Southeastern recently received its second U.S. patent in its 97-year history.

The patent was awarded to Southeastern in conjunction with Fort Hays State University, located in Hays, Kan., for use of pnictogenium compounds in carbon-carbon bond formation. A pnictogen is any of the chemical elements nitrogen, phosphorus, arsenic, antimony, and bismuth, belonging to group 5A of the periodic table.

The patent is the collaborative work of Benjamin F. Wicker, formerly of Southeastern, and Bruce A. Atwater, formerly of Fort Hays State University. Also working on the project was Skyler A. Markham, then an undergraduate student with Atwater and now a graduate student at Colorado State University.

The project began as an outgrowth of research into the applications of phosphonium compounds—compounds that incorporate a phosphorous atom that holds a formal positive charge. The initial attempt was to utilize the phosphonium compounds to create “coordination complexes” that incorporate a metal center. Similar coordination complexes are used as catalysts for polymer manufacturing, medical treatments and imaging, and solar cell developments.

This research led to the development of phosphonium compounds known as “bipyridines.”

“You can imagine these compounds as two rings connected by a line, much like frames of eyeglasses, but without the part that goes over the ear. This was an exciting discovery for several reasons,” Wicker said. “First, the reaction involved carbon-carbon bond formation without the metal being directly involved, which is interesting to the academic sector. Second, bipyridines are used in the formation of many industrially relevant coordination complexes, which is interesting to the industrial sector. Third, the reaction takes place at low temperatures, for example, room temperature and lower, which is of great interest to the industrial sector. And finally, the bipyridines can be created asymmetrically, which is of very great interest to academic and industrial sectors.”

The last point is where the invention has the greatest potential, and since this reaction involved organic transformations, Atwater was enlisted for help in developing the technology further.

“As mentioned before, bipyridines are used throughout the chemical industry to create coordination complexes. However, one of their specialties is in generating complexes that are good at absorbing light and transmitting the energy via electron transfer, critical for solar cell applications for renewable energy sources,” Wicker explained. “Different bipyridines allow chemists to ‘tune’ complexes to absorb different wavelengths of light, making them more efficient and cost-effective for solar cells.”

Attempting to modify bipyridines asymmetrically—that is only changing one ring—to effect finer tuning or broader range of wavelengths is currently an expensive and challenging process.

“The lack of readily accessible asymmetric bipyridines means that there are no ‘bifocals’ for bipyridine complexes that are cost-effective for use on an industrial scale. With our invention, we install the pyridine rings onto the phosphonium individually, so the generation of asymmetric bipyridines are essentially as easy as making symmetric ones,” he said. “Combine this with the low temperature of the transformation, and this invention could become a source of asymmetric bipyridines for a whole host of industrial and medical applications.”

BY TONYA LOWENTRITT

Southeastern’s Professional Sales Program held its Internal Role-Play Competition this semester on Friday, Feb. 3. Representatives from Northwestern Mutual, United Rentals, Cintas, Fastenal, Sherwin-Williams, Louisiana CAT, Republic Finance, Farm Bureau, Black Diamond, and other companies volunteered their time to assist in judging and playing the buyer roles for the competition. 

The sales team, including Colette Boudreaux, Zachary Delaunais, Isabella Distefano, Reed Godbery, Emily Stark, and Emily Wilson, moved on to compete at the regional competition, the Bayou Sales Challenge, Feb. 16 and 17 at Nicholls State University. Godbery, Stark, and Wilson made it to the semi-finals, and Stark was the competition’s winner. Southeastern placed 2nd overall to Florida State. 

The Professional Sales Program is run by marketing faculty member Dr. April Kemp and Dr. Tim Butler. For more information about the Sales Program, go to southeastern.edu/sales or email prosales@southeastern.edu. 

Above: Pictured front row, from left, are Isabella Distefano, Emily Stark, Emily Wilson, Colette Boudreaux, and April Kemp. On the back row, from left, are Gabe Pevey, Tim Butler, Reed Godbery, and Zachary Delaunais.
 

The Southeastern cheerleading squad won its second national championship, taking home the gold in the Open Coed Game Day competition at UCA/UDA College Nationals at the Walt Disney World Resort.

