Erika Louviere杏吧专区檚 mother once called her a 杏吧专区淛ackie of all Trades.杏吧专区 The moniker seems pretty fitting.
Since earning her B.S. in Industrial Technology in 2002, the New Iberia native has held over a dozen positions in almost as many fields, from oilfield service to real estate to education. Louviere also owned and operated two manufacturing businesses and creates metal decor.
杏吧专区淚 would get to the point that I couldn杏吧专区檛 move up because I just had a bachelor杏吧专区檚, so I did different things from drafting to production coordinator to purchasing,杏吧专区 she said.
Last year, Louviere encountered a new roadblock. She had settled into a teaching position at a charter school in Franklin when administrators said they would not renew her contract if she didn杏吧专区檛 acquire her teaching certification.
Rather than attain that certification, Louviere decided to earn a graduate degree, giving her the opportunity to teach in higher education and provide more mobility in the industry.
杏吧专区淚t was a no-brainer,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淚 could get my master杏吧专区檚 and then teach what I know instead of elementary math, science, or English.杏吧专区
Louviere set a pretty ambitious goal for herself. Enrolling in the Master of Science in Systems Technology online program in Fall 2018, she aimed to finish in three semesters.
And that杏吧专区檚 exactly what she did.
杏吧专区淓verybody was like, 杏吧专区榊ou can杏吧专区檛 do it that fast; there杏吧专区檚 no way,'" she says.
"Tell me I can杏吧专区檛 and watch me."
Louviere didn杏吧专区檛 have experience with online courses or UL Lafayette杏吧专区檚 online Learning Management System, Moodle. But she quickly embraced the technology and its capabilities.
杏吧专区淎t first, it was like, 杏吧专区榳hat is this?杏吧专区 But it was amazing to have all those tools,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淭hat makes it easy for those of us who are parents, trying to work and balance home lives. You can do what you need to do from home. You don杏吧专区檛 have to be on campus, in the library.杏吧专区
From the outset, Louviere knew she needed to begin working on her culminating project to hit her projected timeline. But research regarding technologies she was interested in 杏吧专区 3D printing or plasma cutting 杏吧专区 seemed saturated.
杏吧专区淵ou have to invent or come up with something that streamlines a process making it more efficient,杏吧专区 she said.
That something came from a surprise sounding board: Louviere杏吧专区檚 14-year-old son.
杏吧专区淚 said I needed to create something that makes life easier or a process to create consistent results,杏吧专区 recalls Louviere. 杏吧专区淗e said, 杏吧专区楳om, can you come up with something to help my Coush-coush (grandfather) to pick up those crawfish traps? It hurts his back so much.杏吧专区櫺影勺ㄇ鴿
That was all Louviere needed to begin formulating a mechanism to relieve musculoskeletal stress in crawfish farmers.
She reached out to LSU AgCenter Agriculture and Coastal Resources Specialist Mark Shirley, who said he hadn杏吧专区檛 seen anything designed specifically to help crawfish farmers collect traps.
Louviere is now working to patent the project to potentially bring it to production.
She said she hopes to publish her results soon.
杏吧专区淲e杏吧专区檝e tested it and proven it. Over the next year, my plan is to perfect it, modify it to be a little more efficient, and then push forward with patenting,杏吧专区 she says.
True to form, Louviere has other coals in the fire.
The M.S. in Systems Technology 杏吧专区 the only program of its kind in the Southern Region 杏吧专区 combines courses to hone industry skills and knowledge with graduate business courses to equip students with advanced problem-solving skills.
Louviere drilled down on courses in entrepreneurship to support her plans to open a storefront to sell original and custom metalwork.
杏吧专区淚 loved them,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淭hey were so informative.杏吧专区
Meanwhile, she杏吧专区檒l have the opportunity to 杏吧专区渢each what she knows杏吧专区 at South Louisiana Community College in the Industrial Technology program this fall.