The Vermilion was invited to attend the 2025 University of Louisiana at Lafayette Advance Leaf Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Research, Creativity, and Scholarship, which were held on Apr. 3 within B.I. Moody III College of Business Administration.
The Leaf Award celebrates students who have achieved excellence while completing a Student Research Experience (SRE) or disseminating information about an SRE they have worked on.
This year, Leaf Awards took a hands-on student approach. The location of the awards took place in room 103 of Moody Hall in order to showcase students and for families to sit in their classroom and feel student-like, explained Sherry Krayesky, the director of the Student Center for Research, Creativity and Scholarship (SCRCS).
With this student-centered approach, students were in charge of planning, catering and providing various other resources for the evening.
Students in HMGT 407: Event Planning & Management, under the direction of Lisa K. Bowles, planned, designed and executed the Leaf Awards Ceremony, as well as helped serve food and beverages, offered hospitality and kept a clean environment.
Under the direction of Becky Dubois and Isabelle Ducote, the HMGT 316 students planned and prepared the food and beverages for the mocktail hour and ceremony. Student volunteers from HMGT 201: Introduction to Hospitality, 351: Restaurant Management and 408: Facilities Management also helped serve the event.
Music was provided by the UL Lafayette Student Jazz Combo 1, Logan Turner on guitar, Evan Smith on bass and Hunter Landry on drums.
Lastly, students from the School of Architecture & Design, under the direction of Thomas Cline and Keegan McClain, produced the Leaf Award plaques.
This year, Leaf Awards inaugurated a new award, the Advance Advocate Challenge Coin, given to faculty and staff who have worked tirelessly in conjunction with SCRCS to encourage, assist and support undergraduate students with their research endeavors.
Recipients of the Challenge Coin this year were Dr. Sophie Plouviez, Dr. Farzad Ferdowsi, Dr. Christine Briggs, Tiffany Ellis, Andrea Broussard, Olivia Peltier, Amy Winsdor and Heidie Lindsey.
University Faculty and Staff nominated 51 undergraduate students, with some being nominated twice, out of 13,432 total undergraduate students enrolled at the University.
A few notable awardees were Jonas Schmidt, who won a Leaf Award last year in computer and informational sciences.
Abbey Poirier won a Leaf Award last year in social sciences, along with her award this year in exceptional performance and dissemination.
Ramudhi Kariyawasam won an award for Exceptional Performance in Dissemination; last year, she won a Leaf Award in Physical Sciences.
Hallie Blondiau won a Leaf Award this year for Exceptional Performance in Dissemination and the Provost Award. Paul Curry won a Leaf Award in Health and the Provost Award.
Cassidy Boudreaux won a Leaf Award in Humanities, Performing Arts and the Provost Award. Katherine Ashurst won a Leaf Award in Engineering & Technology, International Impact and the Provost Award.
To view the full list of nominees and winners, view Advance Leaf Awards on the University’s website.