SHREVEPORT – With graduates hailing from places like Connecticut to California, Vacherie native Chloe Boudreaux didn’t have the furthest to travel to walk across the LSUS graduation stage Friday.

But Boudreaux’s journey was one of the most unique as she and her family left the small Louisiana town on the Mississippi River earlier than planned to escape the path of Hurricane Francine.

Boudreaux is a Pre-K teacher in neighboring St. John The Baptist Parish, and her classroom is prone to flooding.

“We spent the last day moving all of the desks and all of our stuff away from windows,” Boudreaux said. “We left a day early on Wednesday just to make sure we weren’t traveling in the weather.”

But two-year-old son Langston was all smiles as he rode in the stroller Thursday down the heart of LSUS’s campus, pushed by Boudreaux’s husband as they made their way to LSUS’s Commencement Welcome in the University Center.

The Boudreaux family, which included her mother and sister, were here to celebrate her earning a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction.

“I’ll probably stay in Pre-K for another year or two before pursuing an administration position, like an assistant principal,” Boudreaux said.

Boudreaux was one of 1,238 graduates to earn their degrees in LSUS’s summer commencement ceremony Friday at Brookshire Grocery Arena.

Summer graduates who couldn’t attend Friday’s ceremony because of Hurricane Francine could be eligible to walk in December’s graduation. To apply for a waiver, please reach out to your advisor, program director, or the dean of your college.

For graduates from further afield, family support remained a common theme.

Connecticut native Caroline Steadham said her sister Elizabeth Steadham Kingsley discovered LSUS through online research as both were looking for Master of Business Administration programs, which they completed this summer.

Although Caroline was the only sister to physically attend the graduation in Shreveport – her undergraduate graduation was performed virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic – she said she found a sense of community in the online program.

“We were looking for fully online programs that were AACSB accredited (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business), but many were so expensive,” Steadham said. “I work remotely as a human resource executive recruiter, so going to school online wasn’t a stretch for me.

“But the program didn’t feel remote because there’s a community of students to engage with online. It felt like we were a part of the school even though we weren’t physically there.”

That familial feeling extended to students from other countries, including Nigerian doctors Chibuike Amuzie (Reginald) and Ogbonna Chikere (Eugene).

The pair, who didn’t know each other before meeting at LSUS, graduated with their masters in public health.

Amuzie came across LSUS social media ads back in Nigeria in 2021 while practicing as a physician.

“I checked out (LSUS’s) LinkedIn profile, and I saw other Nigerians on there, so I thought that this would be a great opportunity to be around people from all kinds of different backgrounds while feeling like I had family there as well,” said Amuzie, who has practiced medicine for four years in Nigeria and aims to pursue fellowships in epidemiology. “For me, the research part (of public health) is intriguing as it’s the bedrock of medicine in general.

“A lot of the vaccines and medicines we use today came from research in this field.”

Both Amuzie and Chikere pursued public health degrees to add knowledge in preventative health to combine with their medical experience in Nigeria.

“Public health offers a different perspective than medicine like the promotion of healthy lifestyles and the prevention of infectious diseases as opposed to the direct caring elements of medicine,” said Chikere, who started practicing medicine in 2017 and found LSUS while completing a postdoctoral opportunity in England. “Having both perspectives, it allows us to understand things in a more complete way.

“It gives me a better chance of helping.”

Curtis Evans has already helped hundreds of Shreveport youth as a high school football coach for 26 years.

The Huntington High assistant coach celebrated an important win against Captain Shreve on Thursday by walking the graduation stage Friday to accept his master of education in curriculum and instruction.

“I explored a lot of programs, but LSUS’s online structure allowed me to put the necessary time into coaching and my duties as a discipline administrator while completing my coursework,” Evans said. “It’s time for me to look into leadership positions after 26 years of coaching, and I think the leadership skills I’ve learned through coaching and as an administrator transition well into education leadership roles.”

“Trust the process” is a common coaching phrase, but it’s one that fellow Shreveport native Deirdra Blalock followed to complete her bachelor’s in psychology 10 years after starting.

But Blalock isn’t finished, she’s pursuing a master’s in counseling with plans of a doctorate in forensic psychology – all with the goal of rehabilitating prison inmates.

“Comparison is the thief of joy, and you have to enjoy your own journey,” Blalock said. “I got into psychology to better process and understand my own mental health challenges.

“I feel like some medical professionals talk over their patients instead of walking them through the process, and I wanted to enter this field to be more client-focused.”

Commencement speaker K.C. Kilpatrick Baird, who operates the successful statewide nonprofit Geaux 4 Kids, discussed her academic journey that had its stops and starts.

“I was able to put down roots at LSUS after a tumultuous start at another college,” said Kilpatrick Baird, who said she flunked out after her first year. “I started at LSUS through a nonprofit certification program, and that led to a bachelor’s degree, a master’s degree and eventually as an adjunct professor specializing in gift solicitation.

“My roots here at LSUS aren’t just academic, they are deeply personable because the professors helped me rebuild my self-esteem.”

Crystal Charles is an educator who selected the master’s in education and curriculum program to support a recent move to the special education field.

The Baltimore native, who completed a concentration in special education leadership, is now an individualized education plan chair that assists other teachers in developing plans for children with different abilities.

“As a veteran teacher of 10 years and three years in special education, I was looking for new knowledge that could help me move into a leadership position,” said Charles, who had a host of family in tow. “What was most important to me is that I needed the online program to be flexible and accelerated but would still give me opportunities to interact with professors.

“I met with professors weekly and built a relationship with my advisor in that I texted them questions when I needed help.”

Career advancement is a common theme for students seeking LSUS graduate degrees.

Sergio Vasquez out of Harlingen, Texas, is an operations analyst with Cigna who completed an MBA with a finance concentration.

“LSUS popped up on my LinkedIn when I was researching MBA programs, and I saw this as an opportunity to advance into a director role,” said Vasquez, who celebrated with his wife, three children and parents.

Amber Isbill wanted to turn a side hustle into a thriving business with knowledge gained from her MBA with a concentration in entrepreneurship and family enterprise.

The Reno, Nevada, resident built a successful career as a diesel parts specialist and mechanic but has a passion for makeup and cosmetics.

“I was in ballet for 18 years, and I learned to do stage makeup,” said Isbill, who is getting married to fiancé Jeremiah in two months. “I do makeup for weddings and other events, and I wanted to learn everything about running my own business.

“I am thinking about additional certifications in human resources or project management before getting a doctorate one day.”

Isbill has a proven track record of self-education as her mechanic career started after her engine caught fire when she was 18.

“I didn’t have the money to fix it, so I read everything I could find about cars and engines,” Isbill said. “Then I worked in shops and kept doing it, making more money with each new position I moved into.”