Spring 2014 - 1
Herget Parents Association Newsletter
Spring 2014
Meet the Rector
Hello from
Herget’s Rector.
My name is
Dorothy
McCaughey, and I
have been an
instructor in the
LSU English
department since
1989. I enjoy
teaching First Year
Writing, especially to your students. I also
keep my camera handy in Herget to record
our good times.
This is my twelfth year teaching in
Herget Residential College, and my tenth
year as Herget’s rector. During that time, I
have worked closely with Herget instructors
to improve the variety and excellence of
academic offerings. We instructors have
seen the program become a vibrant,
memorable experience for our entering
freshmen.
A new initiative in several Herget
English 1001 classes last fall was career
exploration. During individual class
presentations, Joan Gallagher of Career
Services guided students through the ins and
outs of their prospective careers. Then
students researched their careers and wrote
analyses of issues within these professions.
English 1001 students also learned about
How to Use the Unwritten Rules of Success,
a life-guide by educator Sean Terry of Drury
University. Terry’s book of excellent advice
encouraged students to put into practice a
solid work ethic to become happier, welladjusted individuals.
Positive growth makes all of us in
Herget very happy!
Herget Residence Hall is 50 years old
Amanda Kuylen with her Herget Tree
The challenge was to find something crafty
and imaginative that residents could help
create in order to commemorate Herget’s 50
years as a residence hall.
RA Amanda Kuylen came up with the
perfect artwork: a tree with spreading
branches and many leaves, each leaf to be
hand painted and signed by individual
participants, to mark their time in Herget.
“I painted the tree on a large board,
typically used for framing pictures and left the
leaves and supplies in the lobby for a week,”
she said.
“Response was tremendous,” Amanda
added. All in all, about 100 residents carefully
decorated leaves to glue on the Herget tree.
The artwork will be framed and hung in the
lobby for many years to come.
Well done, Amanda! Herget thanks you.
Spring 2014 - 2
GRD Candace Johnson is small town girl who loves family
feel of Herget
Herget
Graduate
Residence
Director Candace
Johnson hales
from a small
Mississippi town
called Prentiss—a
place where all
2000 residents
know each other
and where
Candace can leave the motor running and
car door open to dash into the post office to
pick up her mail.
“Everyone waves at you and knows
who you are,” Candace said. She wouldn’t
trade the family feel of her town for
anything.
Perhaps this is why she is quite at home
at the Herget front desk greeting and getting
to know residents. She welcomes every
opportunity to make a positive and
significant impact on students’ lives.
As Graduate Residence Director,
Candace assists Ricardo Horne, Residence
Life Coordinator, in daily tasks necessary to
make Herget Hall such a thriving
community. Her duties include desk
operations, staff supervision and advising,
as well as helping with facility issues.
Candace has a bachelor’s degree in
educational psychology with a counseling
concentration from Mississippi State
University. While at LSU she is working on
a master’s degree in higher education
administration. She plans to work as a
student affairs professional in admissions,
orientation, or academic outreach before
going on to earn a PhD in counseling or
school psychology.
“My goal is one day to provide mental
health services or behavioral interventions
for students that have endured medical
treatment for chronic or terminal illness,”
Candace said.
Herget is one of a kind, according to
Candace. “The sense of community here is
amazing,” she said. “I love that students are
comfortable enough to socialize at all hours
of the day and night!”
As GRD for Herget, Candace believes
that “Herget’s wonderful RAs, faculty and
staff have been successful in creating a
home away from home atmosphere for
residents.”
Candace enjoys her time with Herget
residents and finds the work very
rewarding. Her bright upbeat manner puts
smiles on residents’ faces as they pass the
front desk.
Herget students are happy to be
spending their freshman year under
Candace’s capable guidance.
Congratulations to instructor
Ann Martin
Herget congratulates instructor Ann Martin on receiving
the prestigious George H. Deer Distinguished Teaching
Award this spring.
Dr. Martin, instructor in the English department, teaches
Herget students English 1001 in Service Learning sections.
Great going, Dr. Martin, and thanks from all of us.
