Dering to lead student affairs

Sowela Technical Community College recently named Allison Dering as executive director of enrollment management and student affairs. Dering served as interim director for this role beginning in August 2022. She has been employed with Sowela since 2007.

Dering will be responsible for overseeing the division comprised of student recruitment, enrollment management, records and registration, financial aid, academic advising, testing center, new student orientation, disability services, counseling, student services, career services and graduation.

In addition to her interim role, Dering served in various capacities within enrollment management and student affairs as an associate director and director of financial aid and Scholarships. In January 2020 she was promoted to the director of enrollment management and financial aid.

Prior to joining Sowela, she worked at McNeese State University in various roles within the financial aid department. She has a Master of Education from McNeese State University.

Cooper earns Academic Award

BATON ROUGE — The Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections officially welcomed 14 new probation and parole officers to the department after they took the oath of office Wednesday afternoon during a swearing in ceremony at the Louisiana State Police Training Academy Auditorium in Baton Rouge.

The new officers will work in districts across Louisiana and are assigned to 10 of the state’s 22 district offices. During the ceremony, the department recognized the efforts of cadets who excelled in various areas. Donna Cooper of Lake Charles District received the Academic Award.

In addition to Cooper, Micaela Lavergne from the Lake Charles District was also part of the Academy Class of 46.

Banners director attends seminar

Brook Hanemann, director of Banners at McNeese State University, was selected to represent Louisiana at the recent meeting of the South Arts Advocacy in Atlanta by the Louisiana Division of the Arts.

The South Arts Advocacy — a nonprofit regional arts association in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the state arts agencies of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee — supports artists and organizations through grants, fellowships and programs that elevate the region and increase access to arts and culture for communities.

At the meeting, representatives from the nine states learned from others in the field and shared best practices and resources, according to Hanemann.

Hanemann, who has a doctorate in theatre history, literature and theory from Louisiana State University, has directed Banners at McNeese since 2018. She also organizes Rouge et Blanc, the annual fall wine tasting event that is a fundraiser for the Banners series and its off-season educational components.

Recently, Hanemann helped lead the development of a Specialty Louisiana License Plate to raise funds for the arts through the nonprofit Louisiana Partnership for the Arts. The plate is scheduled to be released this fall.

LC adds three new troopers

BATON ROUGE — Louisiana State Police has announced the graduation of its 102nd Cadet Class, as 40 cadets have completed their journey to becoming a Louisiana State Trooper.

In Troop D, which covers Lake Charles, graduates are Austin Juckett,  Deshawn Mouton and Austen Wright.

Throughout the academy, cadets received training in various subjects including crash investigation, emergency vehicle operations, impaired driving detection, fair and impartial policing, legal aspects and constitutional updates, advanced firearms, and leadership skills in addition to a rigorous physical training regimen.

Brown joins Memorial Group

Lake Charles Memorial Health System is pleased to welcome Ashlyn Courville Brown, MD, an internal medicine physician, as a new member of its medical staff, and back home to southwest Louisiana.

Brown is originally from Lake Charles and after graduating from St. Louis Catholic High School, she completed her undergraduate degree at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. Continuing her educational path, she received her Doctor of Medicine degree from the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center at New Orleans School of Medicine, and most recently finished an Internal Medicine Residency at Baylor, Scott, and White Hospital in Temple, Texas.

Throughout her education, Brown has been actively involved with initiatives that promote the field of medicine — whether it was working to improve the residency experience as chief resident, teaching middle school students about the human body, or leading anatomy review sessions for first year medical students.