Women at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, a historically female-dominated university, have shown exemplary character, achieved great feats and led with pride and humility. In honor of Women’s History Month, we celebrate the women, past and present, who continue to inspire in their community.
According to census data by the UL Lafayette Office of Institutional Research, the percentage of females enrolled each semester has consistently been above 56% for the past decade. Female representation has been visible in almost, if not all, aspects of the campus. From campus leaders, faculty and staff, to student leaders and athletes, women at the University continue to excel in their fields, maintaining the legacy of historical female figures who paved the way for females in the modern day.
Alyson Habetz, head coach of Louisiana Softball, was the first girl in the state of Louisiana to play high school baseball after taking on a court case against the Louisiana High School Athletic Association (LHSAA) in 1990. Habetz had sought to try out for the Notre Dame High School baseball team, which consisted of all male players, but was not allowed due to LHSAA rules at the time which prohibited girls from participating on male sports teams.
Habetz eventually got to play in her junior and senior years of high school. She went on to play basketball and softball for UL Lafayette, the University of Southwestern Louisiana at the time. She then played pro-league baseball with the Colorado Silver Bullets and the Long Beach Aces, and coached softball at the University of Alabama before getting appointed to coach Louisiana Softball in June 2024.
Sharing her thoughts on female representation in sports, Habetz said, “We have tremendous gifts as females, as do guys as men. So I definitely think the representation from females, really in any organization, and specifically in sports, brings a new dynamic to any team.”
To Habetz, the significance of Women’s History Month is recognizing women for their achievements and contributions, no matter the feat. She said, “Women have made tremendous contributions, not only in the workplace… but in general, in the sense of… the world, in the sense of the selflessness they bring and how they model their lives.”
“In being good moms, and in being good owners of companies and… showing that you can be authentically feminine and still achieve greatness.”
Dr. Ishita Pal, a researcher at UL Lafayette, broke ground in research after uncovering “the first direct evidence of a rare chemical process deep inside an exploding massive star by analyzing ancient stardust billions of years older than our sun,” according to an article published by the University. The discovery, led by Pal together with an international team of researchers, was published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.
Pal earned her Ph.D. in earth and energy sciences from UL Lafayette in 2025 and is now a postdoctoral researcher in the School of Geosciences, doing her research on earth and planetary science. She is also a recipient of the Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology (FINESST) solicitation, which provides research grants for graduate students.
Sharing her thoughts on modern-day female representation in the scientific research field, Pal said, “At this moment, there are a lot of very bright female scientists.”
When asked about a female figure that inspires her, Pal shared about her Ph.D. advisor, Dr. Manavi Jadhav, a planetary scientist, astrophysicist and geologist. She said, “She is a lot of things. She made me realize how you could be a great scientist, but also a very kind mentor. You do not have to… leave your humanity behind in order to do objective, technical stuff in your life.”
Commenting on what Women’s History Month means to her, Pal said that to her, it is about recognizing the achievements of women in the past, who blazed the trail for younger generations. She said, “It’s very inspiring that people have done this for generations, women, even under worse circumstances… We have a lot more opportunity in this world than what women used to have, and still they did it.”
Aniya Hill, a sophomore marketing major, is a Division 1 student-athlete in Track and Field and a Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) content creator. As a Track and Field athlete, Hill competes in throws, placing third in discus at the 2025 Pelican Relays and scoring in the discus at the 2025 Sun Belt Conference Championships.
In her experience with NIL, she has partnered with over 50 national brands, including Meta, Adidas and Amazon Music. She was recognized by Out2Win as a Top 10 athlete nationally for NIL partnership volume. Hill also placed second in the Inn-eaux-vate 2025 Entrepreneurship Pitch Competition with her business, The Aniya LaNae Collective, designed to provide NIL training, resources and consulting to collegiate student-athletes.
When asked about female representation in sports at UL Lafayette, Hill shared that she is currently working on bridging the gap between athletes and regular student life. She said, “I’m definitely having more representation for our women athletes in different organizations and… having more representation for our women athletes on campus especially.”
As a content creator, Hill uses her social media presence to empower other women in her community, sharing that she hopes to have a positive influence through her content. She said, “Showing other women, women in sports, black women, that they can do whatever they set their mind to, and that there’s people that look like them in places like this, as well as… showing other women athletes at our school that you can be involved, you can do all this and still have time for your sport.”
Sharing her thoughts on the significance of Women’s History Month, Hill said, “I think for women, it’s just a reminder for us that we are important. We are seen, we are heard by each other, by others.”
UL Lafayette’s history was shaped by several influential women, two of whom buildings on campus are named after. These notable figures are Agnes Edwards, dean of women from 1929 to 1957, and Edith Garland Dupré, who was among the first eight faculty members of the Southwestern Louisiana Industrial Institute, now UL Lafayette. Other notable women include Della Bonette, first female vice president in the University’s history, and Kathleen Blanco, UL Lafayette alumna and only woman to serve as Louisiana governor.
Today, women’s empowerment is advocated for by several organizations at the University, including Society of Women Engineers, Panhellenic Council, National Pan-Hellenic Council, Black Women Leadership Association, Students for the Advancement of Women and more.