Shelbe Rodriguez 00:00
Welcome to the LU moment where we showcase other great events, activities, programs and people right here at Lamar University. I'm Shelby Rodriguez, Public Affairs Manager here at Liu and I want to welcome everyone back to this week show.
Alright guys, some exciting things that have kicked off here. Lamar University, the Rotary Club of Beaumont has made it possible for Lamar University to expand its program to create innovative learning labs for Beaumont ISD. And so in the spring of 2021, the Rotary Club actually awarded Lamar University $15,000 to establish a new Cardinal nest. And just in case you aren't familiar, Cardinal nest stands for navigating excellence, success and triumph. So we were able to launch a new Cardinal Nest Learning Lab at Martin Elementary. And so the Nest Labs includes state of the art technology like clear touch. It's loaded with STEM related software, and so many virtual reality programs for students to enjoy. The NEST was officially launched on Thursday, December 9, with a special ribbon cutting and dedication ceremony. And listen guys, once that ribbon was cut, students wasted no time testing out the new stem equipment and what would now be their new home for interactive learning. And we'd love to see our future Cardinals setting the groundwork for launching their STEM careers for the future.
It's always a great time to be a cardinal and recording to US News and World Report rankings. Lamar University is the number nine best public university in the state of Texas and other schools following Liu include Texas State University at number 15 and University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley in that number 20 spot LSU is home to more than 17,000 students. The university also ranks as the fifth highest on the diversity index among public universities in Texas, and in the top 14% Among other ranked national institutions.
Here's something fun after being postponed last year due to the COVID 19 pandemic one cardinal fan favorite fundraiser has made a comeback to Lamar University just in time for the holidays. LSU athletics recently teamed up yet again with nonprofit organizations some other place, and so they hosted the annual teddy bear toss fundraiser on Wednesday, December 15. And Monday, December 20, at both men's and women's Cardinal basketball games, and so Cardinal fans were encouraged to bring one new or gently used stuffed animal to toss onto that montains and accorded half time and bins also were available at each game for donation. So we love a good feel good story and just a little bit about some other place. It was founded in 1968 to assist Beaumont residents with emergency needs. Some other place also serves as a haven for the homeless and offer services free of charge including home delivered meals, school clothing and supplies and special Christmas assistance to children of local families. So great things there love seeing that work in the community loves and the community comes together. And of course it's always fun to see big red laid out on that montane center floor covered in teddy bears, right. All right.
And so I want to also remind everyone, you can still catch Cardinal lights here on campus. That reimagine holiday tradition has returned to our campus for the entire Southeast Texas community to come out and enjoy 1000s of colored lights are adorning trees and illuminating campus buildings around Jimmy Simmons Boulevard. Jim Gilligan way and the Ralph Christopher Drive entrance to campus. We want families to come on out take a slow drive through campus and enjoy the lights and other holiday themed decorations for the entire month of December. That Cardinal lights display is going to be there until January 5 and at Spindletop Gladys city Boomtown Museum is also Marion bright. They have a holiday light display happening as well. Over 50,000 Lights adorning that little mini town there. The event also coincides with the museum's annual holiday food drive in partnership with the South East Texas food bank. So guests can bring in five non perishable food items for free admission to the museum. It doesn't get any better than that.
So guys, listen. We love seeing our Cardinals doing big things, making a difference doing work that matters, research, internships, you name it, and so we want to take the time to spotlight those students here on the radio show. So we are continuing our series of cardinals taking flight. And joining me this week on the show is Junior chemical engineering major Annabel Broussard, Annabelle just earned an internship with Agricultural Chemical Company corteva Annabelle, congratulations. And I want to thank you for joining me today. Tell our audience a little bit about yourself.
Annabelle Broussard 04:38
So I was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana, but I basically grew up in the Hampshire Finet Beaumont area. So I'm from right down the road.
Shelbe Rodriguez 04:45
So anytime that I have a student here on the show with me, I always have to ask this question because I need to know why did you make the choice to attend Lamar
Annabelle Broussard 04:54
University? Well, Lamar is a great engineering school. They're one of the top turns on your investment. But also I got a scholarship. So whenever considering colleges whenever I got that email that I got my scholarship, it was kind of a no brainer.
