The University of Louisiana at Lafayette will honor nine Outstanding Graduates during Spring commencement exercises May 20.
Spring 2006 Outstanding GraduatesThese nine students will be recognized during Graduate School commencement at 5:30 p.m. in the Cajundome. The UL Lafayette Alumni Association will name one of the students as its Spring 2006 Outstanding Graduate during the ceremony.
Deans of the university’s nine academic colleges nominate the honorees. They include Lauren Deranger of Lafayette, Applied Life Sciences; Wallace LaFont Jr. of Lafayette, Arts; Kelley Dupuis of Lafayette, B.I. Moody III College of Business Administration; Tara Yergeau of Lafayette, Education; Jasmine Galjour of Ponchatoula, Engineering; Hannah Landry of Abbeville, General Studies; Megan Hebert of Lafayette, Liberal Arts; Tanya Gallet of Carencro, Nursing and Allied Health Professions; and Lanminh Pham of Abbeville, Sciences.
Lauren Deranger, an Apparel Design and Merchandising major with a 3.89 GPA, is the daughter of Lee and Cindy Deranger of Opelousas. She has been on the Dean’s List every semester and on the National Dean’s List in 2005. She’s received the UL Lafayette Academic Scholarship, the Robert C. Byrd National Scholarship and the UL Lafayette France Scholarship.
Also, she is a member of the National Scholars Honor Society, Phi Kappa Phi Academic Honor Fraternity, Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Fraternity, Rho Lambda Greek Honor Fraternity, Order of Omega Greek Honor Fraternity and the Blue Key Honor Fraternity.
She is active on campus with the Kappa Delta sorority, Student Government Association, University Program Council, Ragin’ Peppers Football Recruitment Hostesses, Campus Crusades for Christ, Association of Future Alumni and the Honors Program among other activities. Her community service includes working with Prevent Child Abuse America/Prevent Child Abuse Acadiana, Girl Scouts, Children’s Hospital and the Lafayette Sheriff’s Department Adolescent Program.
Following graduation, Deranger plans to relocate to Dallas, Texas, with her long term goal being a Senior Merchandising Planner.
Wallace LaFont Jr., a Music Media major with a 4.0 GPA, is the son of Wallace and Suzette LaFont of Montegut. LaFont will graduate with an Honors Baccalaureate degree. He has been on the Dean’s List throughout his college career.
He is a member of the National Scholars Honor Society, Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society, Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society and the Phi Beta Delta National Honor Society.
LaFont is the School of Music’s Presser Scholar and is the recipient of the Pride of Acadiana Housing Scholarship, the UL Lafayette Centennial Scholarship, the UL Lafayette Centennial Valedictorian Scholarship, the UL Lafayette Band Scholarship, the Oran Robert Perry Burke Scholarship and the Maise and Grant Molett Scholarship.
LaFont has traveled across most of the U.S., Europe and Caribbean for work on his thesis. His goal is to develop another alternative to psychological therapy that combines indigenous ethnomedicinal practices with modern therapy.
Following graduation, he plans to remain at UL Lafayette to study psychology. He hopes to attend the California Institute of Integral Studies, where he would like to earn a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology with a Concentration in Expressive Arts Therapy.
Kelly Dupuis, an Accounting and Finance major with a 4.0 GPA, is the daughter of Glenn and Janet Dupuis of Opelousas. She has been named to the Dean’s List every semester and is a member of Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Fraternity, Phi Eta Sigma Honor Fraternity and Beta Alpha Psi Accounting Honor Fraternity.
She receives the TOPS scholarship, the UL Lafayette Academic Scholarship, the A.L. Barcelona Memorial Scholarship and the Vincent Cangelosi Scholarship.
Dupuis is active on campus with several organizations including Beta Alpha Psi, the UL Lafayette Accounting Society, STEP and UL Lafayette Ragin’ Peppers hostesses. Her community service includes helping at a local shelter following Hurricane Katrina and raising money for St. Jude Hospital.
Following graduation, she plans to take the GMAT and CPA exams. In July, she starts work with Ernst & Young in Houston. Future goals are Master’s and Doctorate degrees and teaching accounting on the college level.
Tara Yergeau, an Elementary Education major, with a 3.546 GPA, is the wife of Stephen Yergeau of Lafayette and daughter of Janet Roetker of Rayne and Ronald Lavern of Scott. She has been on the Dean’s List every semester and is recognized as an academic honor student.
Her honors include Member of the Month for Kappa Delta Pi, where she has served as vice president for the Iota Chapter. Yergeau is actively involved in Best Buddies, the college’s Diversity Committee and the Recruitment and Retention Committee. She volunteers with the Boys and Girls Club, Vermilionville, Special Olympics and Southwest Athletics Association.
Following graduation, she plans to begin her teaching career and in the future attend Graduate School.
