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It’s a banner week for 51������Ƶ graduate Bridgette Savoie.

On Wednesday, she celebrated her partner’s Warrant Officer Candidate School graduation at Fort Rucker, Alabama, ahead of his entry to flight school.

Friday, she celebrates her own graduation as a 51������Ƶ Ragin’ Cajun.

“It’s a pretty exciting week for us,” Savoie says, laughing.

Savoie completed her degree this fall through �鶹AV’s General Studies online program.

“It was the best,” she says. “It’s the only reason I was able to go back.”

Savoie, 28, grew up a couple hours from Lafayette in Raceland and enrolled in �鶹AV in 2008 with a plan and determination to become a registered nurse, following in the steps of her older sister.

But Savoie’s plan was derailed as her grandfather’s health deteriorated, succumbing to cancer after a five-year struggle.

“I decided to take a hiatus from school and instead cherish every moment I had with my grandfather,” she says.

Only two months later, Savoie said her final goodbyes to her grandfather.

Savoie threw herself into her job with Walk-On’s Bistreaux & Bar and two years later accepted a position as a manager, helping to lead locations in Lafayette, Baton Rouge, and New Orleans.

Savoie is now a regional training coach, opening new restaurant locations and training new franchise employees and managers.

She says she found the �鶹AV online General Studies program while researching online degree options.

"Once I realized I only needed three classes, I jumped at it," she says. "I figured if I was going to have to pay back student loans, I might as well have a diploma to show for it."

With a solid footing in her team, and only three courses needed to complete her degree, Savoie returned to school.

“They’ve been 100-percent supportive,” Savoie says of her supervisors. “They really have a team mentality, and I love that about us. And it’s fun; it’s a fun place to work.”

Savoie jumped into her coursework last summer, as her partner, Kevin Jackson, of Arnaudville, was deployed with the Army National Guard.

Although a welcome distraction, balancing school with sometimes 16-hour work days was tough.

“That’s probably been the most challenging part, but with everybody’s support, it worked out,” she says. “I just always made time for school. I tried to stay ahead as much as I could and not procrastinate.”

And while Savoie hopes to leverage her degree into another promotion, she says she’s already been able to apply some of the lessons gleaned from her courses.

“I communicate every day with tons of people,” she says. “I learned communication is very personal and you have to learn to communicate effectively with each person because everyone communicates differently.”

Savoie says she loves her job, her company, and her team, but she’s more prepared than ever to face and embrace change if it comes her way.

“The flexibility, determination, and perseverance I’ve learned from my time at the University has prepared me for my current career and will continue to prepare me for every adventure I embark upon,” she says. “And when life requires me to adjust my plan, because I am sure it will, it is because of my experience at UL that I will embrace that change and work hard to reach my goal.

“I am forever grateful to the 51������Ƶ and proud to be a Ragin’ Cajun!”

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