The win for SLU marks the second time in three years it has taken home the championship in the Open Coed Game Day, having previously earned a national title in 2021’s virtual competition. Southeastern spirit groups have won a total of four national championship golds in the past six years, as the Lionettes dance team won titles in the Division I Hip Hop category in 2018 and 2021.

“This was a special group that put in a lot of work outside of practice and it paid off,” Southeastern Spirit Coordinator Catherine Lawrence said. “We’re extremely proud of both groups for putting their best efforts forward on the mat and the floor when it counted.”

In addition to the gold medal, the cheerleaders also earned a bronze medal in the Division I Small Coed competition.

Southeastern spirit groups left Orlando with three medals to add to the trophy case, as the Lionettes earned a silver with a second-place showing in Division I Game Day. The runner-up performance was the highlight of a successful competition that also saw the SLU dance team finish 5th in Division I Small Coed and 12th in Division I Jazz.

The SLU Contemporary Art Gallery is featuring the 2023 Juried Student Exhibition through April 5. It is juried by visual artist and ceramicist Chris Pate and designer Ofir Mizrahi.

Every year the Contemporary Art Gallery invites two jurors from our artistic community to Southeastern’s campus in order to select from a pool of submissions that reflect exemplary artwork made by our students. This year Pate and Mizrahi will select a variety of artworks ranging from area concentrations such as ceramics, drawing, graphic design, new media and animation, painting, photography, printmaking, and sculpture.

“The SLU Contemporary is dedicated to providing a platform for emerging artists to showcase their works,” said Gallery Director Cristina Molina. “In keeping with our mission, this exhibition provides an excellent opportunity for students to exhibit their artworks in a professional setting and have their artwork reviewed by two arts professionals.”

Gallery hours are Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., and admission is free.

For more information about this exhibition, contact gallery director Cristina Molina via email at cmolina@southeastern.edu or by phone at 985-549-5080. To keep up with gallery events, visit southeastern.edu/slucontemporary and follow on Instagram @slu_contemporary.

About the jurors:
Chris Pate was born in Central, Louisiana, and graduated from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 2009 with a Bachelors of Science in Psychology and Anthropology, as well as an introduction to the ceramic arts. In 2010, he relocated to Portland, Oregon, and continued his investigations into clay, firing techniques, and kiln design. In 2012, Pate began wood-firing his work, which has since been the main mode of finishing his ceramic art.

After working with many various clay communities and firing dozens of wood fired kilns around the country, he moved back to Louisiana the summer of 2021. Since then, Pate has been working as the Technical Director of Byrdies’ Pottery in the Marigny neighborhood of New Orleans, designed and built a large Anagama style wood-fired kiln with a strong, budding firing community in Husser, Louisiana. He has been working to build community in New Orleans as well as regionally by sharing his knowledge and experience with atmospheric fired ceramics.

Ofir Mizrahi is a graphic designer based in New Orleans.
Ofir graduated from Shenkar College of Engineering, Design and Art (Tel Aviv, Israel) with a degree in Design and Visual Communications. Ofir has more than 12 years of experience in graphic design, and has worked for a variety of design studios and companies. In 2019, he started Ofir Design, a New Orleans-based design firm that specializes in branding, print, packaging and web design.

President John Crain recently announced his intent to retire at the end of this academic year. He became the University’s 14th president in Feb. 2009 after having served as interim president from July 2008. Prior to being named president, Crain served seven years as provost and vice president for Academic Affairs at Southeastern and before that as a faculty member in the Department of Accounting, including two years as president of the Faculty Senate and two years as department head.

To find Southeastern’s next leader, the University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors Chair Liz Pierre announced the Southeastern Louisiana University Presidential Search Committee. The group is responsible for reviewing applications, interviewing candidates, and recommending finalists for the presidency. The finalists will ultimately be interviewed and a president selected by the full UL System Board of Supervisors.

“I look forward to working with my fellow Board members and these community members with deep and varied ties to Southeastern,” Chair Pierre said. “The University is a pillar for the area, and the non-voting committee members’ unique perspectives will inform us throughout the selection process.”

UL System President and CEO Jim Henderson will chair the committee as a non-voting member. The committee includes select System Board members and the Southeastern Faculty Senate president as voting members as well as non-voting community members to serve in an advisory capacity.

