Student employees play a significant role in the day-to-day operations of the university. Providing part-time job opportunities to students helps them finance their college education, gain educational benefits, and allows them to explore career options, discover strengths, develop relationships, make decisions, and learn responsibility. We hope to continue to grow quality workers and citizens for the region. We would now like to recognize all of the student employees nominated followed by an excerpt from each student’s nomination letter:

Aaron Naquin

Name of Nominator: Uttam Pokharel
Department: Chemistry and Physical Science

Aaron has made a significant contribution in chemistry research. We have been successful to publish a paper in a peer-reviewed journal using data he generated. He has presented his research in various local scientific meetings and received several awards in poster competitions. He is also going to present the results in a National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in April. As a result of his motivation, the involvement of chemistry students towards research and creative work has increased.

Adella Guidroz

Name of Nominator: Denise Collins and Louise Robichaux
Department: Tutorial and Academic Enhancement Center

Adella is an exceptional employee, one that is intelligent, organized, punctual, respectful and always willing to assist any student. During her employment, she has served as a mentor for other tutors and identifies ways she can help them excel at their job. She tutors twenty different courses, and her tutee evaluation results are consistently among the highest of all peer tutors in the Center, illustrating that our students also recognize Adella’s many attributes. She is a tremendous asset to the Tutoring Center and to Nicholls State University.

Alexis Gordon

Name of Nominator: Maija L Turner
Department: Student Employment

Alexis has shown leadership and creativity. During the pandemic Alexis went home to Arkansas and assisted us with numerous things via Facetime, Zoom, etc. She never complained and was always ready to chime in. When we are swamped with paperwork for over 500 student employees, Alexis encourages everyone and organizes systems to ensure the work is done timely and efficiently. She is a great asset to the team!

Ana Martinez

Name of Nominator: Brandy St. Pierre/Anna-Marie Benoit/April Adams/
Lakeisha Johnson/Jashinna Henderson
Department: Financial Aid

Ana is a born leader, and a joy to be around. She is full of personality and is always ready to tackle the workload. She is very aware of what is expected of a student worker, holds her peers accountable, and is always professional. She leads the other student workers with grace and is always ready to work but makes each task fun and exciting. Ana is extremely reliable, honest, and trustworthy; all attributes that are essential for a successful career. Ana demonstrates incredible initiative and ingenuity when assigned a task; she understands why she does it and truly cares about the results.

Brandon Thomas

Name of Nominator: Lance Arnold
Department: Mass Communication

Brandon has produced programming that promotes the University as well as community issues. He produced “One Lafourche” during covid which provided valuable information on the pandemic to our community. Brandon trains students under him to run the television station and directs several students during the productions he produces. The department has expanded its programming as well as campus and community outreach under Mr. Thomas.

Braxton Michael Bishop

Name of Nominator: Lady Lawton Pierson
Department: Ellender Memorial Library

Braxton demonstrates his commitment to the library and service to its patrons with unquestionable reliability and consistent high quality work performance. He can be trusted to provide exceptional courteous customer service at the circulation desk. His ability to handle laptop questions and provide satisfactory solutions for patrons is amazing. Braxton is an example of caring concerned support and strong work ethic for his fellow Nicholls students.

Cameron Aucoin

Name of Nominator: Wendy Junot/Kim Webre, RN
Department: University Health Services

Cameron ALWAYS has such a positive attitude and is willing to help in any way she can. She is our little ray of sunshine when she comes in. She volunteered to assist us with all vaccination clinics for Covid, which was a great responsibility and huge task. She wanted to be a part of helping her Nicholls community. She showed us great leadership and initiative with these Covid clinics. Everyone likes Cameron because she is so friendly and caring. Her spirit is infectious. She exemplifies the best role model of a student worker.

Carly Cretini

Name of Nominator: Brandy Burbante
Department: Library – Technical Services

One of Carly’s greatest attributes is her organizational skills. Also, she is never hesitant to complete a task outside of her job description. Whenever I need a task that goes outside of my department’s normal job duties for student employees, I always ask Carly. This includes manning the library’s COVID screening station and appearing in library outreach videos. When I approached her to help create a TikTok for the library, she was happy to help even though she doesn’t use that platform. It is so refreshing to have a student employee so pleasant to work with and know that she will be willing to try anything I give her to do.

