Regardless of the job description, success in the hospitality industry requires adaptability, strong work ethic, and some creative problem-solving skills.
That may be why JoElle Griffin Judice was a natural fit. Her passion for hospitality led her to leave her home state and degree program at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette to pursue a culinary arts certificate.
More than a decade later, those qualities carried her back to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, where she finished her bachelor’s degree with support from the University of Louisiana System, UL Lafayette Alumni Association, and encouraging faculty.
"Going back, you think, ‘I don't even know where to start,’ but the support is there,” she says. "Returning as an online student, it was pleasantly surprising how much your professors want you to succeed, and how much they're willing to help you."
A Penchant for Service
During Lafayette’s farm-to-table boom, Judice balanced classwork with back-to-back shifts in local cafes and restaurants.
“I would work at the Rusted Rooster from 6 to 10 a.m., go to class from 11 to 3, and then work at Saint Street Inn from 5 to 10 p.m.,” says Judice. “During that time, I fell in love with hospitality and food.”
So, she cut her degree program short and left Louisiana to earn a certificate in culinary arts in Boston. Judice returned less than two years later to work in Copeland’s New Orleans test kitchen, helping launch new concepts with the Louisiana mainstay.
It was there that she also reconnected with Nick Judice, whose family’s restaurant, Judice Inn, has been a Lafayette hub for hamburgers since 1947.
The two married after JoElle returned to Lafayette during the COVID-19 pandemic and began working with hospitality company Social Entertainment.
That’s when she learned about CompeteLA and saw her opportunity to finish her bachelor’s degree.
Following the Signs
CompeteLA was introduced by the University of Louisiana System as a way for Louisiana adults with college credit to complete their degrees by providing additional support and reduced tuition.
"I had always talked about going back to school, but I couldn't quite wrap my head around how I would do that,” Judice said. “So that kind of piqued my interest, and I started the process. I got connected with my advisor, who was super, super helpful.”
With her advisor’s guidance, Judice realized UL Lafayette’s Bachelor of General Studies online degree program would be a great fit for her goals.
"General studies was the best use of the classes that I had taken and gave me the freedom to take classes that had to do with the career route I was taking,” she says. “The ability to do everything fully online was huge for me. I wouldn't have been able to finish if it weren't for that opportunity.”
Judice started slowly, taking one full-semester, 16-week course at a time. Eventually, she found her rhythm by pairing 16-week courses with consecutive 8-week sessions.
“I was never in more than two classes at a time, because I was still working full time and was pregnant with my son,” she says. “It was super doable.”
But once her son was born, Judice hit pause once more and shifted her focus to family.
When the UL Lafayette Alumni Association announced its Comeback Scholarship in 2024, she took it as a sign to keep going.
Managing Coursework, Time, Staff
The Comeback Scholarship is designed for UL Lafayette students who haven’t completed their bachelor’s degree and haven’t been enrolled for two semesters or more.
For Judice, the scholarship’s impact was more than monetary. Coupled with relevant coursework, it kept her motivated.
"To have that support from the University was super helpful,” she says. “Plus, I was taking courses that were in line with my career. That really helped because I could apply what I was doing during the day at work to what I was doing in my classes and vice versa.”
During her time with Social Entertainment, Judice progressed from general manager to director of operations, overseeing events, festivals, and upwards of 60 staff members.
“I would meet with management, and we would look at inventory and system and processes. I rewrote handbooks and procedures,” says Judice. “For events, I would do a lot of the planning work with vendors, be their contact and set us up for whatever we would need to be able to run a full-scale event.”
Courses like MGMT 350: Behavioral Processes in Organizations and MGMT: 365 Human Resources Management gave Judice insights she could apply directly to her growing role.
“It helped me interact with people in a way to support and lead them at the same time, working through that to get to a place of best practice,” Judice says. “We did not have an HR department, so it was nice to get that perspective.”
The skills Judice had gained in her professional life also helped her thrive as an online student.
"Being a professional forced me to stay organized,” she says. “I communicated with my professors constantly; I emailed them questions all the time. I always used the online forums. I over communicated so that I knew I wasn't missing anything.”
She’s continued to apply those organizational skills in her role as communications and engagement manager for Downtown Lafayette Inc., where she oversees membership, stakeholder engagement, marketing, and events.
“It's very cool because I get to work closely with UL Lafayette,” she says. “We just had the Ragin' Cajun Downtown Alive, which I helped to plan and execute. So, I got to go meet with the whole team from UL Lafayette to get involved.”
Exceeding Expectations
As a newly minted Ragin’ Grad, Judice’s brick on the Walk of Honor is in good company.
“My entire family are UL Lafayette alumni — my mom, my dad. That's where they met. So, I had a bunch of people who were really excited for me.”
Most of all, Judice says she was excited for herself and what she was able to accomplish. She expects that may be a shared experience for others ready to complete their degree.
“I had a 4.0 the entire time I came back. That's such a world of difference from the student I was when I first started school. It was my time, it was my money, and so I just constantly wanted to impress myself through the process,” she says.
“It may seem tough, but you really are capable of more than you think you are, and you'll continue to surprise yourself and be more and more proud of yourself as you go through the process.”
If you previously attended UL Lafayette, and meet the admission requirements for reentry students, you may qualify for the Comeback Scholarship. Request information today to see how your credits can count toward your degree.