“During the past six years we have developed an open and transparent search process that engages the University community and results in the selection of a mission-focused leader not only qualified to lead a university, but well-suited to lead this university,” Dr. Henderson said. “Our goal: to choose the leader whose impact on the University and community will be felt for generations.”

The committee’s first meeting is public and will take place Feb. 15 at 1 p.m. in the Cate Teacher Education Center Lecture Hall, Room 1021-22 on Southeastern’s campus and will be streamed live on the UL System YouTube Channel. During that meeting the committee will vote to accept their charge and the search timeline after hearing from the University’s constituencies. Information regarding the search will be housed on the System’s website at ulsystem.edu/southeastern-search.

The Presidential Search Committee is made up of the following members:

• Dr. Jim Henderson, Search Committee Chair and UL System President, non-voting
• Liz Pierre, UL System Board Chair
• Dr. Jimmy Clarke, UL System Board Vice Chair
• Brad Stevens, UL System Board Parliamentarian
• Ethan Estis, UL System Student Board Member
• Jo Lethermon, UL System Board Member
• Al Perkins, UL System Board Member
• Julie Stokes, UL System Board Member
• Dr. Erin Horzelski, Southeastern Faculty Senate President
• Toby Cortez, Southeastern Foundation President, non-voting
• Louis Nick Joseph, Community Representative, non-voting
• Stephanie Stafford Kropog, Southeastern Alumni Association President, non-voting
• Wallace Lewis, Southeastern Foundation Board Member, non-voting
• Baileigh Picou, Southeastern SGA President, non-voting
• Carla Tate, Community Representative, non-voting
• Allen Waddell, Southeastern Athletic Foundation Chairman, non-voting

Throughout most of Southeastern’s 97-year history, intercollegiate athletics have played a prominent role in campus life. Now, the athletes, coaches, administrators, fans and all others who have an interest in what sports has meant to the University have a thorough accounting of much of that history with the publication of 70 Years: Southeastern Lions Athletic History by Larry Hymel.

Hymel’s book is the first full accounting of Southeastern’s athletic history published. Through prodigious research conducted over about three years, Hymel recounts the wins, losses and so much more that occurred on the playing fields, arenas, courts, tracks and courses where the athletes who chose to wear the green and gold wrote their part of the story that was sports at Southeastern for the first 70 years of the school’s history.

Hymel, who has spent almost all of his adult life on the campus, brought to his task an intimate knowledge of the University’s athletic history.

Not long after graduating from Southeastern, Hymel was hired as the school’s first full-time sports information director, a position he filled for more than 30 years. He later served as director of the University Center and ended his long and distinguished career on the campus as alumni athletic coordinator.

He spent more than 40 years actively engaged on the Southeastern campus.

Through all those years, the athletes, coaches and administrators came and went, but Hymel was always there watching the school’s sports history unspool as the years spun by. Assessing the task he brought on himself, writing a thorough history of the first 70 years of sports at Southeastern, Hymel said, “there had never been a complete history of Southeastern athletics, and for many years one of my goals was to compile an accounting of the athletics history. When I started out on this project, I didn’t necessarily know that it would turn out to be a book. However, the more I researched the history of athletics, the idea of a book began to develop.”

He said he had a reason for limiting his tale to about the first 70 years of athletics at Southeastern. “I realized at one point that, I had to stop somewhere. … After all, the story continues to be told year after year. … It is still being told almost every day on the campus. Intercollegiate athletes became part of the school about 1930, when what would eventually become a university was a small little school that was really just getting established.

“By 1999, Southeastern had grown to become a large university with thousands of students and athletics had grown with it,” he said. “I had to stop somewhere, and 1999 seemed the perfect place to stop.”

The story starts in the fall of 1930 when then Southeastern Louisiana College fielded its first football team. That team beat Amite and Independence High Schools but later lost to other high schools and junior colleges. The long story ends in chapter 9 when Hymel sneaks into 2003 when Southeastern restored football after a long, painful time for many, when the campus was bereft of football starting in January 1986 when then University President J. Larry Crain announced that football would be dropped as an intercollegiate sport at Southeastern.

Hymel offers that the loss of football for so many years, along with shutting down the basketball team for one season, were among some of the low points in the history of sports in Lion land. However, those two chapters in sports history are offset by the many victories recorded by Southeastern athletes and the winning of conference and national championships.

