The University of Louisiana at Lafayette is celebrating its Spring 2025 graduates during Commencement ceremonies Friday and Saturday. A total of 1,569 degrees will be conferred. Individual Commencement ceremonies for UL Lafayette’s eight academic colleges are being held at the Cajundome and Convention Center.
The University will confer 1,233 bachelor’s degrees. It will also award 285 master’s degrees, 34 doctoral degrees, and 17 undergraduate and graduate certificates. Graduates are from 47 Louisiana parishes; 35 states and U.S. territories; and 32 countries.
Dr. Joseph Savoie, UL Lafayette president, addressed graduates during the College of the Arts ceremony on Friday at the Cajundome Convention Center. “Congratulations to all of you and thank you for choosing the University of Louisiana at Lafayette as the place where you pursued – and realized – your dreams,” he said.
Savoie added that the ceremony offered an opportunity to celebrate graduates’ personal achievements at a time when the college is celebrating a significant milestone. “This year is the 30th anniversary of the College of the Arts. For three decades, this college has been the soul of our University and a vibrant thread in the cultural fabric of Acadiana and beyond,” he explained.
“The College of the Arts reminds us that the work of artists, designers, musicians, performers and architects is not one of life’s luxuries – it is essential. Art binds. Culture connects. The beauty you create and the spaces you design bring people together. Your work tells stories that need to be told and reflects truths that might otherwise go unseen,” Savoie told graduates.
He also awarded an honorary doctorate of the arts to alum Richard “Dickie” Landry, an internationally renowned saxophonist, composer, photographer, producer and painter. Landry earned a bachelor’s degree in music education from the University in 1962.
Taylar Johnson is UL Lafayette’s Outstanding Master’s Graduate. She earned a master’s degree in psychology from the College of Liberal Arts. Caemon Scott is the University’s Outstanding Graduate. He earned a bachelor’s degree in strategic communication from the College of Liberal Arts.
Twenty-two undergraduates earned summa cum laude honors for achieving perfect 4.0 GPAs. Members of the exemplary group, listed by college, are:
College of the Arts
Anna Catherine Immel, interior design
Sara Elizabeth Louviere, architectural studies
Emma Gail Rachal, visual arts
B.I. Moody III College of Business Administration
Elizabeth Claire Randall, accounting
Evan Weber, insurance and risk management
College of Engineering
Michael Clovis Hawkins, electrical engineering
College of Liberal Arts
Ella Rose Gallet, human development and family science
Sydney Katherine Guidry, psychology
Rafael Eugenio Hernandez, political science
Emily Michelle Lindner, history
Liliana Therese Pagan, English
Emily Elizabeth Nichols, speech pathology and audiology
Cade Gregory Roy, political science
Annaclaire Catherine Zerangue, psychology
Ray P. Authement College of Sciences
Paul Alexander Curry, biology
Thanh Quoc Du, computer science
Seth Jacob Duet, chemistry
Moiz Mohammad Fazal-ur-Rehman, biology
Kinley Paige Glass, informatics
Jacob Glenn Marcinkus, biology
Caleigh Anne-marie Meche, computer science
Jennifer Camargo Medina, computer science
View a list of Spring 2025 graduates. Learn more about Spring 2025 Commencement.
Photo caption: UL Lafayette will award 1,569 degrees during individual Commencement ceremonies for its eight academic colleges on Friday and Saturday. Ceremonies will be held at the Cajundome and the Cajundome Convention Center. Photo credit: Paul Kieu / University of Louisiana at Lafayette