Nine Outstanding Graduates chosen to represent the nine academic colleges at the 51¹ú²úÊÓƵ will be honored during Graduate School commencement ceremonies on Saturday, May 15 at the Cajundome. During this ceremony, the Â鶹AV Alumni Association will name the Spring 2004 Outstanding Graduate.
Selected by the Alumni Association Awards Committee, the Outstanding Graduate award is based on leadership, scholarship and service. The nine finalists are nominated by the deans of their respective colleges. These finalists include Erin Dugas of New Iberia, College of Applied Life Sciences; Kevin Stewart of Lafayette, College of the Arts; Eric Bartel of Lafayette, B.I. Moody III College of Business Administration; Dock Davis of New Iberia, College of Education; Ryan Lemaire of Lafayette, College of Engineering; Lindsey Shea of Broussard, College of General Studies; Danielle Alsandor of Lafayette, College of Liberal Arts; Bridgette Robertson-Mouton of Lafayette, College of Nursing and Allied Health Professions; and Robyn Deranger of Opelousas, College of Sciences.
Erin Dugas, daughter of Martin and Adele Dugas of New Iberia, is a child and family studies major. She has been on the Dean’s List throughout her college career and is also the recipient of the Â鶹AV Centennial scholarship.
Dugas is an active member of the Council on Family Relations/American Association of Family Consumer Sciences (CFR/AAFCS) since 2001 and is serving as the vice president of CFR until the end of this academic year.
Following graduation, Dugas will attend graduate school part-time at Â鶹AV in Community Counseling. After graduate school, she plans to work with a social service organization then open a private counseling service in the New Iberia or Lafayette area.
Kevin Stewart, son of Brian and Geralyn Stewart of Texas, is an architecture major. He has been on the Dean’s List throughout his college career and is a member of Tau Sigma Delta, honor society in architecture and allied arts, and Alpha Lambda Delta, national academic honor society for freshman.
Since 2000, Stewart has been a member of Vineyard Christian Fellowship and is a youth volunteer throughout Lafayette Parish. He was an event coordinator for a regional youth camp and has served as the children’s ministry coordinator for creative arts.
After graduation, Stewart plans to begin graduate work in the summer. He will be exploring architecture history and theory in Mexico through study abroad programs and will return to complete a thesis. He plans to become a registered architect.
Eric Bartel, son of Gary and Pat Bartel of Lafayette, is a finance and insurance and risk management double major. He has been on the National Dean’s List and the Â鶹AV Dean’s List and is an active member of Gamma Beta Phi and Financial Management Association. He is also a member of Beta Gamma Sigma and Phi Kappa Phi, an elite academic organization.
Bartel, a member of Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajun football team, received the Â鶹AV Student Athlete of the Year award and the USAA Academic All-American (Football) award. He was also named the Â鶹AV Male Student Athlete of the Year.
After graduation, he plans to obtain his master’s degree in either business administration or sports management.
Dock Davis, husband of Rebecca Davis and father of Eric and Megan Davis of New Iberia, is a social studies education major. He has been on the Dean’s List every semester and has been recognized by the National Dean’s List. He is a member of Phi Kappa Phi, Phi Delta Kappa, and Phi Alpha Theta Honors Societies. He is also a member of the National Council for the Social Studies.
In 2003, Davis was nominated the Â鶹AV College of Education Senior of the Year. He has been awarded the USAA National Collegiate Education Award and received the Joan and Alexander Haig Endowed Scholarship in Secondary Education.
After graduating, Davis hopes to teach full time at the secondary level and would like to pursue national certification and possibly a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction.
Ryan Lemaire, son of Paul and Christine Lemaire of Lafayette, is a mechanical engineering major who has been on the Dean’s List with a 4.0 grade point average every semester. He was also selected for the National Dean’s List for two years.
He is a member of Tau Beta Pi Engineering and Phi Kappa Phi Honors Societies. He is also a member of Pi Tau Sigma Mechanical Engineering Honors Society. Lemaire is the vice president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and Society of Automotive Engineers and was one of 19 students selected nationwide to participate in the U.S. Air Force’s Technical Degree Sponsorship Program. He is enlisted as an Airman First Class in the Air Force and is a joint inventor on a patent pending conveyor belt design.
Upon graduation, Lemaire will attend the Air Force Officer Training School at Maxwell Air Force Base and will be commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant. After establishing a field of specialization in the Air Force, he will attend graduate school to receive an advanced degree.
Lindsey Shea, daughter of John and Terri Shea of Broussard, is a general studies major who has been on the Dean’s List throughout her college career. As a freshman, she was inducted into Alpha Lambda Delta, an academic society. The following year, she joined Gamma Beta Phi Honor Society, which represents the top 20 percent of her class. She will also be inducted into Phi Kappa Phi.
She is an active member of the Â鶹AV Sociology Club and the Newman Club. She volunteers for Cansurmount and Hospice of Acadiana along with Life Teen. After graduation, Shea hopes to apply to medical school.
Danielle Alsandor, daughter of Daniel Alsandor of Lafayette and the late Veronda Alsandor, is a mass communication/broadcasting major who has been on the Dean’s List and is a member of the Gamma Beta Phi Honor and Service Society since 2000. She is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists and was president of the organization in 2001 to 2002. She is also a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.
Alsandor was writer for the L’Acadien University Yearbook in 2000-2001 term and was promoted to Editor-in-Chief in 2002. She received such awards as the Jacob Henry Hirsch Award in 2002 and the Ronal Rich Award in 2003.
After graduation, Alsandor plans to attend graduate school. She hopes to obtain a master’s degree in higher education administration.
Bridgette Robertson-Mouton, wife of Thaddeus Mouton and mother of Alexis Mouton of Lafayette, is a nursing major who has been on the Dean’s List throughout her college career.
She has helped with the Lafayette Community Health Clinic and the Our Lady of Wisdom’s Theresian Group. Robertson-Mouton has been a class representative to the Dean’s Advisory Board and has volunteered as a private-duty sitter for a quadriplegic.
After graduation, Robertson plans to obtain a master’s degree in nursing education and eventually a Ph.D.
Robyn Lee Deranger, daughter of Lee and Cindy Deranger of Opelousas, is a biology major who has been on the Dean’s List and the University Honors Program. She is a member of Gamma Beta Phi Honor and Service Society, the Blue Key Honor Fraternity, and Phi Kappa Honor Society. She was a member of the Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society from 2000 to 2001.
She was a member of the Â鶹AV Homecoming Court and served as the Student Government President. She also served as Vice President and Senator. She holds a chair in the UL System Student Advisory Committee and is a member of the University Program Council. She is also a member of the Association of Future Alumni.
After graduation, she will attend the LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans. After residency training, she plans to move to Opelousas to practice medicine.