Through his painstaking research, Hymel recounts the results of almost every football, basketball and baseball game. As more sports teams were added through the years, those contests found their way into his accounting of the school’s sports history. Eventually, Southeastern would field men’s teams in track, golf and tennis along with football, basketball and baseball. With the coming of Title IX in the 1970s, Southeastern, as did all other colleges and universities in the nation, hastened to bring intercollegiate athletic programs for women onto their campuses.

Hymel became sports information director in 1966 and from that point on he was, literally, “sitting on the bench” at almost all sporting events. About the years that came before his time on campus, Hymel said that he had to dig through old accounts of athletics to learn about the very early development of sports on the campus.

“What I learned was very important to telling the whole story, and those early, formative years proved to be of great interest,” he said. “Athletic involvement at SLU started slowly in the 1930s; was interrupted to an extent in the early 1940s when World War II drew so many young men away from the campus; and rebounded with some great teams, especially in football, when the veterans returned to the campus after the war.”

Hymel’s book recounts that Southeastern was a leader in encouraging women’s athletics on campus, and the 1976-1977 Lady Lions basketball team, under the leadership of coach Linda Puckett, won a national championship. Women’s softball was started in the early 1980s, and eventually the school added women’s volleyball, beach volleyball, track, tennis and soccer.

Much of the information in the book was gleaned from copies of The Lion’s Roar, the student newspaper for many years; LeSouvenir, the University yearbook; accounts of sporting events that filled the pages of local and regional newspapers over the years; and interviews that Hymel conducted during his years of research. He recounts that he spent many hours on campus at Sims Memorial Library poring over sources related to athletics now on file in the library.

For many local athletes, Southeastern afforded them a chance to continue their athletic careers hatched and then nurtured at area high schools.

A good example of that local touch involves the first Lady Lions softball team. Glenda Gauley, of Denham Springs, was among the first to try out for the school’s first softball team. She recalls in an interview with Hymel that the team did not even have uniforms for the first year, and the girls were only given matching shirts with numbers on them. Over the next two seasons, Gauley was the only pitcher the team had, and she pitched doubleheaders on numerous occasions.

Recalling those years at Hymel’s recent book signing, she said, “I never got tired. … I don’t remember the wins and the losses that much, what I remember is the joy of playing at the collegiate level and the fun I had with my teammates. Those were some great years.” She attended a book signing for the launch of the publication with Cindy Smith and Missy Smith, also from Denham Springs, who were on that first team. Cindy Smith scored the first run ever for the Lady Lions.

The interview with Gauley is just one of numerous such interviews in the book. Hymel interviewed many of the athletes, coaches and administrators who had a part in Southeastern’s sports history, and these interviews add a special feature to the long account of sports in the land of the Lions.

Readers will also find the names of a number of athletes who had distinguished careers during and after their playing days were over. Robin Roberts, now host of Good Morning America, was a star basketball player at Southeastern. Jim Corbett, who will long be remembered as a successful athletic director at LSU, had his start as a student at Southeastern. DD Breaux, the legendary gymnastics coach at LSU, was a gymnast and assistant coach at Southeastern. It also covers the exploits of outstanding athletes such as All American football player Huey Husser and his fellow Southeastern stars Ray Porta and Oscar Lofton.

Among the highlights in athletic history that Hymel cites were the undefeated football teams in 1946 and 1954; baseball and basketball teams that won conferences and advanced to national tournaments; and outstanding individuals in such sports as tennis, track and golf.

Hymel has won numerous writing awards during his long career. He was awarded the Mac Russo Award presented by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association in 1994, was elected to the Southeastern Athletic Hall of Fame in the same year, and was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame for Distinguished Service to Journalism in 2011.

BY VIC COUVILLION, CONTRIBUTING WRITER FOR THE ADVOCATE

Copies of the book are available at Southeastern’s University Bookstore, along with Bayou Booksellers in downtown Hammond, or through email at lhymel@southeastern.edu.

In addition to Larry Hymel, several alumni and members of the Southeastern Family contributed to bringing this publication to life, including former staff member Vic Couvillion for editing, former staff member Judy Couvillion for general assistance, alum and current staff member Randy Bergeron for photographic assistance, faculty member Dr. Sam Hyde for historical expertise, and Sims Memorial Library staff for microfilm assistance. The book was Published by Southeastern alum Corky Barras at Jefferson Printing and includes a cover designed by Southeastern student Jacie Ferlandy.

