Kendra WilsonӰרs parents are both UL Lafayette graduates, making her a born-and-raised RaginӰר Cajun. She had many options of where to attend college, but UL Lafayette was the best choice for her.
ӰרGrowing up in Lafayette, I went to RaginӰר Cajun football games and softball games,Ӱר she said. ӰרWe were definitely a RaginӰר Cajun family.
ӰרI looked at other schools since I have family in other parts of the country,Ӱר she said. ӰרBut when it came down to it, UL Lafayette had a program that I liked, I had friends here already, it was a great school with a great program and it just fit.Ӱר
Exploring Travel, Languages & Cultures
KendraӰרs decision to major in political science with a concentration in international relations came from a love of traveling.
ӰרI started traveling really young because my grandmother lives on the west coast,Ӱר she said. ӰרSo, we were flying on planes before I was old enough to walk.
ӰרWith the international relations program, I thought, ӰרI like to travel, I like languages, this sounds awesome,Ӱר so I signed up for it and it has been my home ever since,Ӱר she said.
ӰרWhen I got to UL Lafayette, I heard about the Study Abroad program and I was hooked,Ӱר she said. ӰרI went to London, Norway, and Scotland right after I finished my freshman year and that really sealed the deal for me.Ӱר
Studying New Languages
KendraӰרs love of language is what drew her to two language minors that complement her major: Arabic Studies and Spanish.
ӰרIӰרve always had a love for languages,Ӱר she said. ӰרMy first semester of my freshman year I was in the first Arabic class at UL Lafayette Ӱר quite an honor, I might say Ӱר and I just fell in love with it immediately.
ӰרI was taking Spanish alongside Arabic,Ӱר she said. ӰרI knew some really great Spanish professors and they told me that I only needed three more classes to earn a minor. So, I was like ӰרWhy not?Ӱר I like Spanish too, so I added it on.Ӱר
When she began taking Arabic classes, it wasnӰרt a minor yet. So, Kendra Ӱר with the help of her peers Ӱר changed that and brought a new field of study to the campus.
ӰרI liked the professor, I loved the language, and my classmates were fantastic,Ӱר she said. ӰרAs we went through the levels together, we decided we wanted this as a minor, so me and a few classmates put together a petition and a lot of work with our professor to convince the language department to continue this as a minor.Ӱר
Student Organizations
A minor isnӰרt the only thing she helped bring to UL Lafayette. To accompany the minor, Kendra helped start two student organizations: the and the .
ӰרFor the Arabic Culture Club, we meet on Wednesday nights and work on Arabic homework and just work on speaking basic conversations so that people in the Arabic program Ӱר and people not in the Arabic program Ӱר would get exposure to the language and have the experience of speaking it outside of a normal classroom setting,Ӱר she said.
ӰרWe had a big event called Arabic Night where we had people come in and teach us how to do a traditional dance,Ӱר she said. ӰרWe had some people come do henna, and all the food was supplied by Zeus on campus. We had a really fun night and a bigger turnout than expected. I think everyone had a good time; weӰרll just need a bigger room for next time.
ӰרI was also a founding member of the Model Arab league,Ӱר she said. ӰרItӰרs a little like Model UN (United Nations). We go to conferences and we go to competitions, but instead of representing any country, you represent one of the 22 countries in the Arab region.
ӰרThis year, we actually got approval to make it a class,Ӱר she said. ӰרSo now it counts for course credit and towards your Arabic studies minor. ItӰרs a very big thing and we are very proud of that.Ӱר
A New Interest in Government
KendraӰרs political science classes have shown her that a career in government may be in her future.
ӰרAfter I graduate, IӰרd really like to get a job working in government, especially local government,Ӱר she said. ӰרOver the past year or two, IӰרve fallen in love with the process.
ӰרI would like to do something where I could use my languages,Ӱר she said. ӰרI would like to eventually become a translator or interpreter Ӱר I know itӰרs going to take me a lot of time to get there Ӱר so right now, my plan is to work in our local government until I figure out which graduate program IӰרd like to go to. Then hopefully IӰרll move onto national government or even working as a translator overseas.Ӱר
One class in particular piqued KendraӰרs interest in government work.
ӰרI took Dr. Pearson CrossӰרs State and Local Government class (POLS 317) last semester and it was phenomenal,Ӱר she said. ӰרI learned so much about how our government works and how it works in comparison to other state governments, and I liked it way more than I thought I would.Ӱר
KendraӰרs undergraduate thesis with the Ӱר Honors Program reflects these interests as well.
ӰרIӰרm doing my thesis on the evolution of American socialism,Ӱר she said. ӰרI got the idea when I was in a philosophy class and we were talking about socialism.
ӰרItӰרs been around for forever, but right now itӰרs really prevalent especially considering we had a presidential candidate that labels himself as a democratic socialist,Ӱר she said. ӰרAnd of course, you have people in Congress such as the famous AOC (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) who is also a democratic socialist.
ӰרIӰרm writing my thesis because I think itӰרs important to know what a democratic socialist is, how socialism evolved from the very beginnings of history and in America, why itӰרs such an appealing concept to so many people, and if itӰרs even a feasible option for America,Ӱר she said.
Campus Culture
Kendra thanks her professors for helping her form her own opinions.
ӰרI think we have some of the best professors,Ӱר she said. ӰרTheyӰרre able to teach without having very strong biases and they try to teach everything from all sides so that you can make your own opinions and get the full story before jumping to one side or the other.
ӰרI think they teach the classes in a way that really gears it toward the students where itӰרs best for them to understand,Ӱר she said. ӰרTheyӰרre not afraid to touch the sticky subjects Ӱר like writing a thesis on socialism Ӱר and theyӰרre willing to help with those kinds of projects that you bring to them.Ӱר
Her experiences on campus helped her break out of her shell.
ӰרBefore I started college, I was very, very shy and I hated public speaking,Ӱר she said. ӰרI feel like part of my experience at UL Lafayette of becoming president of an organization and having to give presentations is what made me much more comfortable speaking to people.
ӰרJust having the ability to express my ideas clearly and have the experience of presenting things to people and collaborating with them is probably my strongest skill that IӰרve gained,Ӱר she said.
Campus culture exceeded her expectations, too.
ӰרIt sounds bad to say it, but being in Louisiana, I didnӰרt really expect to meet people from all over,Ӱר she said. ӰרBut we have such a diverse population and IӰרve met all these amazing people from all these places. My boyfriendӰרs roommate is from Oman so sometimes we just speak Arabic to each other and thatӰרs an incredible thing.
ӰרAnd we have such strong traditions like the pardoning of the crawfish Ӱר I cannot tell you another school that has anything like that,Ӱר she said. ӰרI really enjoy having that cultural identity as part of my university.Ӱר
