THIBODAUX, La. — Nicholls State University and the Nicholls Office of Veterans Services invite you to join us in honoring the sacrifice and impact of our veterans.
Kicking off the events recognizing our veterans will be the Lifting for a Cause weightlifting fundraiser. From 7 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Nov. 9 at the Nicholls Soccer Pavilion, student lifters will perform exercises such as bench press, squat and deadlift. Proceeds from the event will go toward establishing the Bobby Barrios Memorial Scholarship. A Houma native, Barrios was a Green Beret member of the U.S. Army Special Forces and served multiple combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He enrolled at Nicholls State University in 2018 before passing away in May 2019. Each lifter has sought sponsors for the event, and Veterans Services is also accepting donations. To make a donation, contact gilberto.burbante@nicholls.edu.
On Veterans Day, Nicholls Veteran Services will hold a public ceremony at 11 a.m. in the Cotillion Ballroom featuring guest speaker, Sgt. Amy Delatte. Thibodaux JROTC will present the colors and the Nicholls chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia will sing the national anthem. Following the ceremony, veterans will be served a free lunch in Galliano Cafeteria.
Delatte joined the U.S. Marine Corps in 2006 as a field radio operator and served two tours in the middle east. While stationed in Cherry Point, North Carolina, she deployed to Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. After returning, she was stationed at Camp Pendleton in California before being deployed to Afghanistan for Operation Enduring Freedom. Following an honorable discharge in 2013, Delatte enrolled at Nicholls, where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Safety Technology in 2016. She now works as the senior admissions counselor in the Office of Admissions, where she has worked for the last three years.
That night at 7 p.m., the public is encouraged to take a journey through history with “WAR BONDS: The Songs and Letters of World War II.” The second show in this season of the Oh Lá Lá Theater Series, this multimedia living history cabaret includes personal letters from the Front and headline news of the period. The production is a warm reminiscence and a harrowing reminder of a time that is similar to the present. Serena Ebhardt and David zum Brunnen of EbzB Productions created and perform the cabaret. Tickets are still available at prices beginning $25. To purchase tickets, call Monique Crochet at 448-4110.
On Wednesday, AAUW-Nicholls will host a panel of women veterans to discuss their experience in the military and how that has impacted their lives. The panel will be at 3:30 p.m. in the Multipurpose Room on the third floor of Ellender Memorial Library. Panelists are Delatte, Dr. Laura Coogan, a veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard and associate professor of economics, and Rachel Jackson, a veteran of the U.S. Navy and a Nicholls student.
Nicholls has earned the “Governor’s Military and Veteran Friendly Campus” designation and has consistently been named a “Military Friendly School” by G.I. Jobs magazine.
For more information about the events or about Nicholls Veteran Services, contact Gilberto Burbante, coordinator of Veterans Services, at 448-4208 or gilberto.burbante@nicholls.edu.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Nov. 5, 2018
MEDIA CONTACT: Jacob Batte, Media Relations and Publications Coordinator, 985.448.4141 or jacob.batte@nicholls.edu