Southeastern’s Professional Sales Team won second place out of 80 universities in the World Cup of Sales at the 2022 International Collegiate Sales Competition. Hosted each year in Orlando, Fla., by Florida State University, the ICSC is the largest and most prestigious university sales competition in the world.

Southeastern students who competed on the winning team include Gabriel Pevey and Zakiya Miller of Ponchatoula, Jesse Demars of Walker, Aniya Ally of Prairieville, Reed Godbery of Baton Rouge, Emily Stark of Kenner, Troy Marks of Prairieville, and Jolie Waddell of Mandeville. Southeastern’s Professional Sales Program has been named a top sales program in the country by the Sales Education Foundation.

“We are extremely proud of the sales team’s performance at the International Collegiate Sales Competition,” said Assistant Professor of Marketing and Co-Creator of the Professional Sales Program April Kemp. “Having success in these competitions helps bring recognition to what we are doing at Southeastern to prepare students for successful and fulfilling careers in sales. They also provide a great opportunity for our students to network with their peers and interact with employers from around the country.”

In addition to the second-place finish in the World Cup competition, Southeastern students individually received accolades as well. Out of 160 competitors and after four rounds of competition, Pevey brought home first place, and Miller received fourth place in the sales role play competition.

Sales competitions such as this one, said Kemp, allow students to test their selling skills against their peers through role-playing scenarios, case competitions, and speed selling.

The competition also offered a career fair attended by national companies who were there to hire the students.

For more information about the Professional Sales Program, visit southeastern.edu/sales, or email prosales@southeastern.edu.

Southeastern Management Instructor Aristides Baraya has been appointed to the Latino Commission by the Louisiana Speaker of the House, the Hon. Clay Schexnayder.

The main objective of the commission is to identify obstacles to the effective delivery of Louisiana state government services to Latin Americans, to propose methods to remove those obstacles, and to present proposals to the appropriate government entities.

“Dr. Baraya’s selection for this prestigious nomination is truly an honor for Southeastern,” said Southeastern President John L. Crain. “It recognizes his and Southeastern’s ongoing efforts to enhance the Hispanic community’s social and professional development.”

As Director of the Latin American Business and Development Initiative, Baraya works daily to develop the potential of Hispanic youth through the Hispanic Leadership Program his office has been developing with Hispanic high school youth from various parishes across the Northshore region. The program, he said, goes beyond the traditional instruction of leadership courses by providing Latino youth with the tools and resources to develop educational opportunities and become influential community leaders, giving Hispanic youth real-world learning experiences.

“The Hispanic community has made significant contributions to the development of our great nation and has an essential role to play in today’s US economic and social success,” he said. “Empowering social development and leadership to the Hispanic community will bring enormous opportunities to Louisiana.”

Baraya is a member of the Board of Directors of the Hammond Area Economic and Industrial Development District, a member of the Board of Advisors National Scientific and Academic Council of University for Distance Education, a member of the Southeastern Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Council, and the Southeastern faculty advisor of the Association of Latin American Students.

A resident of Hammond, Baraya was named one of Louisiana’s top 100 successful Hispanic citizens by “Vocero News of New Orleans,” and a participant of the U.S. Senate National Hispanic Summit.

Southeastern prides itself on inspiring its students and community to dream big.

Recently, students have been making headlines nationally and internationally by performing and following their dreams.

Each one has a unique story and something special that inspires them, whether it be a childhood dream, a past teacher, or the feeling you get knowing you’re doing what you love. Here are a few that have been taking the world by storm.

 

Anna
Instilling Excellence

“I have been performing since I was six years old, and what really sparked my love for it is the pride I feel just after I have finished performing a piece of music in front of an audience.”

Even at her young age, Southeastern Community Music School participant Anna Johnson has already had a love of music for years.

She has performed with the Southeastern Symphony Orchestra and the Greater New Orleans Youth Orchestra, and most recently she has taken on one of the most prestigious venues in the world—Carnegie Hall. Anna was one of a few junior finalists selected to perform in this year’s Middle School Honors Performance Series at Carnegie Hall. “The best part about getting to perform in Carnegie Hall was that I was able to perform in a concert hall that is historical and well-known throughout the world,” she said.