Caroline Bernard

Name of Nominator: Jonathan Terrell
Department: Athletics

Caroline’s greatest attributes are her positivity and dedication to her job. She’s selfless: she shares her ideas, helps others at all times, and will go out of her way to make a project a success. She’s motivated: she takes the initiative to be proactive rather than reactive, learns new and essential functions to fill in at games as needed, and prioritizes her many responsibilities so that she can dedicate time to be her best in all endeavors. She is a shining representation of Colonel Pride!

Darius Scott

Name of Nominator: Dr. Michael Bartnik
Department: Music

Darius is always kind, always takes care of his business, and only needs to be asked once to complete a task. I have never heard him complain or say he is unable to complete a task. He is a leader both within the music department and throughout the campus. He is a visible member of CROWN. He sings in opera, gospel choir, concert choir, and is an award winning performer.

Devan Gallegos

Name of Nominator: Anna-Marie Benoit/ Brandy St. Pierre/Maija Turner/
April Adams/Lakeisha Johnson
Department: Financial Aid

Devan has impeccable work ethic. She is very intelligent and an extremely hard worker. Devan is extremely loyal and patient. She eagerly helps her peers and superiors. Her customer service skills when assisting students and parents stands out. Devan’s good spirit and willingness to help, teach, and learn brings positivity to our office and the community. We are grateful to have had her as a part of our financial aid family. She has played an essential part in the functioning of the office for several years and will be sorely missed when she graduates.

Ethan Naquin

Name of Nominator: Ramaraj Boopathy
Department: Biological Sciences

Ethan has extremely good research skills. He is a very intense and hard-working individual who is very concerned with understanding the fundamentals of the on-going research. He has a naturally inquisitive nature and is not afraid to pursue activities that are outside his academic background and interests. He has leadership skills and takes several underclassmen, as well as his peers, under his wing and guides them in research work. Ethan is a positive role model for many Nicholls students. I will miss him next year after his graduation!!

Hayley Roland

Name of Nominator: Randy LeBlanc
Department: English, Modern Languages, & Cultural Studies

Haley has several qualities that are essential, in my opinion, to not just being a good employee, but an outstanding one. She’s reliable, accountable, hardworking, easy to work with, and she communicates exceptionally well. That is a rare combination of traits to have for a young adult who’s also trying to navigate the demands of a college degree plan in Applied Sciences. Hayley has just been a breath of fresh air for a department that has undergone huge changes over the past year.

Jakayla Jonae Robinson

Name of Nominator: Lady Lawton Pierson
Department: Ellender Memorial Library

When Jakayla is present, any library patron will be greeted at the circulation desk with a warm smile backed by an enthusiastic inquiry about how she can assist in meeting the needs of that patron. She has an innate skill for teaching others so that they leave feeling more comfortable handling the issue independently. As her immediate supervisor, I have often heard our librarians comment on her positive attitude and willingness to complete tasks upon request. She often receives verbal expressions of appreciation from library patrons.

Jolie Hunter

Name of Nominator: Sandi Click
Department: Human Resources

Jolie has had a positive impact in Human Resources. Her greatest attribute, if I had to pick one, is how she pays attention to detail. She is a very hard worker and is always willing to learn a new task. She takes charge from the moment she clocks in and rarely has to ask what needs to be done. No job is too big or too small. She picks up on new assignments super quick and is a very effective and efficient worker.

Kate Chaisson

Name of Nominator: Andrew Simoncelli
Department: Distance Education

Kate is the primary person responsible for updating the Distance Education social media and website. Despite not majoring in the areas of design or media, Kate does an exceptional job of making our materials look professional and engaging. When the university went online in spring 2020, our office got extremely busy with training faculty and providing support equipment and materials so they could do their job effectively. Kate was a great assistance in this and helped us create two new websites with resources for faculty and students to use during the COVID-19 crisis and hyflex education.

