elizabeth Gaspard, a Haughton High School graduate of the Class of 2022. Gaspard commented on her experience engaging in the medical programs available at AHEAD by saying, “it’s just so cool to go around and learn about the different occupations and how important they are. It just inspires all of us in the class to consider it and be open-minded.”

Madison Evans, an AHEAD program participant from the inaugural summer session in 2021 reflected on her experience by saying, “participating in the AHEAD program was truly a life-changing experience. Throughout the program, we had daily hands-on-learning experiences. We were given the opportunities to visit the cadaver lab, tour parts of the hospital, and learned about many Allied Health Professions that I never knew existed. This program taught me so much about the different health professions. Before the AHEAD program, I did not know about Respiratory Therapy, however, I now know how important respiratory therapists are to helping people recover from illnesses.  The program provided us with a visual map and outlined the steps to take in college to achieve these careers. Attending the AHEAD program gave me more confidence in pursuing a career in the healthcare field. I am truly thankful to have had this experience.”

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Political Science Online Program Named Best in South at Nicholls

It was recently announced via a press release from the school that the Best Online Political Science Degree in the American South is Nicholls State University’s Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, as determined by Intelligent.com, a highly-valued online educational resource that assesses collegiate programs across the country.

The reputable online educational resource Intelligent.com assessed over 325 programs from approximately 200 colleges and universities across the United States. Intelligent.com assessors sought out programs at these institutions of higher learning that taught strong analytical and decision-making skills and evaluated each program on several factors. Programs were evaluated on their flexibility in the delivery of their courses, their return on investment, the cost of attendance, their national rankings, overall student engagement, and the quantity and quality of resources available to students. Ultimately, each collegiate program was scored on a 100-point scale.

The Bachelor of Arts in Political Science at Nicholls State University received an impressive score of 86.73, and thus it was named as being the “Best in the South.” This program was also the 28th best political science program out of all post-secondary institutions assessed by Intelligent.com.

Dr. David Whitney, associate professor and Department Head of Political Science at Nicholls reflected on this honor by saying, “we use our full-time faculty to teach all of the core classes, which is fairly upcoming for online programs. Another thing that sets us apart is the approach we take toward students in the online program. We do not distinguish between online and traditional students in terms of the investment and time we make towards their success.  Nicholls Online isn’t a side job or an afterthought but is an integral part of our degree program.”

In order to better justify their classification of the “Best Online Degrees of 2022,”  the editors of Intelligent.com accompanied their award listing by saying the following: “Online learning has become quite popular — 37.2% of college students have taken at least one online course, and 17.6% take online courses exclusively. The flexibility of distance learning has made it an especially attractive option for students who have other responsibilities in addition to their education, such as children or a full-time job. To help you find the best option for your specific situation, we’ve reviewed the top colleges for dozens of different online degree programs.”

As defined by Intelligent for their assessment purposes, political science is the study of the history of political systems, the analysis of how these political systems operate, and how political scientists can provide suggestions on how to shape public policy. In addition to this, political scientists develop strong analytical decision-making skills that can be applied to an array of occupations, including careers in public administration, market analysis, and many more.

Research that was conducted by Intelligent through the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed that the median salary for political scientists is $122,220 per year, making it three times as high as the median salary for all other United Stated occupations, which stands at $39,810. Additionally, they determined an estimated increase of 6%for this field in terms of job outlook, specifically indicating an increase in demand for market research analysts which was cited at a growth rate of 18%. The data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated that the economy is expected to need 400 more political scientists by 2029 in order to manage regulatory issues, research political theory, and analyze public policy.

As per Nicholls State University, their Bachelor of Arts in Political Science Program is designed in such a way that it prepares students and gives them a complete, “comprehensive understanding of the essential aspects of politics” and “the analytical and critical tools necessary to evaluate political events and more importantly, to become actively engaged citizens.”

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Shell Awards LSU Gift for Energy Institute and New Campus District

Recently, Louisiana State University received a $27.5 million gift from long-time partner Shell USA, Inc., and according to this news release from the school, the investment will be utilized to not only establish a new Institute for Energy Innovation but to also begin construction on a new district of LSU’s campus devoted to interdisciplinary scientific discovery.

The $27.5 million gift from the Shell Corporation is reportedly being recognized as the university’s largest gift ever received from a for-profit corporation. Additionally, it’s simultaneously the largest gift ever received by the school in focused support of energy-related initiatives.

