SHREVEPORT – The 27 new members of the LSUS chapter Alpha Lambda Delta have undoubtedly experienced a strong start to their college careers as the organization’s mission is to honor excellence among first-year students.
But keynote speaker Angie Pellerin, the assistant vice chancellor for student success initiatives at LSUS, had a much different start to her college career.
Pellerin said she wanted the freshmen inductees to remain flexible and adaptable whenever life presents them with obstacles.
“I started off as an art major, and I dropped English, Philosophy and Art History classes because it was too much reading,” Pellerin said. “I kept a Self Defense class, which I made a D in because I skipped half the time, and a drawing class, in which I made a C.
“I was dating someone who went into the Army, and I moved to Germany for three years at age 19.”
Pellerin started a family and a career, taking a long and winding educational journey in which she obtained an associate’s degree seven years after starting college and a bachelor’s degree 11 years into the process.
Balancing a career, a family and school might have slowed Pellerin’s progress, but she progressed at the pace at which life would allow and now has two bachelor’s and two master’s degrees.
Pellerin preaches adaptability as a campus leader in ensuring student success, especially working with LSUS’s large first-generation student population in which they are trying to be the first in their family to earn a four-year degree.
“I learned to see failure as a stepping stone to success and learned to embrace setbacks as growth opportunities,” Pellerin said. “Be a life-long learner, and that includes taking lessons from all kinds of life experiences.
“Life may throw obligations at you, but don’t let that deter you from your goals. It may slow you down, and you may have to find different ways to achieve your goals, but you have to be adaptable.”
Members of the third Alpha Lambda Delta induction class at LSUS include Amera Nedal Ali, Jonathan Barron, A. Johanna Becks, Audra Brown, Isabella Cheng, Danielle Rose Collins, Lindsay Renee Cragar, Michael Forbes, April George, Ahmed Ghazawneh, Ahlona Green, Rory Maria Hampton, Huzaifa Islam, Mohammed Jamhour, Zackary Johnson, Tahja Lathan, Stephen Lefort, Sasha Martins, Karlie Maxey, Madison Melancon, Alejandro Munoz, Hamzah Musa, Lana Musa, Jaela Plater, Eliana Swaim, Carly Wheelhouse, and Katherine Yount.
Officers inducting members Friday include Majed Shawakha (president), Robert Mclean (vice president), Olivia Osbon (treasurer), Ashlyn Castleberry (secretary), Mikal Barnes (social media), Taima Awad (junior advisor), and Zajana Smith (senior advisor).
