Chief communications officer Marcelle Fontenot joined La Louisiane podcast for her first interview since making the move from the news anchor desk to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
Fontenot shared what she has enjoyed most about being part of the campus community, her evolving relationship with her audience and what it’s like to enter higher education after 20 years in broadcast journalism.
You can listen to the conversation with Fontenot and La Louisiane managing editor Marie Elizabeth Oliver on KRVS, Spotify or Apple Podcasts. You can also watch on UL Lafayette’s YouTube channel or read an edited transcript below.
Marie Elizabeth Oliver
Today we are here with a very special guest who is no stranger to the Acadiana community. Veteran broadcaster, Marcelle Fontenot is the new chief communications officer here at UL Lafayette. So welcome, Marcelle!
Marcelle Fontenot
Thank you very much. It's been a minute since I've been this close to a microphone. So, it feels it feels good. It feels good to have one in front of me.
Marie Elizabeth Oliver
We're so happy to have you here. And I know it hasn't been very long, but what's been your favorite part about being on campus so far? I know you had fun at Lagniappe Day last week.
Marcelle Fontenot
So apparently that became a thing very quickly that I will explain. I was walking on campus near the Union for Lagniappe Day, and Cupid's "Flex" was playing, and I turned around and there were some students dancing, and the moment was there, and so that I joined right in. And next thing I know, there were videos of me, and I went ahead and shared. That's a good way to spend a Friday, you know, with students just having a good time. I think it's very humbling too, to step back into a space with students there and remembering my college days but also seeing this newness and this freshness and this excitement that students on this campus have. They're why we're here, you know, they are why we are here, day in and day out, doing what we're doing. And it was a good time Lagniappe Day to say the very least.
Marie Elizabeth Oliver
Yeah, it's a special time on this campus too, especially because, you know, it's right before finals week and just everybody can let loose.
Marcelle Fontenot
And the weather was beautiful. You know, a Friday in South Louisiana with boiled crawfish and sunshine. You can't ask for much better.
Marie Elizabeth Oliver
Well, good. Well, when you accepted this job, it made headlines, but before those headlines, you shared about it with your audience on social media. Can you just talk a little bit about what that audience means to you and how that relationship has evolved over the years?
Marcelle Fontenot
So, I decided that morning, after meeting with our team, that I needed to let the audience know myself. I knew that the University was going to make a release. I knew that News 15 was going to release, but for over 20 years, I was inside people's homes at whatever time of the evening they chose to watch. And I was there on good days, normal days, and I was also there in times of tragedy. And it's something to be said, I think one of the greatest gifts people can give you is when they trust you, and this community has trusted me for 22 years. I've grown with them. They've grown with me. So, I thought the least I could do was talk directly to the people who have supported me for so long and have listened to my voice and watched me on TV and seen me out, day in and day out, and just talking about life and being a part of this community. So, I decided, very instinctively in the moment, to prop my phone up as I got in my car. I wanted to meet with our team first before I made it public. And I said, You know what, let me just have this conversation with this community, and let them know what I'm doing. And it got way more attention than I expected, in a very good way, in a in a very, very good way. You know, my 2026, vision board didn't exactly have this move on it, and I just felt like I needed to take a moment to say, this is what I'm doing. This is a transition that's happening. I felt like I needed to say thank you, and I still, you know, it's been almost a month now since I've left TV, and the thank yous have not stopped. I'm still seeing people, even on campus. I was called the news lady just a few minutes ago.
Marie Elizabeth Oliver
It's true, I can verify that.
Marcelle Fontenot
You were with me, and it's still very endearing, and I'm still so grateful and so appreciative. And you know, I probably will be the news lady forever, and I'm okay with that.
Marie Elizabeth Oliver
And I know people appreciate that authenticity, especially now, just to have a face that they recognize. And you're still, as we said, kind of telling the news just in a different way.
Marcelle Fontenot
It's in a different way. You know, one of my life's philosophies is that it's your story to tell, and I think that people, day in and day out, just want a few things. They want to be seen, heard, respected and loved, and regardless of what the subject matter is. And so that announcement for me was one of those moments where I listened to myself and said, let me do this on my terms, because I did. I wanted to just have an authentic moment with those who had been with me for so long.
Marie Elizabeth Oliver
And in that announcement, you called this move a jump, and you said, it's something you know you didn't always do when you were younger. Why did you feel like now was the time? What gave you that courage?