In speaking on LSU deserving the gift, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards said, “as a legacy energy state on the front lines of climate change, Louisiana is uniquely positioned to forge meaningful solutions for a clean energy future. This partnership between Shell and Louisiana’s flagship university supports the continued vitality of our state’s energy industry as well as Louisiana’s emerging role as a national leader in carbon management. I look forward to the contributions LSU and Shell will continue to make here in Louisiana to global energy innovation.”

Of their total donation gift, Shell will be dedicating $25 million to launch and establish the LSU Institute for Energy Innovation, an institution that will aim to advance affordable, reliable, and environmentally responsible energy for all. The creation of the Institute for Energy Innovation will set the stage to allow for leaders in energy-thought, talent, and industrial impact to have the opportunity to invest in a collaborative pursuit of a shared vision for the future of energy.

Shell’s gift will provide funding for a five-year vision for the LSU Institute for Energy Innovation, which will be rooted in five work streams: talent, research and development, policy and economics, social and environmental justice, and technology transfer and commercialization. Furthermore, about $6.4 million of Shell’s total gift will be directed toward initiatives centered around diversity, equity, and inclusion. These initiatives will be focused on both faculty and student support as well as workforce development within the energy industry.

The remaining $2.5 million will be used to construct the LSU Our Lady of the Lake Interdisciplinary Science Building, and upon the completion of this new building, LSU will be able to close reportedly more than 50% of the LSU College of Science’s current gap in lab space and educational needs within its five disciplines: Biological Sciences, Chemistry,Geology and Geophysics, Mathematics, and Physics and Astronomy.

Over the past four years, there has been an increase in demand for educational and lab space for LSU’s College of Science. For the past four consecutive years, the college has reported years of enrollment growth while also teaching one-quarter of all student credit hours at LSU and roughly one-third of the total instruction for freshmen and sophomore students. Therefore, this continual growing reliance on LSU’s College of Science will be greatly benefited by the construction of the LSU Our Lady of the Lake Interdisciplinary Science Building.

LSU President William F. Tate IV also commented on the monumental gift, saying: “energy represents a central driver of Louisiana’s economy, and Louisiana buttresses the nation’s energy supply, putting LSU in the unique position to partner with industry to discover innovative methods to fuel our nation. Together with Shell, we invite fellow industry leaders to join us in pioneering the research and development pathways forward to protect and preserve Louisiana’s energy economy, while meeting the nation’s future energy needs.”

Shell’s announcement of their $27.5 million gift is the latest transformative investment in LSU’s Scholarship First Agenda, a dedicated effort to focus on creating solutions considered to be essential to the future of agriculture, biotechnology, the coast, defense, and energy within Louisiana and throughout the nation. With the Scholarship First Agenda, LSU seeks to “ascend to its potential to lead the nation in these five key areas through a combination of private, state and federal support.” Additionally, Shell’s gift is only a part of LSU’s $1.5 billion Fierce for the Future Campaign, which is the largest campaign for higher education in the history of the state of Louisiana.

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Inaugural STEM Fest Allows Acadiana Students to Explore Big Concepts

Approximately 600 elementary and middle school students from Acadiana got to learn about complex science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) concepts in a fun, interactive, and fully immersive way at the inaugural Acadiana STEM Fest, according to The Acadiana Advocate.

The event, Acadiana STEM Fest, was held in the University of Louisiana Student Union and was the result of a partnership between Peter Sheppard, the executive director for UL Lafayette’s Center for Excellence in Education,and STEM NOLA, a nonprofit focused on exposing communities to STEM learning opportunities.

In total, 40 activities, which were provided by STEM NOLA, were installed inside and around UL Lafayette’s student union and manned by UL Lafayette STEM and education students as well as volunteers from industry partners such as CGI and Fenstermaker. These 40 activities allowed 600 students from Acadia, Lafayette, St. Landry, St. Martin, and Vermilion parishes to explore STEM concepts in ways that were much more inviting than traditional lecture and research-based methods.

The event allowed students to learn in nontraditional ways that were enhanced by technology. For instance, they could learn about how radio waves controlled drones by actually operating drones in a controlled environment or even learn about structural engineering by crafting sturdy, resilient structures made out of uncooked spaghetti and marshmallows. The director of the event, Peter Sheppard, was reported as saying that he wanted the students to realize that opportunities to learn and apply their knowledge exist far beyond traditional classrooms.

