THIBODAUX — Nicholls State University will award approximately 650 degrees during its fall commencement Saturday, Dec. 15, in Stopher Gymnasium.
Ceremonies will begin at 10 a.m. for College of Arts and Sciences, College of Nursing and Allied Health and University College graduates and at 2 p.m. for College of Business Administration and College of Education graduates.
U.S. District Court Judge Jane Triche Milazzo, a 1977 Nicholls alumna, will deliver the keynote address at both ceremonies. After teaching elementary school for several years, Milazzo earned her law degree from Louisiana State University and went into private practice with her family’s business, the Law Offices of Risley Triche. In 2008, she became the first woman elected to the 23rd Judicial District Court. Milazzo has served as a U.S. District Court Judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana since October 2011 and is a member of the New Orleans Federal Bar Association’s board of directors.
During the morning ceremony, Nicholls will also award an honorary Doctor of Commerce to Michael Voisin, owner and CEO of Motivatit Seafoods. Through his nationally recognized seafood company in Houma, Voisin has been active in Louisiana seafood initiatives and has become an industry leader, working closely with academics, local and state legislators, governors, congressional members and White House officials. He has served as president of the Louisiana Oyster Dealers and Growers Association, chairman of the board of the National Fisheries Institute and president of the Houma-Terrebonne Chamber of Commerce. On the Nicholls campus, Voisin is a present or past member of the College of Business Advisory Board, the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute, the LUMCON Board of Trustees and the Institute for Seafood Studies. Throughout his career, he has worked tirelessly for Louisiana fishermen and women, especially for those within the region Nicholls serves.
