Christopher Cooper will earn a bachelor杏吧专区檚 degree in economics from the 杏吧专区 on Saturday, the second day of Spring 2021 Commencement ceremonies.
His next stop? The 杏吧专区 of Edinburgh in Scotland, where he杏吧专区檒l pursue a master杏吧专区檚 degree.
First, Cooper will receive his bachelor杏吧专区檚 degree from UL Lafayette杏吧专区檚 B.I. Moody III College of Business Administration at 8 a.m. on Saturday at the Cajundome. Individual ceremonies for UL Lafayette杏吧专区檚 eight academic colleges and Graduate School will be held on Friday and Saturday at the Cajundome and the Cajundome Convention Center.
Cooper, who is from Slidell, La., will start work on his second degree this fall, when he杏吧专区檒l enroll at the prestigious Scottish university to study energy policy and economics.
He杏吧专区檒l be about 4,500 miles from his alma mater. Keeping tabs on the bipartisan governmental watchdog he established this semester at UL Lafayette, however, shouldn杏吧专区檛 be a problem. Cooper can simply sign up for the student organization杏吧专区檚 new e-newsletter.
The Student Public Policy Organization is designed to 杏吧专区渒eep the student body informed about legislation and public policy, and engaged in the democratic process,杏吧专区 Cooper explained.
Full-time UL Lafayette students majoring in any discipline are eligible to join. Members track state legislation, and summarize bills, resolutions, amendments and policy issues. The newsletters also contain contact information for 杏吧专区渟tudents who want to make their voices heard.杏吧专区
People sign up to receive the newsletters by or on .
杏吧专区淚t杏吧专区檚 strictly bipartisan. The idea is to inform, and most importantly, provide a means of communication where you can email legislators 杏吧专区 or the subcommittee on education, for example 杏吧专区 and voice support or opposition for legislation. And ask questions,杏吧专区 Cooper said.
Cooper杏吧专区檚 motivation for setting up the organization during his last semester on campus? An observation he made last summer while working as an intern for the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana.
His duties for the nonprofit governmental watchdog organization in Baton Rouge included monitoring legislation. That required sitting in on legislative sessions, where public engagement portions of the process caught his interest.
杏吧专区淭here was very little participation. I always noticed the same few people stepping up to speak. And when it came time for emails or letters from the public to be read, there weren杏吧专区檛 many of those, either. Even for big issues,杏吧专区 he said.
When Cooper returned to campus last fall, he began working with UL Lafayette杏吧专区檚 to form the Student Public Policy Organization. That involved drumming up membership, crafting a constitution, submitting by-laws that adhered to 杏吧专区 policies and standards, and presenting a proposal for approval.
The Student Public Policy Organization is overseen by an executive council, and has about a dozen members. Cooper was elected its first president.
杏吧专区淭his is my way of trying to foster a better understanding of policies and the legislative process, and to help get people more involved, which is important. So, I杏吧专区檓 hopeful the organization will grow and evolve,杏吧专区 he said.
For his part, Cooper will spend a year at the 杏吧专区 of Edinburgh as part of its 12-month 杏吧专区淓nergy, Society and Sustainability杏吧专区 master杏吧专区檚 degree program that begins in September. 杏吧专区淭he program杏吧专区檚 got a unique title, but courses basically focus on energy policies and economics,杏吧专区 he said.
杏吧专区淚t covers the energy industry in general, so I杏吧专区檒l be learning about many energy processes. But I杏吧专区檓 definitely leaning toward a career in renewable energy. It seems to be the trend we杏吧专区檙e on,杏吧专区 Cooper said.
Cooper杏吧专区檚 interest in energy began early. His father, who is from New York, moved to Louisiana to work as a chef in the oil and gas industry.
杏吧专区淗e杏吧专区檚 been in oil and gas my entire life, so energy杏吧专区檚 always been important to me. And, my interest in economics policy increased throughout my time at UL,杏吧专区 Cooper said.
杏吧专区淪o, when I started thinking about graduate school, I just began researching the world杏吧专区檚 best energy policy programs, and applied to most of them,杏吧专区 he added.
Cooper discarded all but two of a stack of acceptances letters. Johns Hopkins 杏吧专区 in Baltimore, Maryland, was the other school he considered. The 杏吧专区 of Edinburgh won out because 杏吧专区淪cotland is at the forefront of new energy. I thought, 杏吧专区業t杏吧专区檚 not only a great university and great program, but it杏吧专区檚 in an environment that杏吧专区檚 on the cutting edge for renewable energy.杏吧专区
Cooper envisions public policy work, but isn杏吧专区檛 杏吧专区渆ntirely certain what path I杏吧专区檒l take.杏吧专区
杏吧专区淭here杏吧专区檚 government, but there杏吧专区檚 also business 杏吧专区 writing policy at a corporation 杏吧专区 or for a nonprofit, or consulting. There are a lot of different options,杏吧专区 he said.
Photo caption: Christopher Cooper will begin pursuing a master杏吧专区檚 degree at the 杏吧专区 of Edinburgh in Scotland this fall. First, he杏吧专区檒l earn a bachelor杏吧专区檚 degree in economics from UL Lafayette on Saturday. Photo credit: Doug Dugas / 杏吧专区