College Celebrates the Class of 2015
The LSU College of Science has a long-standing reputation for graduating some of LSU’s
top scholars. The college continued that tradition of excellence during its spring
2015 ceremony held May 15 in the Maddox Field House.
The College of Science Class of 2015 includes 17 University Medalists, students graduating
with the highest grade point average; 13 with College Honors, the highest recognition
awarded jointly by the College of Science and the Honors College; and 120 students
graduating with Latin Honors. The College also had two students to graduate with the
Distinguished Communicator Award and one commissioned as an officer in the Armed Forces.
Dean Cynthia Peterson presided over the exercise, which included a crash course in
the keys to living a successful life from Ron Neal, LSU geology alumnus, co-founder/co-owner
Houston Energy L.P. and the ceremony’s keynote speaker.
“My definition of success is being able to follow your dreams and find happiness.
Remember, happiness, not money, is your goal,” said Neal, who earned a Bachelor of
Science in zoology from LSU in 1974 and a master’s degree in geology in 1977.
“The day I graduated 41 years ago was the most depressing day of my life,” said Neal.
“I walked out of the PMAC with an undergraduate degree in zoology and nobody interested
in me. For years I heard the expression that if you get a college degree, the world
will be your oyster. At that moment, I though that the oyster meant for me must have
not gotten the message.”
After graduation, Neal talked his way into LSU’s graduate geology program and found
a professor who took him on as a student. But he admitted that the best decision he
ever made occurred during the summer of 1974 when he began dating his future wife,
LSU alumnus Dr. Mary Neal.
“I am here today because someone thinks I have been successful,” said Neal. “If that
is true, I am successful because I have been married to the same woman for 39 years,
we have three children who all live in Houston, have graduated from college and are
trying to find their own oyster,” said Neal.
“Today, I am co-owner of Houston Energy L.P. We are a private oil and gas exploration
company playing on the biggest stage in the U.S.,” said Neal. “We are in the Deepwater
Gulf of Mexico competing and winning against the largest companies in the world and
I could not have done this without the encouragement and support of Mary.”
Neal noted that some of the graduates will be going further in school, others have
jobs, but some may need a job. So, for those on the market, he reminded them that,
“…everyone regardless of their job or position in life is in sales. The first and
most important product you will sell is yourself. This never ends and this makes selling
a critical life skill.”
Neal added that being smart is not enough. “Smart is common, brilliance is rare. All
of you are smart.” He also urged the graduates to create opportunities on the job,
show initiative, be dependable, and to know your value.
“When interviewing someone, the last question I ask is ‘Why should I hire you?’ Most
people are unprepared to sell themselves and stutter while others just nail it. Take
the time to think about how you would answer this question and if the interviewer
doesn’t, offer it as your closing argument in favor of your case,” said Neal.
This year’s spring graduates are paving a way to a promising future with a number
of them going on to graduate and professional programs and other prestigious institutions
including Stanford, Yale, Columbia, MIT, Cornell, Rice, LSU School of Medicine, University
of Texas Health Science Center and University of Kentucky College of Medicine.
The class of 2015 includes Zachary Fitzpatrick, biochemistry major and Honors College
student, La-STEM scholar, Fulbright scholar and LSU’s first recipient of the prestigious
Gates Cambridge Scholarship. Fitzpatrick will be pursuing a master’s degree in advanced
immunology at Pierre and Marie Curie University and the Pasteur Institute of Paris.
After completing his studies in France, he will pursue a Master of Philosophy degree
in clinical science at the University of Cambridge.
A number of the college’s top performing students hail from the Department of Mathematics.
These graduates will be entering some of the nation’s top PhD and master’s programs
like Paxton Turner who will be attending MIT in the fall, 2014 Goldwater Scholar Bruno
Beltran, who will be conducting research at Yale this summer and pursuing his PhD
at Stanford, and Rachael Keller, who will be participating in the Research in Industrial
Programs for Students, or RIPS program, in Hong Kong this summer and will begin doctoral
studies at Columbia University in the fall.
This is just a sampling of the college’s high achievers. Take a look at the graduate profile below and learn more about some of our exceptional graduates.
Spring 2015 Graduate Profile
- Students receiving the Master of Science degree 17
- Students receiving the Bachelor of Science degree 348
- Our spring graduates are from 17 countries, 22 states, and 37 parishes within Louisiana
The oldest undergraduate is 35, and the youngest is 20. The oldest graduate student
is 53 and the youngest is 24.
Including our Ph.D. students who received their degrees during the main ceremony,
May 14:
- 192 are men
- 200 are women
University Medalist
LSU awards the University Medal to undergraduate students graduating with the highest grade point average. The graduates listed below have maintained a 4.00 grade point average throughout their academic careers.
- Ryan Craig Bolotte, biological Sciences
Hometown: New Orleans, LA
High School: Ponchatoula High School
Future Plans: Ryan plans to attend the LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans this fall. - Elizabeth Elaine Cooper, mathematics
Hometown: Baton Rouge, LA
High School: Episcopal High School
Future Plans: Elizabeth plans to attend the LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans this fall. - Victoria Rose D’Antonio, mathematics with a concentration in Secondary Education (GeauxTeach
Student)
Hometown: Covington, Louisiana
High School: Saint Scholastica Academy
Future Plans: Victoria plans to work as a secondary education teacher next school year.