Sheppard spoke on the value of Acadiana STEM Fest’s approach to nontraditional learning by saying, “I think curriculums are restricted. Schools are restricted in what they can do. Those restrictions aren’t there in the real world. Exposure to STEM activities gives them the space to think and to do it and to be curious without having to be evaluated or judged. It can be fun. It can be useful. It can be practical. It can be intellectual.”

Other than having the methods by which the students learn be different from their traditional classrooms, Sheppard also strived to remove any barriers to access for students who otherwise wouldn’t have frequent and free exposure to STEM programing, activities, and learning opportunities such as girls, minority students, and those students from underserved or under-resourced communities.

Speaking on the benefits of the set of skills that one can gain through STEM-based learning, David Hawkins, the director of operations for STEM NOLA, emphasized that the world is becoming more and more STEM-focused by the day, citing the “growing ubiquity of artificial intelligence and computer-controlled equipment and machinery.”

Hawkins stressed the importance of students developing themselves from a root center by challenging their minds; he said, “When we expose our kids to the possibility of being a tennis star or golf star, they put in the time, work, and effort for it. If we expose our kids to the possibilities of being teachers, engineers, doctors, scientists – we train them to move in that direction. Early exposure gives them encouragement and the motivation to move in the direction of STEM. The skillset you learn in the STEM fields transcends throughout your life. Regardless of what you do, you’re going to have to be analytical, solve problems and you’re going to be faced with challenges.”

According to Sheppard, Acadiana STEM Fest is the first of seven planned camp-style events that the Center for Excellence and Education and its Region 4 STEM Network Center are hosting at UL Lafayette in the next few months, which is branded as “STEMulating Summer 2.0.” These upcoming events as well as the inaugural Acadiana STEM Fest were made possible by grant funds from the Louisiana Board of Regents and its LaSTEM Initiative.

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BCBS of Louisiana Foundation Awards Nicholls a Disaster Response Grant

Nicholls State University will soon be able to offer need-based scholarships to help students return to campus after having previously left in the wake of Hurricane Ida. According to this news release from the school, a $100,000 disaster response grant will be utilized to create these scholarships, which will be helpful to students wanting to return to their degree plans.

It was announced by the university in May 2022 that a $100,000 disaster response grant was awarded by The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana Foundation. It was also announced that the funds would be utilized so that students who had halted their learning due to Hurricane Ida’s detrimental impact on the area would be able to qualify for a needs-based scholarship that would offset the cost of re-enrolling & returning to classes.

Nicholls State University President Dr. Jay Clune commented on BCBSLA’s award by saying, “even though others outside of South Louisiana have long stopped talking about the effects of Hurricane Ida, we are still feeling the impacts every single day. We are grateful for this partnership with Blue Cross Blue Shield. I don’t like to think of where we would be without the support of our wonderful industry and community partners.”

In the wake of Hurricane Ida, the destructive Category 4 Atlantic hurricane that made its landfall near Port Fourchon on the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, it was reported that an estimated 25% of Lafourche and Terrebonne Parish homes were destroyed or declared uninhabitable. Additionally, approximately two-thirds of the Nicholls community reported that their homes were destroyed or uninhabitable. Once the storm passed, the BCBSLA Foundation had committed $5 million in funds to areas affected by Ida, and other communities across the Gulf Coast also stepped up.

Earlier this year, The Courier reported that Nicholls State’s spring enrollment had dropped 10% from the previous year, attributing the decline to Hurricane Ida as well as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In August of 2021, Nicholls President Dr. Jay Clune announced that the school would essentially restructure its retention and recruitment strategies. As a result, the university’s decision to have recruitment and retention efforts managed by the Office of Academic Affairs, specifically being led by Sue Westbrook, provost and president for Academic Affairs, and Renee Hicks, assistant vice president of Institutional Effectiveness, Access, and success.

It was then reported that the university’s fall-to-spring retention rate of first-time freshmen had increased by 7.9 percentage points from the previous year to be listed at 90.5%. This was the first time that this retention rate had surpassed 90% in over a decade, thus signaling that Nicholls’ restructuring was beginning to pay off. Renee Hicks interpreted the data by saying, “when we post retention rates like this, it means our entire campus community has come together to provide extraordinary support for our students during the recovery from a major hurricane on top of a pandemic.”

