The Louisiana Educate Program at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette has been recognized by the Louisiana Association of College and University Student Personnel Administrators. So, too, has Delilah Warren, a senior from New Orleans majoring in performing arts.
The Louisiana Educate Program earned the Program or Practice of the Year Award during the association’s conference earlier this month in New Orleans; Warren earned the Student Leader of the Year Award.
The Louisiana Association of College and University Student Personnel Administrators provides support, resources and networking opportunities for higher education administrators who mentor and interact with students regularly. Members of the association, which was established in 1974, also include students.
UL Lafayette’s Louisiana Educate Program is designed to help academically accomplished, lower-income students remain in college. Participants are placed in work-study jobs on campus, and must attend study hall sessions and meet with academic mentors weekly. They are also required to live on campus, join student organizations and complete internships.
The program is funded by private gifts, institutional grants and federal and state financial aid. Students must take out the maximum in student loans for which they qualify. They must also qualify for federal Pell Grants and TOPS, the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students.
Dr. Rachel Sam, Louisiana Educate Program associate director, said the recognition signifies “that what we are doing is working, and also represents the potential for continued success and expansion.”
The Louisiana Educate Program is among only a handful of similar programs in the country. It began with 43 students in 2018 and currently has 130 participants, a number Sam expects to grow by 50 students next fall.
“Many of our students have indicated they wouldn’t be in school and succeeding were it not for the program, which focuses not only on academic success, but overall wellness and social well-being,” Sam said.
Warren, who is not member of the program, earned the Student Leader Award from the Louisiana Association of College and University Student Personnel Administrators based on her campus involvement and leadership abilities.
Among her accomplishments, Warren is College of the Arts president for the Student Government Association and for Infinity Dance Group. She is a student ambassador for the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and Recruitment. Warren is recording secretary for the Theta Xi Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. She was awarded the sorority’s Collegiate Member of the Year for the Southwest Region. Warren was inducted into the Greek Hall of Fame and the 1898 Society at UL Lafayette.
During the Louisiana Association of College and University Student Personnel Administrator’s conference, two UL Lafayette students and a faculty member were inducted to positions on its executive board.
Ruben Henderson III, the University’s associate director of undergraduate recruitment, is board president; Dr. Chris Giroir, an associate professor in the College of Education & Human Development and associate dean of Administration & Academic Programs, is faculty representative; and Terence Toomer, a senior from New Orleans majoring in general studies, is student representative.
Learn more about UL Lafayette’s Louisiana Educate Program.
Photo caption: UL Lafayette’s Delilah Warren (left) and Dr. Rachel Sam (right) accept awards from the University’s Ruben Henderson III, who is president of the Louisiana Association of College and University Student Personnel Administrators executive board. (Submitted photos)
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