Marcelle Fontenot
So, I'll tell you, I typically was a by the book kind of girl, like you do things in this order, and you do things this way and that's what life was about. And I don't know why now, but what it really came down to when the opportunity presented itself. Initially, I was like, no way. And then one conversation turned into two, and these thoughts were in my head, and what I did not want was to one day wake up with regret and say I should have, and then the opportunity not be there anymore. I'm at a stage in my life where it's like, if I'm going to do it, let's do it now. I think with aging comes just a different boldness, and this is out of my realm and on many fronts, but I believed in myself enough to say, girl, just do it. What's the worst that can happen? You know, if it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out. But that's not how I'm walking into it. I'm walking in knowing that I have a lot to learn. But in just this short window of time, like being with this team has been, it's been so comfortable and already so many little wins. And yes, there's a learning curve there, but I'll get through it.
Marie Elizabeth Oliver
Well, we're so glad that you did. What's been — just talking about the learning curve — what's been the biggest adjustment so far?
Marcelle Fontenot
The biggest adjustment is actually not so much learning curve it is the schedule. I am accustomed to working. My technical workday, would start at 2 or 3 o'clock in the afternoon, and now having to be present between 7:30 and 8 o'clock is different. I've always been up that time of day, you know, getting my sons to school and doing life things, grocery shopping. I'm not accustomed to going to a grocery store on a Saturday.
Marie Elizabeth Oliver
You have to go with every everybody else.
Marcelle Fontenot
It's normally. I went into Costco a couple weeks ago, and a gentleman who I'm familiar with, who works there, he's like, What are you doing here on a weekend? And I was like, sir, this new schedule. This is now when I can come. So that's been the biggest adjustment, just the change in time of functioning for me. There have been some nights, you know, I would go on dinner break and then have to be back at the station for the 9 o'clock, and now I don't have to go anywhere in the evening like I'm still made up at, you know, 7:30 - 8 o'clock, because that's what I'm used to, keeping makeup on until after the 10 o'clock news. Other adjustments. There are just some things, you know, that I'm learning as we go. You know, this university is a very big place with lots of moving parts, and there's a lot to learn. But I am grateful, I will say, for everyone who has stepped in and said, "Look, I've been here two years, five years, 10 years, 20 years. If there's anything I can help you with, I hope you understand. Please feel free to ask." And so there have been moments and meetings where I lean in and I'm like, "what?" And there's been an explanation to follow, just to fill me in on some of the history, some of the past, things that have happened, and that has been a true blessing, because walking in, unknowing about a lot of things, it is definitely necessary.
Marie Elizabeth Oliver
There is a great welcoming community here.
Marcelle Fontenot
It really is so warm. It's what we know where we live. And this has just been another example of people here in South Louisiana being who we are, and the warmth is truly felt.
Marie Elizabeth Oliver
So you've served this community for decades as an award-winning journalist, and I know you do volunteer work too. How do you see this job as a continuation of serving the community? I know that's something that is so important to you.
Marcelle Fontenot
At UL is a heartbeat in this community in its own right, and not just Lafayette, but across Acadiana, South Louisiana, and even this region, this institution is in a very pivotal place. This is where young minds are continuing to be formed, and these are the people who are stepping out in the world to do work, and we are a big part of what community means in this area, and I think we have a very key position in being active and being involved in what happens in our community, in the shaping of it and the caring for it as well, from all fronts, from students to faculty, staff, administration, all of us play a role, we as individuals, but also we as a collective. Of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. I think we have to be here and to be a part of this community. It's important for us to understand what's happening in it. We don't live in this little capsule where we get to just do our thing. The outreach and the impact we have is important to those areas. I mentioned, this city, this parish, this region, and I think that we have opportunity. You know, there is great opportunity here to form some partnerships, continue, some ones that already exist, find new ones. And this is from a student perspective. This is kind of a grounding space where students are learning a lot about themselves and the places, they live and finding out what it is that's important to them, things they are passionate about, things that they care about. And this is a good space to get your feet wet in doing those things. So as they continue to soar, because we know they all will that they can continue to carry that with them as well.
Marie Elizabeth Oliver
Wonderful. And I know so many people, myself included, we're just really excited — you mentioned, you know, you got so much good feedback, and we're just excited that you're bringing your gifts as a storyteller and as a reporter here to the University. How do you feel like that shapes sort of what you bring to the job, and what stories are you excited to tell first?