Katie Falgoust

Name of Nominator: Anna-Marie Benoit/Brandy St. Pierre/April Adams/
Lakeisha Johnson
Department: Financial Aid

Katie is a great example of what we look for in a student worker. She is always willing to learn new things. She is very dependable and it is appreciated. Katie shows confidence when speaking and does not shy away from conversations. She has assisted parents and students with difficult circumstances with professionalism. When Katie is around, you are guaranteed to smile or laugh at some point throughout the day. She is a bright spot in our office.

Kirsten Angelette

Name of Nominator: Amanda Fremin
Department: Student Affairs

Kirsten is hardworking, dependable, dedicated and patient. She possesses great organizational and communication skills. She communicates with the students in a professional manner and works very well with everyone in the office. She also possesses a great rapport with the students and parents that come in contact with the Office of Student Affairs on a daily basis. She is very trustworthy and willing to learn new tasks. These things make her an instrumental part of our office. She has been an absolute pleasure to work with and a true asset.

Lexi Delatte

Name of Nominator: Emily Garrett
Department: Colonel Card

Lexi is always the first person to greet a customer. She is ready to help with anything anyone may need, whether it pertains to the Colonel Card office or not. Lexi’s leadership is a quality I haven’t seen in a person in a while. Her attentiveness is amazing. She has a great personality that makes people want to be around her. Lexi has taught most of us in the office to make every day a great one.

Mar’Yeala Jones

Name of Nominator: Katie Lasserre
Department: Little Colonels Academy

Mar’Yeala is positive and upbeat. She is always willing to dance and sing with the children. She displays such positive energy and eagerness to work. Mar’Yeala is a leader. She jumps right in and does what is needed without being asked. She takes direction extremely well, and has such a pleasant attitude. She is always smiling, and such a joy to have around. The children and staff love her.

Renee Rasid

Name of Nominator: Heidi G. Dupre
Department: Student Access Center

Renee is a stellar employee! She is always willing to help anyone in the office and treats our students with disabilities with the utmost respect and care. She regularly engages in conversations with students and makes them feel seen and heard. In addition, she greets all visitors with a smile and goes out of her way to help all in need.

Sadie Middlebrooks

Name of Nominator: Brandy St. Pierre/Anna-Marie Benoit/April Adams
Lakeisha Johnson/Jashinna Henderson
Department: Financial Aid

Sadie is very pleasant to work with and is a great example of professionalism when dealing with the office staff, students and parents. Throughout her experience in the Office of Financial Aid, Sadie has assisted, empowered, advised, and mentored thousands of incoming students and parents regarding the financial aid process. Within this time, I’ve had the privilege of watching her progress into an exceptional student employee and an ambassador for Nicholls State University.

Tammy Johnson

Name of Nominator: Angelique Nicholas
Department: Biological Sciences

Tammy has such a positive disposition and excellent communication skills. Always sporting her Nicholls gear, she is eager to help everyone she meets. Whether it’s a faculty member who needs help with copies, a student trying to find an advisor, or a prospective student and their parents here to meet with Dr. Fontenot, she is ready to make them feel welcomed and to share her knowledge of our department and university. Tammy is a joy to work with. We have received calls about how lovely and helpful she is when she is out delivering and picking up mail around campus.

William Cooper Boudreaux

Name of Nominator: Alumni Federation
Department: Alumni

Due to Cooper’s proactive nature with helping to prepare for events, we are always able to have successful events without stress and delays. He is always willing to lend a helping hand when needed. He is often willing to share anecdotes with staff members if he knows it will brighten their day.

Zackary Pitre

Name of Nominator: April Adams/Lakeisha Johnson
Department: Financial Aid

Zackary is a very friendly and kind person. He has an amazing heart that cares for all people. He is a born speaker. He has a natural ability to talk to others. He can be found thoroughly explaining the process to students and parents and offering advice when needed. His caring personality makes them feel welcome and that they are a priority.