The Middle School Honors Performance Series is a five-day experience, taking place in Carnegie Hall, which allows students to work with master conductors and with other students from around the world while also getting to enjoy the sights and sounds of the Big Apple.

Anna gives much of the credit for her early musical success to Southeastern’s Community Music School (CMS). “My teacher, Mrs. Jivka Duke, played a huge part in getting me to where I am now. She taught me everything from basic music note sight reading to improvements in my technique and how I play something. The different programs at CMS, which include orchestra camps and seasonal recitals, give me the opportunity to meet other people my age who have an interest in music.”

Southeastern’s Community Music School offers private music lessons on various instruments and voice. It provides an opportunity for both children and adults within the community to learn to play the violin, cello, guitar, piano, and more—allowing them to gain access to professional instruction from Southeastern’s distinguished music faculty members, regardless of age or level of experience. Everyone who wants to embark on a musical journey or enhance their skills is able to at Southeastern’s Community Music School.

At the end of each semester, participants are also able to showcase what they have learned and practice performing in front of audiences during recitals.

Anna has been taking lessons at the Community Music School for the past seven years with Mrs. Duke, the director of the Community Music School, whose pride in the youngster’s talent and accomplishments is evident. “Anna is a very dedicated and hard-working violin student, constantly looking to learn more difficult pieces and seeking to excel at the violin more every day. Her love for the art of music performance, her drive, and her talent is remarkable.”

At such a young age, Anna is still unsure of what career she would like to pursue, but she doesn’t see herself quitting performing anytime soon.

“I want to use music to go to college, but I have other interests. I do hope to continue performing. Music brings joy to not only me but others as well.”

 

Jaren
From the Stage to the Screen

“I started acting in elementary school and did musical theatre leading up into high school,” he explained. “I came to Southeastern and took my first theatre class, and I just caught the bug!”

Jaren Mitchell, a class of 2011 general studies alum with a concentration in theatre, credits Southeastern as the spark that ignited his passion for acting. Now he is regularly seen by hundreds of thousands of people as a television and film actor.

“I always loved to act, but it wasn’t like I had to do it until I got to college. Southeastern and the instructors had a big impact on me. They made me believe that I could actually act outside of just a hobby,” Jaren said.

Jaren spent much of his time at Southeastern on the stage.

“All I really did was theatre. I think the thing I did the best in regards to school was actually anything to do with the theatre department.”

During his time at Southeastern, Jaren worked with many different faculty members and built relationships with other students in the program. “My favorite thing about working with the faculty at Southeastern was the trustworthy and collaborative properties. It wasn’t just the director telling us we had to do it their way. It was an extremely collaborative experience.”

Jaren shared that the program was very helpful in getting him connected with people in the industry. “I was getting access to people from all over while still being in Hammond.”

The theatre program at Southeastern continues to offer students unparalleled hands-on experience from industry professionals, and recently it has expanded even further. During the 2021-2022 academic year, Southeastern began offering a bachelor of arts in theatre in addition to the general studies degree with a minor in theatre and an art degree with a theatre design concentration. This new program provides for the study of theatre with a focus on acting, stage management, and directing within a liberal arts environment, preparing students for successful entry into careers in theatre and film, as well as advanced academic study. There are also opportunities throughout the year to participate in productions at the beloved Vonnie Borden Theatre, which allows other Southeastern students to attend high-end performances free of charge.

Southeastern’s new bachelor of arts in theatre is the only program in the state with a theatre design concentration within the Visual Art Department, and the theatre budget is dedicated completely to undergraduate education.

Since graduating, Jaren has been a part of multiple film projects. Most recently, he has been working on the seventh and final season of acclaimed OWN series Queen Sugar, which began airing this September. He also has another project coming out later this year called The Channel.

“I enjoyed all of the experiences,” Jaren said of his career so far. “Most memorable would be The Purge TV series, or Queen Sugar, which is the first project with a recurring character that I have been able to stick with over multiple years. I really enjoy stage combat and using the weaponry, a lot of action stuff, and I got to do some of that with The Purge.”