Marcelle Fontenot
Well, I will tell you that oftentimes people think storytelling is much harder than it is. We all carry stories with us. We all are a part of stories. There are stories surrounding us, and they really create themselves. They don't often need to be created. They just need to be told. And sometimes people get a little nervous and thinking, you know, oh, a story. And it's really more so about what you're living and what you're doing and what you're experiencing that are the heartbeats of the story. And I think there's so many stories to tell here, unlimited amount of stories, just conversations with a student going to class. Is a story. We just walked past some posters in Moody, those are stories, the people who created them, the reasons they created them, the subject, what's going to happen next. Stories continue as they go along. You start with one little thing, and there's so many stories to develop just out of that one person or that one subject. I think that we have a duty to tell all of the stories. Not all of them are going to be good ones, but not all of them are bad either. And I think that if you don't highlight what you have going on, then people won't know. And we live in an age where information is everywhere, and if we're not at the forefront of making sure people understand what we do here and who's here and what these people are working toward, then how will the world know? And we literally have an opportunity to talk to the world this day and age through all of the outlets. And I believe that in my role and with this team, that's our job. That is what we are here to do, to shine a light on all of the things that are happening across this university.
Marie Elizabeth Oliver
And do you see that sort of, you know, people sort of expect certain things from a university, but that times are changing, the way people communicate is changing. Do you see that as kind of part of something that will change?
Marcelle Fontenot
It's evolution. All things evolve. You know, there's once was a time that and from the news perspective, you waited and you scheduled an appointment to watch the news at five, six or 10 o'clock. Well, that is no more information comes to you all times a day across all platforms. Same thing for what we do. If people are there, especially students who are looking to come to college, their parents, stakeholders, community members, people, potential partners, partners we're already established with. We need to be there too, and we need to make sure that they have access and at a bit of ease in seeing what's happening here from different vantage points. I think some students are some of the greatest storytellers.
Marie Elizabeth Oliver
They really, I mean, they really are. It gets better every semester.
Marcelle Fontenot
They really are, like, there's something to be said for this, and this is not a crack at anybody who's older than a college student, but there's something to be said for the vibrancy that they carry, and there's this innocence too. You know, there's this world out there that they are just setting out to discover, and to see it from that perspective is refreshing. And I think that they hold this nugget that some of them don't even know that they have in telling the story of this school.
Marie Elizabeth Oliver
Wonderful. Well, in closing, just something personal. I heard that you love the Sound of Music.
Marcelle Fontenot
Yes.
Marie Elizabeth Oliver
I do, too.
Marcelle Fontenot
OK, good.
Marie Elizabeth Oliver
It's very special to me. So, I just thought in closing, if you could share maybe your favorite song from that movie. Maybe tell us why.
Marcelle Fontenot
How do I choose one? I'll tell you a little story that my longtime friend and former co-anchor, Jim Hummel, we both adore The Sound of Music, and there will be moments at the end of some of our newscasts that we would break out in song and commercial break "So Long Farewell," and we each had our little part.
Marie Elizabeth Oliver
I wish I could be a fly on the wall for that.
Marcelle Fontenot
Listen, it is very entertaining. I must say that movie, I can't explain why. It's been a part of my life for what seems like forever, and I've tried to make my sons watch.
Marie Elizabeth Oliver
I've tried the same thing.
Marcelle Fontenot
And my kids are like, "Mom, really?" And I'm like, "Yes, like, it's so great." So yeah, The Sound of Music, my favorite movie. I sing along and it all out of tune and everything else, but it's just one of those heartwarming things that that's been around in my life for a long time.
Marie Elizabeth Oliver
I love it. Well, we might have to bring a sing along to this new team.
Marcelle Fontenot
I'm down.
Marie Elizabeth Oliver
We can't hold up to Jim though.
Marcelle Fontenot
Y'all have seen me dance. We'll invite Jim. He can come as well.
Marie Elizabeth Oliver
Well, wonderful. Before we close, anything else you'd like to share?
Marcelle Fontenot
I just want to again, give a thank you, a really quick thank you for everybody who's asked in the past month, how are things going, and how's the new job, and everybody here who has said, "Hey, Marcelle, welcome. If you need anything, let me know." It can be tough being the rookie, you know, on a team, but I definitely feel a part of the team and as part of this community as I have ever been before. So a huge thank you to to this entire area.
Marie Elizabeth Oliver
Well, thank you for saying yes to this interview and not even your first month on the job. I appreciate you jumping in.
Marcelle Fontenot
Listen, thank you for bringing me back. It's good to be in front of a microphone again.
Check back next month for more discussions with members of our University community. KRVS is listener supported public radio for Acadiana, a service of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
Photo caption: Veteran broadcaster Marcelle Fontenot joined UL Lafayette as chief communications officer on April 1.
Photo credit: Paul Kieu / University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Audio production: Clint Domingue / KRVS
Video production: Kade Parker / University of Louisiana at Lafayette