500+ gather to celebrate 40 years of LSMSA

On Friday, Sept. 29, the school heard from keynote speaker retired U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Lenny Richoux (’85), a member of LSMSA’s first graduating class.

“This place will always be home to me, and as we celebrate the occasion of 40 years thriving, let’s pay tribute to the past while we plan for the future. In my time at LSMSA in 1983, we were issued college-level textbooks and took hand-written notes,” said Ret. Maj. Gen. Richoux, who served as the school’s first Student Government Organization president. “Today, we are interconnected virtually and enjoy more computing power in our hand than the Department of Defense possessed in the entire Pentagon! In 100 years, perhaps we will absorb knowledge with technology, blending man and machine.  That dream begins in Natchitoches. With education.”

Richoux encouraged current students to give back to the school, reminding them that investing their resources would help continue the school’s great work.

“Great names have come from LSMSA…yesterday and today. Take a trip to Baton Rouge. Write a letter to the Governor and your representatives and Senators. Vote with education in mind,” Ret. Maj. Gen. Richoux said. “It takes a lot of resources to run this school. Give as much as you can and ask your company for a corporate donation. This is a dollar-for-dollar investment in our sons and daughters and is worth every penny.”

Retired Director of Admissions Dr. Sharon Sturdivant Williams hosted “A Panel for the Decades” with alumni, faculty, staff, and parents from throughout the school’s history: Dewey Scandurro (’86); Jason Neville (’97); Dr. Bill Luster (’01); Alex Robertson (’14); Haley Flynn (’22); retired faculty/staff Faculty Emeritus Dr. Clayton Delery, Dr. Bill Ebarb, and Faculty Emeritus Dr. Linc Hall; and parents Christie Weeks and Melissa Benson. 

Friday evening, the LSMSA Foundation hosted ticketed cocktails and dinner at The Venue on Front Street, with remarks from LSMSA Foundation Executive Director Ali Landry, LSMSA CEO and Executive Director Dr. Steven Horton, LSMSA Director of Enrollment Management & Institutional Research Emily Shumate, and LSMSA Student Life Advisor and recent alum Marissa “Mars” Ramsey (’18). 

“If you had asked 17-year-old Marissa Ramsey what LSMSA meant to her, she likely would have said that LSMSA is the best thing that ever happened to her, because she finally found the community she could only dream of in her middle school library,” said Ramsey. “And even after seven years, I still feel the same way. Every person in this room has played a role in LSMSA’s longevity and believes in its ability to transform student lives, uplift this community, and model what education can look like for the state of Louisiana. I’ll admit that the dorms, and even the students, look a little different from when I was a student here, but LSMSA’s core values and sheer love of ‘doing the work,’ has yet to waver.”

Ramsey concluded, “In the past 40 years, the Louisiana School has built an impressive reputation of academic rigor within a supportive living and learning environment, but we all know this place is so much more than a school. It’s served as a home to return to. When I think about LSMSA’s future, I can—genuinely—only picture the best. Every day administrators, faculty members, staff members, alumni, friends and family members of LSMSA wake up and choose to invest their love and energy into making this institution the best it can be.”

On Saturday, Sept. 30, members of the LSMSA and Natchitoches communities enjoyed a picnic on campus hosted by the LSMSA Parents' Council, including school tours, music from the past 40 years, and outdoor games.

“Celebrating 40 years of a school that provided so many opportunities for more than 5,500 graduates is incredibly nostalgic. I am grateful for all that LSMSA achieved in the past, and look forward with excitement toward how much more we can do in the future,” said Kirby Hopkins (’94), president of the LSMSA Alumni Association. “It would not be possible without the creative vision, unwavering dedication, and career-long caring of faculty, staff, and administration.”

LSMSA, recently ranked in the top 1% of high schools by Niche and named a World’s Best Boarding Schools by Fortune magazine, is a tuition-free, public high school for high-achieving rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors with a nominal room and board fee to cover housing, meals, and campus activities. The LSMSA Foundation offers assistance for families in need to ensure no eligible student is denied the school’s 40-year legacy of a premium college-level living/learning experience.