- Kelsey Renee Doguet, biological sciences
Hometown: Iota, LA
High School: Iota High School
Future Plans: Kelsey plans to attend the LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans this fall.
- Julie Elizabeth Farrar, biological sciences
Hometown: Monroe, LA
High School: St. Frederick High School
Future Plans: Julie plans to attend the University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy in Memphis, TN
- Amy Katherine Galiano, biochemistry
Hometown: Baton Rouge, LA
High School: Central Private School
Future Plans: Amy plans to attend the LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans this fall.
College Honors
Students receiving College Honors have completed Honors coursework, participated in research under the direction of a faculty mentor, and have written and defended a senior thesis.
- Bruno Gabriel Beltran, mathematics
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Frank Neubrander
Thesis Title: Matrix Exponentiation without Scaling and Squaring
Future Plans: Bruno will be working at Yale this summer and plans to attend Stanford's Ph.D. program in Chemical & Systems Biology. From there he plans to pursue a professorship in systems biology while continuing to be involved in mathematics and computer science educational outreach.
- Emily Christine Bennett, biological sciences
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Mark Batzer
Thesis title: Mobilization of Alu Elements Throughout Papio and Theropithecus Genomes
Future Plans: Emily plans to attend the LSU School of Medicine in Shreveport
- Katie Marie Benson, biological sciences
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Michael Hellberg
Thesis Title: Shell matrix protein gene composition in two marine bivalve species, Saxidomus gigantea and Mytilus trossulus
Future Plans: Katie is applying to nursing schools in Denver, Colorado
- Amanda Kay Breaux, biological sciences
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Grover Waldrop
Thesis Title: Structure Activity Relationships of Biotin Carboxyl Carrier Protein of E. coli Acetyl-CoA Carboxylase
Future Plans: Amanda plans to attend Tulane School of Medicine this fall.
- Zachary Louis Fitzpatrick, biochemistry
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Gus Kousoulas
Thesis title: “Employing Extracellular Vesicles to Overcome Immunological Barriers to AAV-mediated Gene Transfer” & “Ethical and Policy Implications of Orphan Drug Development and Accessibility”
Future Plans: Zachary will be pursuing a MSc in Advanced Immunology at Pierre and Marie Curie University and the Pasteur Institute of Paris. Upon completion of his studies in France, Zachary will be pursuing an MPhil in Clinical Science at the University of Cambridge.
- Hardy Hang, microbiology
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jacqueline Stephens
Thesis title: Studies to elucidate the location and function of STAT5A/pyruvate dehydrogenase complex in adipocytes
Future Plans: After graduating, Hardy plans to work as a research assistant in Dr. Stephens’s lab and will be applying to medical school.
- Rachael Tara Keller, mathematics
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Oliver Dasbach
Thesis title: Encoding Knots
Future Plans: Over the summer, Rachael will be participating in the RIPS program in Hong Kong. From there, she plans to attend Columbia University to pursue a doctorate in Applied Mathematics.
- Jason Donald Mueller, physics and mathematics
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Hwang Lee
Thesis title: Geometrical Phases on the Poincaré and Bloch Spheres
Future Plans: Jason plans to attend graduate school at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom, in pursuit of a PhD degree in quantum engineering.
- Sreeja Sanampudi, biochemistry
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Mark Batzer
Thesis title: Characterization of a novel retrotransposon in New World monkeys
Future Plans: Sreeja plans to attend the University of Kentucky College of Medicine this fall.
- Desmarie Stewart, biological sciences
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Linda Hooper-Bui
Thesis title: Aggressiveness in Inland and Coastal Colonies of Solenopsis invicta
Future Plans: Desmarie plans to attend medical school at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.
- Elliott Reid Thompson, biological sciences
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Linda Hooper-Bui
Thesis title: Crematogaster pilosa Ants as Bioindicators of Ecosystem Marsh Health Post BP Oil Disaster
Future Plans: Elliott plans to attend the LSU School of Medicine.
- Jeremy Robert Tillay, mathematics
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Stephen Shipman
Thesis title: Scattering of Motion on a Half-Infinite Quantum Graph Tube
Future Plans: Jeremy plans to attend Rice University's PhD in Computational and Applied Math Program. Over the summer, he will be participating in the RIPS program in Hong Kong, where he will do industrial research for local companies.
- Paxton Mark Turner, mathematics
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Blaise Bourdin
Thesis title: Modeling Deformations of Solids at the Continuum Scale
Future Plans: Paxton plans to attend MIT beginning Fall 2016.
Military Honors
- Travoll Payne, biochemistry major, was commissioned as an ensign in the United States Navy.
Distinguished Communicator
This award is the first of its kind in the nation and recipients are outstanding in four areas of communication: written, spoken, visual, and technological. Graduates earning the Distinguished Communicator award will be recognized as they cross the stage to receive their diploma.
- April Chow, mathematics,
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Bogdan Oporowski
- Arielle Nabatilan, chemistry
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Maria Vicente
LSU Commencement Coverage:
>