Matriculation ceremony welcomes new students

The Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts welcomed 157 new students during the school’s annual matriculation ceremony held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 14, in the A.A. Fredericks Auditorium located on the campus of Northwestern State University.

The ceremony recognized students’ accomplishments, reinforced their commitment to LSMSA and encouraged them to apply the necessary diligence to persevere until reaching commencement.

“In this ceremony, we celebrate accomplishment that has brought you to this place and this privilege that you now have as a student of LSMSA,” said Dr. Steve Horton, executive director.

According to Horton, nine students joined the Class of 2018, 48 joined the Class of 2019 and 100 the Class of 2020.

“Over the past year, more than 300 students entered the application process, 280 had the ability to complete it, and you 157 demonstrated that you have the ability to succeed at LSMSA,” said Horton. “Ninety percent came to LSMSA with a grade point average between 3.5 and 4.0. Your composite ACT is 24. You come from 41 of Louisiana’s parishes.”

The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Dennis Keo, a senior from Buras; Amy Liu, a senior from Alexandria and president of the Student Government Organization, spoke about the student pledge. Presley Simmons, a senior from Walker and president of the senior class, and William Heitman, a junior from Baton Rouge and president of the junior class, offered closing remarks.

“This journey you are on is a marathon, not a sprint,” said Simmons. “It is important to find a solid support network of friends and faculty that will help you up and encourage you to keep going when you fall down.

“Remember to take advantage of the community of which you are a part, because it is filled with truly amazing people who all want to help you succeed.”

Matthew Claiborne, a member of the Class of 2007, delivered the keynote address.

Students recognized include:

Acadia Parish – Aaron Gotte, Alexandra Guidry, Benjamin Miller and Emma Istre
Allen Parish – Mason Seymour
Ascension Parish – Caleb Coleman, Emery Haynes, Sofia Lavidalie, Kylie Walker and Eden Wiltz
Beauregard Parish – Connor Bailey, Ian Cooley, Katie McElveen and Jaiden Stark
Bossier Parish – Sadie Brannan, Shelby Heaser, John Luke Heying and Catherine Kennon
Caddo Parish – Katriane Creel, Donavan Dowden and Cayla Garrett
Calcasieu Parish – Ashlyn Beaty, Calie Browne, Morgan Clendennen, Woodrow Clendennen, Chad Cook, Arean Ericson, Makaylen Green, Julianne Le, Sara Mixon, Taylor Rutherford, Alexa Schleter, Zachary Schleter, Hannah Shimer and Kynedi Stevens
Caldwell Parish – Kansas Johnson
Concordia Parish – Hayden Howington
DeSoto Parish – Patience Malmay, Calissa Miller, Clair Miller, Garrett Pattison and Siobahn Stanley
East Baton Rouge Parish – Nick Adams, William Casey, Orlando Edwards, Steely Forrester, Danielle Gonzalez, Ryann Hamilton, Jameson Harrington, Andrew Huze and Madeline O’Connor
Evangeline Parish – Victoria Steckler and Anna Steckler
Grant Parish – Carmyn Conn and Elizabeth LaPonsie
Iberia Parish – Karan Baker, Destina Boupapanh, Austin Souphanthalop and Kameron Southichark
Iberville Parish – Myah Davis
Jackson Parish – Andrew Cooper, Marinna Curtis and Gavin Hatfield
Jefferson Parish – Andre Bourque
Jefferson Davis Parish – Logan Bertrand, Brynlee Daigle and Destin Lopez
Lafayette Parish – Steven Lin, Linh Neguyen, Victoria Meaux and Zoe Roques
Lafourche Parish – Mason Boudreaux, Elizabeth Granier, Bradley Hyatt, Samuel Konur, Heather Phipps, William Powell and Nyihaji Woods
Lincoln Parish – Chirstan Bates, Garrett Cowden, Autumn Downen and Daniel Powell
Livingston Parish – Heather Collier, Brianna Day, Josie Dial, Keaton Dicapo, Hannah Hauptman, Victoria Howard, Max Hopcraft, Rowen Johnson, Brandon Logan, Kyle McCleary, Maris Reno and Anna Sloan
Morehouse Parish – Brileigh Elton
Natchitoches Parish – Olufunke Adeleye, Pasha Farley, Emma Gruesbeck, Jansen Jones, Kathryn Lee, Caleb Martinez, John Martinez, Lauren Mathews, Harlan Picht and Raymond Zheng
Orleans Parish – Aja Becker and William Powe
Ouachita Parish – Andrew Luse, Jason Min, Keaton Morrison and Jessica Robinson
Rapides Parish – Chavonne Fields, Makayla Harrell and Cherish Thomas
Sabine Parish – Cametrius Warren
St. Charles Parish – Allison Allsop, Linley Kennedy, Connor Picolo and Kaitlyn Thompson
St. Landry Parish – D’Andre Goodley, Andrea Richard and Kaylan Tyler
St. Martin Parish – Asia Parker and Alby Algawi
St. Mary Parish – Colby Alexander and Shelin Huang
St. Tammany Parish – Athena Cai, Natalie Cambre, Kylie Corcoran, Melissa Desroche, Lucile Fonseca, Bailey Saucier, Harleigh Schneider and Sydney Sorbet
Tangipahoa Parish – Jada Bezue, Luke Johnson, Sean Lane and Madison Saucier
Terrebonne Parish – Derek Dupre and Andy Robinson
Vernon Parish – Kyle Michalk, Dalaijsa Payton, Joan Sporer and Eric Stein
West Baton Rouge Parish – Emma Bates and Caroline Blanchard
West Feliciana Parish – Austin Roldan