Dr. Clune commented on the promising data, saying, “in addition to our strong retention rates, we also see applications are up year-to-year. I attribute that to our data-led approach to recruitment and retention by Ms. Hicks and her team. With a new marketing campaign and increased recruitment and retention efforts, we anticipate a return to an upward trend in enrollment.”

Pair this earlier indicator of rising enrollment rates with these new needs-based scholarships established from The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana Foundation’s $100,000 disaster response grant, and it’s even clearer to see that not just the campus community of Nicholls is coming together to come out of Hurricane Ida stronger than before, but the surrounding community of Houma, Thibodaux, and the State of Louisiana is banding together as well.

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Lafayette Parish Students Earn Career and Technical Education

Recently, the Lafayette Parish School System celebrated the achievements of their students earning certifications or collegiate technical education diplomas through the system’s partnership with South Louisiana Community College while also looking ahead to the upcoming school year’s tenacious mission, as per this feature article from the Acadiana Advocate.

For years, the W.D. & Mary Baker Smith Career Center has served LPSS public high school students as an extension of their base school where they are allowed to attend the Career Center for three hours per day taking technical and career classes in automotive, cosmetology, culinary, medical, industrial technology, and welding programs.

Recently, a recognition ceremony celebrated over a dozen 2022 students from the school’s automotive, welding, and culinary programs earning certifications or collegiate technical diplomas through South Louisiana Community College, but the event was also indicative of an ongoing aim to infuse both pride and prestige along with the skills-based, technical curriculum

During the 2021-2022 school year, approximately 400 students had traveled to the W.D. & Mary Baker Smith Career Center from their base schools in order to spend a portion of their school day learning from and participating in one of the 11 career and technical programs available at the school.

These programs offer students a tremendous “leg up” in seeking a post-secondary education or job; for instance, those students who choose to begin the automotive, culinary, or welding programs as high school sophomores will have the opportunity to earn a Technical Diploma from SLCC upon graduating high school, thus putting them well on their way towards earning an associate’s degree.

The 2022 Recognition Ceremony and signing event both celebrated students’ success in their individual programs while also recognizing their feats as they signed on with future employers from the Lafayette area. Of those employers were: Abendroth Paint and Body, Acadiana Mazda, Arceneaux Ford, AutoZone, Peck’s Precision Lawn Care, Ross Tire and Service, Rotolo’s Pizzeria in Carencro, Service Auto Air, Sicily’s Pizza, Star’s Bake Shop, Super 1 Deli, Theriot Fabrication & Welding Custom Boats, Top Cars Collision Center, Utility and Industrial Supply, and Veronica’s Cafe.

Not only did the event celebrate these students’ hard work they’ve put in toward their futures, but the celebration also recognized the students of the year in each program as well as students graduating from SLCC with a technical diploma that’s based on dual enrollment credits that they’ve earned at the Career Center.

LPSS Superintendent Irma Trosclair addressed the honored students by saying, “we are so excited to celebrate these skilled and talented students and acknowledge their accomplishments. It is our goal to highlight the importance of career and technical education. The skills and credentials students are gaining at the Career Center are important to the students and are also important to the Lafayette community. LPSS will continue to promote career and technical education to graduate workforce ready young men and women.”

Principal of the W.D. and Mary Baker Smith Career Center Dr. Holly Boffy, who also serves on the Louisiana State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, was also present in highlighting the importance of these programs in light of the broader community falsely believing that skills and trade-based jobs are “less than.”

Dr. Boffy disproved the stigma by saying, “It doesn’t feel less when I’m in Louisiana in the middle of the summer and my A/C is not working. All of a sudden HVAC is the most important industry on the planet. I think where we’ve failed as a society is to recognize that all people have gifts, and we fail to give people pathways to use their gifts. That’s what we’re doing here — we’re giving people pathways to careers that are going to help run our community.”

Recently, Principal Boffy guested on Discover Lafayette’s podcast where she both shared “ the school’s mission and new programming being offered in the upcoming 2022-23 school year, such as the implementation of a new HVAC program along with electrical programs. Students and parents interested in Fall 2022 enrollment can visit this LPSS resource for more information.

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