Shelbe Rodriguez 05:08
Yeah, it was a no brainer. I like how you word it that it was a no brainer to attend LSU right. Alright, so you're an ambassador, any other campus involvement we need to know about we want to know all about Annabelle
Annabelle Broussard 05:18
other than organizations actually worked at the rock wall at the recreational center. Oh, cool. But I'm also involved in a lot of orgs on campus like engineering orgs. So American Institute of Chemical Engineers, sweet things like that. But I'm also involved in like fun things. So I but yeah, I joined. I joined organizations like med life, even though I'm not pre med I like yeah, the mission and stuff that they kind of have. I love and I also started an organization last year, it's still kind of getting going, but it's called students consulting for nonprofit organizations. So we did a consulting project with a museum and Silsbee to help them kind of restart and get going.
Shelbe Rodriguez 06:03
Yes. So you are a junior here at L U. So what has that journey been like for you this far?
Annabelle Broussard 06:10
Um, it's been amazing. I don't think I could have gotten the college experience. I've gotten this far. If I was at any other university. Yes. I think Lamar is unique and the experience that you get, and the people that you meet and the things that you get to do.
Shelbe Rodriguez 06:23
Okay, and so you just got this really cool internship, you're going to be leaving January 6, to head off to Pittsburg, California, right? Yes,
Annabelle Broussard 06:32
ma'am. All right. So
Shelbe Rodriguez 06:33
how excited are you?
Annabelle Broussard 06:35
I'm very excited, a little nervous but excited, a little
Shelbe Rodriguez 06:38
nervous but excited. And so tell me, how did you go about getting this cool internship?
Annabelle Broussard 06:42
So the main the hardest part about getting an internship, before you have experiences that most companies want people with experience? So that's like going to the career fairs that they have here on campus? It's really hard to talk to like a company or refinery here that like, they'll just let you have a job if you've never worked before. Yeah. So what I did was my freshman year, I got a lot of leadership experience in organizations like most engineering organizations I mentioned. Yeah, but also, so my sophomore year, I went to a National Collegiate Conference, where I went with the Society of Women Engineers, and it was virtual because of COVID. In there, and when you go to a national conference like that, with 1000s of people, yeah, companies are actually willing to open up and get someone from the ground up. Yeah, start you off. So I got my first internship last summer with a company called Air Products and Chemicals. So I worked with them in Westlake Louisiana, and my first and yeah, and then this year, I went back to the same conference. And I already knew that I wanted to work for corteva. Because it's right there. And it's a really great company. And I was just I went up there was confident and I begged for a job.
Shelbe Rodriguez 07:50
For a job. Okay, so I need to know, how are you finding out about these conferences, just for our students who may be wondering, okay, how do I get an internship? What's the first step? Where do I look? How do you go about doing that?
Annabelle Broussard 08:02
Involvement Fair, your very first semester or semester that you're there and you're thinking about it, go to the Involvement Fair, they have to be here on campus or on campus? Join the join the engineering organizations, you really need to. So like, there's one for women, Society of Women Engineers, they have the Society of Asian scientists and engineers, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, have Nesby, which is the National Society of Black Engineers, women in STEM women in STEM. So all of those major engineering orgs have those national conferences with career fairs. Oh,
Shelbe Rodriguez 08:35
wow. And so you just kind of take a shot in the dark and say, Alright, this is what I want. I'm going to go after this company, see what they've got. And it worked. So what are you going to be doing at corteva?
Annabelle Broussard 08:46
So it will be so last summer I did more of like a process engineering internship. And I think this one's going to be more manufacturing. Yeah. So it'll be me in a plant in Pittsburgh, working with their speciality chemicals department.
Shelbe Rodriguez 08:59
Oh, my gosh, and why engineering? What has sparked your passion and engineering?
Annabelle Broussard 09:03
So that's actually another reason that kind of leaned towards Lamar is because when I was in middle school, my science teacher said they have that li te engineering combat. Yes. Yeah. I actually went to that when I was in middle school. And I thought it was amazing. Like, I didn't know what I wanted to do before then yes, like camp. Yeah, like camp. I'd love to like camp. It was so much fun. And that's what pushed me towards engineering just and then of course, in high school, I gravitated towards math and science. Yeah. So it really just whenever I was by the time I was a senior in high school, I knew that I wanted to be an engineering
Shelbe Rodriguez 09:35
man and so all those fun experiments that they have you guys do those hands on things and seeing the robots and all that kind of stuff, man. So have you done anything with our like campers that come you know during this time? Or have you kind of interacted as a mentor in any way?
Annabelle Broussard 09:50
So I actually this last year, I think it was different because of COVID or like the last few years? Yeah, when I was a junior in high school actually got to work at the they have a specific In a specific electrical engineering camp for middle school girls, or they used to. And so when I was a junior in high school, I got to actually work at that camp as a counselor. Oh, like man wage girls. And I really enjoyed that.