Spring 2014 - 3
Herget marathoners light up the dance floor
By Amanda Kuylen
Ricardo Horne with dancers Jonathan Brown, Amanda Kuylen,
and Kaitlyn King.
Dance Marathon is a new campus
philanthropy benefiting Our Lady of the
Lake Children’s Hospital and Children’s
Miracle Network. This student-run
organization is a year-long fundraising effort
which culminates in a 26.2 hour celebration
of dance.
On February 22, 2014, LSU Dance
Marathon raised $105,557.88 to benefit
ForTheKids. LSU’s effort broke the record
for money raised by a first-time participating
university.
For 2015 Amanda Kuylen will serve as
the Director for Dancer Relations, Jonathan
Brown, Director for Recruitment, and
Kaitlyn King, Assistant Director for
Recruitment.
New RAs enrich Herget staff
Lily Winnett
By Brandon Addison
Lily Winnett is a mass communication major with a concentration in
advertising. She also is pursuing a minor in business.
Lily chose advertising because she wants a creative outlet that can also
have a positive impact on the world. After graduation Lily’s dream is to
work for a nonprofit or a museum in a big city.
Although Lily is quiet, she is a bundle of joy who is always up for a chat
with pretty much anyone.
Some fun and interesting things about Lily are that she loves to paint and
sew; has two puppies at home, Buster and Fiona; loves these movies best:
Shawshank Redemption and The Outsiders; and would live off frozen yogurt
if she could.
Lily chose to be an RA because she feels she can connect people with resources that they don’t know
about and can help them be their best.
Brandon Addison
By Lily Winnett
A native of New Orleans, Brandon is just as lively and creative as his
hometown. He loves to dance and is even the president of the Legacy
Dancers, a hip-hop organization here at LSU.
Brandon says if his dream of becoming a back-up dancer doesn’t work
out, he plans on going to grad school to get his PhD in clinical psychology.
Truly an example of what an RA should be, Brandon became an RA
because he wants to help residents’ transition into college be as easy as
possible.
He loves to talk to people, and on the off chance he’s not dancing, he’s
probably listening to music and chatting with anyone and everyone!
Spring 2014 - 4
Gallery Night revisits 18th century France
February 4, 2014, art professor
Darius Spieth escorted Herget
students to Hill Memorial Library
for another look at 18th century
French art and literature.
Spring Gallery Night was a
repeat of the fall visit to the yearlong exhibit housed in Hill.
Students were especially
fascinated by Napoleon’s big
book measuring 3 ft. 3 in. by 2 ft.
8 in. Description of Egypt is a
text dealing with Egyptian
antiquities and the role these
antiquities played in the history of
science.
“Pie your RA” raises money for Dance Marathon
Steve and Connie Pomarico with Alexis
Evans at All the King’s Men.
Spring 2014 - 5
Theatre
Nights are
entertaining
and
thoughtprovoking
Artist Reeva Wortel (seated third from left) spoke to Herget students about
her artwork for the play Spill, a drama about the Deepwater Horizon
explosion in the Gulf of Mexico.
Photos above, left and below: students and
faculty enjoy supper before seeing the play
Stick Fly, a provocative drama about race
and family relations.
Herget Parents Association Newsletter
Editor: Dorothy McCaughey
Contributors: Brandon Addison, Candace
Johnson, Kaitlyn King, Amanda Kuylen,
Lily Winnett
Photos: Ricardo Horne, Dorothy
McCaughey and Lily Winnett
Comments or suggestions:
dmccaug@lsu.edu
Spring 2014 - 6
Herget in action!
Spreading
the love
For Valentine’s
Day, about 25 to 30
residents made
cards and candy
poppers for the
residents of Sweet
Dreams, a shelter
for women and
children in Baton
Rouge.
Herget delivered
lots of love!
Creating
sparkling
cups
To celebrate Mardi
Gras, residents
gathered in the
Herget lobby and
decorated coffee
mugs with glitter,
paint, and Sharpies.
The evening
included music,
pizza, and fun.