From the Vonnie Borden Theatre’s stage to screens across the world, today Jaren is following and achieving his dreams—and he encourages others to have the determination to do the same.

“My favorite thing about working in film is the freedom,” he said. “It is a blessing to be able to wake up and act. I know I am very fortunate that, at the end of the day, I am getting paid to do what I like to do. When you find something you love to do, commit to it, and don’t worry about the outcome. Just keep going. You are going to find forks in the road, but just pivot around them and keep moving forward.”

 

Natalia
Coming Together Across the World

“When I was a child, I had a dream. I saw clearly my time spent on stage wearing the 18th- and 19th-century dresses, and that is how I knew I was meant to sing opera.”

Natalia Turchin, a Southeastern master’s student majoring in music with a concentration in performance and a native of Moldova, has always had a special place in her heart for the performing arts. Through intense determination and support from the Southeastern and local communities, she recently traveled to Italy to perform and enhance her skills as a professional opera singer.

Although still a student, Natalia’s childhood dream of performing opera has already become a reality, and she is
loving every minute of it. “Music is where I can create, be free, and take on roles. It’s all about acting; you can become anyone you want to be on the stage.”

“There are a lot of different feelings when you are on the stage, when you can share something and give back. There is a contact and connection between you, the audience, and the rest of the people on the stage,” she added. “When you are on stage, you are a team.”

Her love of performing has led her to strive to find ways to continue developing her talent, and all the way from Moldova to Hammond, La. “My friend from school back home had graduated from Southeastern, and I asked her, ‘do you think I could get a master’s degree there?’” After applying, Natalia started her master’s in August of 2021.

Southeastern’s music graduate program helps students to advance their performance skills; strengthen their abilities to investigate, organize, integrate and evaluate information; and develop their overall professional expertise. Students in this program possess the self-motivation and discipline to complete the individual study, research, and project preparation that constitutes the majority of the degree program.

Shortly after arriving in Hammond, the faculty took her in and were like a second family. “Dr. Mouledous is like a mother to me,” Natalia said. “She is an example, open to help, open to giving to people. Two weeks after arriving here, Hurricane Ida was coming, and she asked me how I was preparing for it. She offered to let me to stay with her at her house. Before even meeting me in person, she also met me at the airport to welcome me and help me get settled.”

Natalia was selected and invited to attend the Festival of International Opera Italia this summer, a month-long experience for vocal performance students to have intensive training in Italian, workshops with opera masters, and a final collaborative performance.

However, when the turmoil between Ukraine and Russia began earlier this year, Natalia’s family back home in Moldova, a neighboring nation to Ukraine, started to feel the effects financially. Natalie sent all of the money she had saved for the program back to her family to help support them through this time. At a loss for how to come up with the funds, Natalia started to lose hope of attending the program.

“I was very close to giving up, but so many people were telling me not to give up.”

Then one of the professors suggested she organize a benefit concert series. “I connected with a church, and then they connected me to another church, and the church connected to people,” she explained. “And it became not just my goal, but it became a group accomplishment. I would like to thank all of the sponsors for me to be able to go to the program and the people who encouraged me to do the benefit concerts.”

Through the benefit concerts and a GoFundMe, Natalia was able to raise enough to be able to still attend her program in Italy.

Once there, she had a very busy yet extremely organized schedule. “We had lessons in Italian. We had lessons with the pianists, and we were taught how to sing the song and diction. We had voice lessons with our preferred professors, and there were rehearsals with the whole ensemble.”

The program performed a total of four shows in three cities in Italy, with ensemble participants coming from different universities all around the world. “Even though we were all totally different, we were able to come together and work together far from home,” she said.

One aspect that made these performances unique for Natalia was that the singers got to perform with a full orchestra. “It was my first time working with a full orchestra with a great conductor maestro, Joseph Rescignio.”

Natalia loved her time working with the program and shared that it was a great experience. “I would encourage anyone pursuing music to go, and it is always good to have more operas for your resume.”

Even though the experience of performing in Italy was so unique, when asked about her favorite performance she has participated in, Natalia said, “I have one; it was not a performance, but I was singing a song with a group of friends, and when I began to sing, one of my friends was so moved that they began to cry. My favorite performances are when I touch someone’s soul.”

BY CALMER DIGHTON