SHREVEPORT – Dr. Kim Hunter Reed, Louisiana’s Commissioner of Higher Education, says she loves attending commencement ceremonies at the state’s various colleges.
Reed soaks up the celebration and joy as graduates walk across the stage and pose for pictures with family members.
As LSU Shreveport’s commencement speaker for the university’s upcoming graduation Dec. 13, she’ll take an active role in celebrating with an institution that’s moving the Board of Regents’ “Louisiana Prospers” plan forward.
“Louisiana Prospers” is a road map toward 60 percent of the state’s working-age population (25-64) obtaining a post-secondary credential beyond a high school diploma, whether it’s a two- or four-year degree or some other form of professional certification. The state hit a record 51 percent this year, up nearly four percentage points from the plan’s start five years ago.
Reed will address an LSUS record graduating class of more than 1,550 graduates when she steps onto the Brookshire Grocery Arena stage.
“My message to our graduates is to seize this moment with the knowledge that you are prepared,” Reed said. “While earning a degree gives you content expertise, it also prepares you to adapt to changing environments, learn new things, discern opportunities and make an impact.
“Those skills will serve our graduates well, but focus on impact – to make a difference in something bigger than us individually. That’s the ultimate goal. It’s exciting to imagine the impact our graduates will have in various disciplines across our state and nation.”
Reed has made that type of an impact along her “zig-zaggy road” of a career “filled with amazing blessings.”
That road has traveled through Washington D.C. as the deputy undersecretary in the U.S. Department of Education during Barack Obama’s presidency and through Colorado as its leader of the state higher education system. She is the only female leader to have served as the head of multiple state’s higher education systems.
But Reed answered the call of her home state in 2018 when she assumed the top position with the Louisiana Board of Regents, something she hopes LSUS graduates will heed sooner or later in their own lives.
The Lake Charles native was named one of the nation’s Top 10 Black higher education leaders by Forbes Magazine in 2023 to top a long list of honors.
“Louisiana needs the talent that LSU Shreveport and all of our institutions are producing,” Reed said. “I hope the graduates will pursue their dreams in our state.
“We need them fully engaged in making a difference for Louisiana, where there are great jobs and wonderful communities. My hope is that every graduate finds meaningful work, wherever that takes them, and that at some point in their professional journey, Louisiana will benefit from their talent.”
Educational and training attainment can be a “lifeboat for Louisiana residents to literally weather any storm,” Reed said, strengthening the state’s education-to-employment pipeline that will create or attract more business to Louisiana.
Reed has found her passion in moving Louisiana’s higher education system forward, and she ultimately hopes graduates find their niche in whichever road they travel.
“Find your passion and work tirelessly to do what brings you joy,” Reed said. “There is nothing like knowing that you’re making a difference in an area about which you care deeply.
“And be prepared to fail, learn and keep going. Success does not come without some failure, but things do work out if we put in the effort and stay the course. Embrace the entrepreneur’s spirit – fail forward and act on the lessons that failure provides.”
