Gabrielle LeBlanc is the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s overall Outstanding Master’s Graduate. LeBlanc is among six award finalists who will be recognized Friday and Saturday during Fall 2024 Commencement ceremonies. Individual ceremonies for UL Lafayette’s eight academic colleges will be held at the Cajundome and the Cajundome Convention Center.
Graduate programs nominate one student as their Outstanding Master’s Graduate. Criteria include leadership, scholarship, service and research. The dean of the University’s Graduate School leads a panel that selects the top candidates. An Alumni Association committee interviews the finalists and chooses an overall Outstanding Master’s Graduate.
In addition to being the fall semester’s overall honoree, LeBlanc is the Outstanding Master’s Graduate Finalist for the School of Architecture & Design in the College of the Arts. She is pursuing a master’s degree in architecture.
Research conducted by LeBlanc includes investigating sustainable strategies for interactions between humans and wildlife near the coastal community of Grand Chenier, La. Her master’s project, “From Icon to Inclusivity,” examined repurposing the abandoned Astrodome in Houston into an inclusive public space.
She served as a builder, designer and public relations manager for the “House of Cards,” a small, one-room artist’s retreat designed and built in Arnaudville, La., by architecture students. LeBlanc plans to work as a licensed architect with a focus on community and collaboration.
Ayodeji Solomon Adegoke is the Outstanding Master’s Graduate Finalist for the Department of Psychology in the College of Liberal Arts. His master’s degree is in psychology.
Adegoke’s research interests and expertise include areas such as psychological science and developmental psychology. His master’s thesis examined the use of structural equation modeling to understand the role of adverse childhood experiences in identity development.
He also led a research study on parent/child relationships and risk-taking behavior among students in Nigeria, where he is originally from.
Adegoke’s plans include earning a Ph.D. in developmental psychology at Wayne State University in Detroit. He envisions a career at a research institute or policy center, where he will focus on child and family development issues.
Donna Hinrichs is the Outstanding Master’s Graduate Finalist for the Department of Biology in the Ray P. Authement College of Sciences. She is pursuing a master’s degree in biology.
Her thesis examines the genetic and fitness consequences of assisted gene flow for populations of plants that are threatened by changing climates. Hinrichs utilized her research expertise in fields that include molecular genetics, population genomics and ecology.
She was the only master’s student invited to speak at the highly competitive symposium “Predicting Evolutionary Responses in a Changing World.” It was held as part of the international Third Joint Congress of Evolutionary Biology in Montreal, which drew thousands of scientists.
Her plans include pursuing a career that enables her to integrate genetics and ecological factors to preserve threatened populations.
Colby LeJeune is the Outstanding Master’s Graduate Finalist for the Department of Modern Languages in the College of Liberal Arts. He is pursuing a master’s degree in French.
In addition to Louisiana French and Louisiana Creole, his research interests include toponymy and vernacular medicine. LeJeune is president of the Cajun Prairie Habitat Preservation Society in Eunice, La. As a graduate assistant, he teaches courses on French as a second language.
He hosts the French-language radio show “Bonjour, Louisiane.” The program about French music, history, language and culture in south Louisiana airs on KRVS, the University’s public radio affiliate. He is also a prolific writer who has published scholarship in academic journals, magazine articles and a short story.
He will remain at UL Lafayette to pursue a Ph.D. in Francophone Studies.
Gabriel Roy is the Outstanding Master’s Graduate Finalist for the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering in the College of Engineering. He is pursuing a master’s degree in electrical engineering.
His research interests include physical layer network implementation and adaptive deep learning-based beamforming optimization. He has presented research on beamforming for 6G communications and research related to multiplier hardware characterization.
While a graduate assistant, he has guided students through labs on complex concepts related to circuits, electronics and microprocessors. As a network engineering intern for InfoLink USA, he designed, configured and deployed distributed antenna systems and public Wi-Fi systems.
He plans to pursue a Ph.D. in systems engineering at the University. His eventual goal is a research and development career in the field of wireless communication systems.
Alice Marie Wilson is the Outstanding Master’s Graduate Finalist for the Department of English in the College of Liberal Arts. She is pursuing a master’s degree in English.
Wilson has presented her work on subjects such as the writer Ernest J. Gaines, plagiarism and authorship and generative AI in teaching contexts. She has been involved with a range of community literary and arts organizations and events. Those include the Festival of Words and the Acadiana Center for the Arts.
She has served as a co-host for the Thursday Night Reading Series, which is coordinated by the Department of English’s creative writing program; a student representative on the graduate faculty committee for the department; and as president of the English Graduate Student Association.
She plans to teach high school English or dual enrollment courses.
Learn more about Fall 2024 Commencement.
Photo caption: UL Lafayette’s Fall 2024 Outstanding Master’s Graduates are from left: Donna Hinrichs, Department of Biology; Gabriel Roy, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering; Overall Outstanding Master’s Graduate Gabrielle LeBlanc, School of Architecture & Design; Alice Marie Wilson, Department of English; and Colby LeJeune, Department of Modern Languages. Also pictured is Dr. Joseph Savoie, University president, far right. Not pictured is Ayodeji Solomon Adegoke, Department of Psychology. Photo credit: Paul Kieu / University of Louisiana at Lafayette