Shelbe Rodriguez 10:12
I love that you kind of knew your passion early on, and you came in with the mindset of an engineering baby all the way. And you're a woman in engineering. So that's super exciting. We love that kind of stuff. And so what advice would you give to students who may kind of be afraid to take a leap, like, um, attend a conference or like approach a company for an internship or job opportunity?
Annabelle Broussard 10:35
Um, job searching, especially for your first one is kind of like I don't want to say crushing, but it kind of is. Because I last year, I made an Excel sheet of all the internships I applied for all the rejections I got, yeah, so apply for like, 30 got interviews for maybe like 10 only got two offers. So it's, it's really, it's really hard, just don't get discouraged. And to go to college, I would highly suggest going to conference, I've had more more offers from conference than I have at the on campus career fairs. And I just think that it's, you get to see other career paths other than just like plants. Yeah, they have like pharmaceutical companies and stuff like that there.
Shelbe Rodriguez 11:14
Yeah. And then go into some of those conferences is really a way to dissenter yourself, you know, from being here in southeast Texas, you get to kind of see beyond and know, okay, I'm an LSU. student, and I want to go here, I want to go there. So that's super exciting. And where do you kind of see your future? You know, moving forward?
Annabelle Broussard 11:34
I don't know. I actually planning I'm planning on having one more Co Op. So I'll push my graduation date back a year. I really think I want to try working for a company that's not in Southeast Texas. Yeah. Because I don't like Southeast Texas. Yes. Because I like I like to be always moving. I like to be far away and yeah, a little bit and be far away. So I don't know.
Shelbe Rodriguez 11:56
And that's okay, because we have Cardinals all around the globe. So we still love that. We still love that. Alright, any mentors that kind of helped you along your journey here?
Annabelle Broussard 12:06
Oh, that's a hard one. Um, my main mentors have been older students, older engineering students. I have had those professors that I think are just absolutely amazing. Yeah. Like I will say I had Paul Dawkins for math. Oh, yes, Cal two. I loved calculus two, no one likes calculus two, but I loved it, because I just loved that class so much. Yeah. And then also Dr. Ho, he was the chair of the chemical engineering department. He retired last year. And I'm just so I feel so lucky that I got to have him for process analysis. But yeah, because he was I thought he was an amazing professor, he really helped. And but for older students, like Edward Jones, who graduated Yes, that's right, when have just been amazing to me and my friends.
Shelbe Rodriguez 12:49
And I love how some of those upperclassmen take students under their wing early on, you know, and you guys can get to see their progress. And then you, in turn, are finding yourself as being that mentor, and you're like, oh, man, I get to tell someone under me, you know, give them some advice. Now, I want to ask you, what has been your most unique opportunity.
Annabelle Broussard 13:10
I really enjoyed working as a rock wall, like I didn't I never rock climb before I came to Lamar. And then like my second day of classes, my first semester, I just like me, and my friend did it. And I loved it. And I did them all high challenge. And what's the Mile High challenge so that aralco Lamar is actually 40 feet. So if you climb it 32 or 132 times it's 50 to 80, which adds up to a mile. And so if you climb it 130 times in a semester, you do the Mile High challenge. Oh, wow. So I did that my freshman year of college, and it was so much fun. And I just I really enjoyed indoor rock climbing. So I started working there the next semester, and it was just a lot of fun.
Shelbe Rodriguez 13:48
So for our engineering students that that are maybe struggling to find resources, what do you think has been the best resource for you as a student?
Annabelle Broussard 13:58
I would say those engineering works. Honestly, there are so many things you don't know. Like, yeah, especially when you're a freshman in engineering, no one knows what engineering is. So it's so broad. So not even like chemical engineering itself, which is one of the branches has a million branches. Yeah. So being involved in those organizations and meeting upperclassmen who can help you. That's the most valuable thing that you can do.
Shelbe Rodriguez 14:21
most valuable thing you can do. Well, Annabelle, I want to thank you for being on the show with me today. Thank you for having me. All right, guys. Now if you couldn't stick around for the entire interview, or you're just tuning in, don't worry. You can catch the full episode right now on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts just search Liu moment. As always, be sure to follow us on social media. You already know that username but in case you don't, here's a hint. It's Lamar University. This is Shelby Rodriguez, Public Affairs Manager here at LSU. The pride of Southeast Texas