Jasmine Galjour, a Civil Engineering major with a 3.95 GPA, is the daughter of Joseph and Angela Galjour of Ponchatoula. She has been on the Dean’s List every semester and is a member of Phi Kappa Phi, Alpha Lambda Delta, Phi Eta Sigma, Gamma Beta Phi and Chi Epsilon. She’s received the Phi Kappa Phi scholarship, the Louisiana DOTD Scholarship, the Lillian Moller Gilbreth Society of Women Engineers National scholarship, the Louisiana Water Environment Association scholarship, the Tau Beta Pi Record Scholar scholarship, the ASCE Samuel Fletcher Tapman National scholarship and the California Cajun Club Environmental Engineering Scholarship among a host of others.
Galjour academic activities include serving with the Louisiana Engineering Society, Tau Beta Pi Louisiana Delta Chapter, the American Society of Civil Engineers, the SGA, and the Society of Women Engineers. Also, she is a member of the Louisiana Engineering Society, the Water Environment Federation and the Louisiana Water Environment Federation.
In the community, she has conducted online research in cooperation with Louisiana ASCE to locate displaced New Orleans ASCE members and civil engineering students following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Other activities include serving as a contributing author, participating in student paper competitions and working for Lafayette Utilities Systems.
Following graduation, she plans to attend Graduate School to pursue a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering. She plans to become a licensed professional engineer in Louisiana.
Hannah Landry, a General Studies (Business Management) major with a 3.517 GPA, is the daughter of Dale and Michelle Landry of Abbeville. She has been on the Dean’s List for most of her college career and receives a TOPS scholarship and the UL Lafayette Excellence Award.
In 2005, she was nominated for the Homecoming Court by Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship, where she has been active throughout her college career. She’s been active in the organization’s International Friendship Ministry for four years and has been a small group leader for three years. She is also a Hall Director for Bonin Hall.
Her community service includes volunteering at the Cajundome following Hurricane Katrina and participating in numerous mission trips to Mexico, Haiti and Sudan. She has also helped establish Chi Alpha Fellowships at UT Austin, University of North Texas and Texas A&M.
Following graduation, Landry plans to return to Sudan for two years where she will work in an elementary English school. In addition, she will be teaching conversational English at an English center and will be enrolled in Arabic Language School.
Megan Hebert, a Public Relations major with a 4.0 GPA, is the daughter of Gene and Nancy Hebert of Selmer, TN. She has been on the Dean’s List every semester during her college career and is a member of the Honors Program, Sigma Gamma Mu Communication Honor Society, Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society and Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society.
She’s received the UL Lafayette Centennial Scholarship, the Oran Robert Perry Burke Scholarship, the UL Lafayette Honors Scholarship and SGA Scholarship. Hebert was named Outstanding Graduate in the Communication Department and was a finalist in the Daniel J. Edelman/PRSSA Award for Outstanding Public Relations Student.
She is involved in the PRSSA, having served in numerous capacities; Sigma Gamma Mu, Association of Future Alumni and Student Alumni Ambassador. Her community service includes raising funds for St. Jude Children’s Hospital as a team leader for Up Til Dawn, volunteering as a hurricane relief worker and a Developmentally Disabled Youth Counselor. At Asbury United Methodist Church, Hebert is a youth counselor, children’s choir director and choir member.
Following graduation, she plans to enter the public relations field with a long term goal of entering Graduate School.
Tanya Gallet, a Nursing major with a 3.13 GPA, is the daughter of Marcy and Scott Briscoe of Carencro. She was named to the Dean’s List and is a member of Gamma Beta Phi Honor Society and Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society.
She holds a TOPS Scholarship, the UL Lafayette Centennial Scholarship, the Lafayette Parish Superintendent Golf Scholarship, the Delores Bess Endowed Scholarship, the Lafayette Parish Medical Society Alliance Scholarship and the American Lung Association Scholarship.
Gallet is president of the UL Lafayette Student Nurses Association and vice president of Circle K International. She is also a member of the Louisiana Association of Student Nurses and National Student Nurses Association and is a class representative on the Nursing Dean’s Advisory Board. Her community service includes volunteering with Hospice and Lafayette Community Health Clinic. She is a member of St. Edmond’s Catholic Church and attended a nursing mission to Mexico during her college career.
Following graduation, Gallet plans to work at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago with plans to eventually pursue a Master’s Degree in Nursing Education. She hopes to get her Ph.D. and return to UL Lafayette as an instructor.
Lanminh Pham, a Biology major with a 4.0 GPA, is the daughter of Levy and Tan Pham of Abbeville. She is a member of the Honors Program and is a member of various academic societies including Phi Kappa Phi Honors Society, Phi Eta Sigma Honors Society and Alpha Lambda Delta Honors Society.
She has served as an executive board member for the Honors Program, executive secretary for the Pre-Professional Society and team captain for the Up Til Dawn fundraiser. In addition, she has served as youth choir guitarist at St. Theresa Catholic Church, worked 40 hours per week at Abbeville General Hospital while tutoring students at Abbeville High School and volunteering for Clean Up Girard Park. As an undergraduate, Pham has participated in the National Science Foundation Biomathematics Project and conducted research at the National Wetlands Research Center.
Following graduation, Pham will study rural family medicine at LSU Health Sciences Center School of Medicine in New Orleans.