Here’s a spotlight on some of our thriving alumni:
Lawrence “Sonny” Albarado (1973)
Sonny Albarado is the national president of the Society for Professional Journalists, which promotes excellence in journalism and defends First Amendment freedoms. It has 8,500 members in almost 300 chapters across the nation. He has been projects editor of The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette since 2007.
Tresha Mabile (1989)
“Nicholls educates in a community atmosphere that nurtures and builds self-esteem, but also turns out competitive, action-oriented graduates. In my experience, Nicholls was the bridge between small-town life and many worldwide opportunities that await any graduate.”
Tresha Mabile is a journalist and independent documentary filmmaker who specializes in reporting from conflict zones. Her work has aired on National Geographic, Discovery, CNN, A&E and the History Channel. In the past decade she has traveled to the front lines of Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan to produce five documentaries on Iraq and Afghanistan.
Ken Wells (1971)
“I’m firmly convinced that, were it not for Nicholls, I would never have been able to afford to attend college and thus, ultimately, wouldn’t have been able to secure the college credentials that allowed me to move ahead in my career.”
Ken Wells, runner-up for the Pulitzer Prize in reporting in 1982, has written five novels and three books of non-fiction. He was with The Wall Street Journal for 25 years, first as a reporter and feature writer and then for many years as a Page One editor. He is currently with an investigative unit of Bloomberg News and often writes for Bloomberg Businessweek.
OTHER OUTSTANDING ALUMNI
- Jill Allemand, vice president for integrated marketing for Warner Bros. Worldwide Television in Burbank, Calif.
- Cooper C. Collins, president and CEO of Pernix Therapeutics Holdings Inc., a major health and drug manufacturer in Texas
- Margaret Dubuisson, retired WVUE-TV news anchor; first reporter on the scene in 1982 when a Pan-Am jet crashed in Kenner, killing 153
- Martin Folse, owner-manager of HTV; also a Terrebonne Parish entrepreneur
- Dr. Jessica Gisclair, chair of the School of Communications (38 faculty members) at Elon University in North Carolina
- John Gravois, Houston Post reporter who covered the Bush I and Clinton White Houses ; today a top editor at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram
- Cory Melancon Haik, Washington Post executive producer of digital news; staff member of Seattle Times when it won Pulitzer Prize in 2010 and of the Times-Picayune when it won two Pulitzers in 2006
- Joey Kennedy, 1991 Pulitzer Prize winner for editorial writing, Birmingham News. Kennedy soon became back-page columnist for B-Metro magazine, and investors helped him and his wife start a website, “Animal Advocates of Alabama,” on May 1.
- Ben Landry, director of public relations for Omega Protein of Houston; in one regard the largest corporation of its kind in the world
- Loretta Larsen, executive director of the Louisiana Bar Association
- Tony Trowbridge, copy editor for the Chicago Tribune
- Rebecca Ann Ward, international broadcaster with the Voice of America in Washington, D.C.
- Roy Willis, president of the Propane Education and Research Council in Washington, D.C., a quasi-governmental agency established by the U.S. Congress