Meet Our Student Ambassadors
Student Ambassadors are appointed by the Dean of their college, based on merit. Student Ambassadors represent their colleges by promoting undergraduate research, creativity, and scholarship. Additionally, Student Ambassadors collaborate with University Faculty and Staff to address the needs of research and creative activities for their peers.
Student Ambassadors
Trevian Ambroise
College of Liberal Arts
Department of History, Geography & Philosophy
I am a senior history major from Broussard, Louisiana, who enjoys being involved on campus, gardening, the outdoors, and listening to my favorite podcasts. I am so excited to be part of a group of students who value supporting and advocating for undergraduate research at the University.
Examples of my research completed in undergrad include:
- (Re)Visualizing the Queen City, UL Lafayette's Center for Louisiana Studies.
- Shared Histories Project & Webinar Series, UL Lafayette's Guilbeau Center for Public History.
- The Building Names Taskforce, University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
- Beyond The Shadows, The National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Madeleine Angerdina
Ray P. Authement College of Sciences
Department of Mathematics
I am a graduating senior and plan to move to Chicago after I graduate. My hobbies include running, yoga, and reading. I like being an ambassador because it exposes me to what research looks like in other disciplines. I also enjoy collaborating with the other ambassadors and knowing that the work we do will have a lasting effect on UL Lafayette.
Examples of my research completed in undergrad include:
- Game Theory – Generalized cognitive hierarchy theory and used it to analyze a collection of two-player-two-action games.
- Biomathematics – Modeled a smallmouth bass population and found conditions under which different types of harvesting methods worked best.
- Economics – Modeled the US electricity market and found estimates for the price elasticities of demand which help show the effectiveness of a potential carbon tax in the different sectors of the market.
Whitney Applewhite
College of the Arts
Department of Music
I love being an ambassador for the arts because there are so many opportunities to develop and find opportunities for research that students don't usually think of in our field.
During my undergraduate career I have taken independent study courses with my academic advisor that focuses on research within my major! I have attended many student performances and conducted observation-based research. In my junior and senior years, I have prepared two Flute recitals which require a semester's worth of preparation and research to have a successful recital.
Peyton Bailey
College of Engineering
Department of Civil Engineering
I am a senior in Civil Engineering graduating in Spring 2022. I am interested in hydrological and hydraulic engineering, and I plan to work in modeling following graduation. My favorite part of the College of Engineering at UL is the wealth of opportunities available to get involved in research and extracurricular activities. My favorite part of being an ambassador is having the opportunity to get more people involved in research in the college as undergraduate students.
Research: Up until my senior year, I worked in the Undergraduate Research Apprenticeship program in the College of Engineering. I aided graduate students and my professors to set up experiments, collect data, and analyze results. It was a great opportunity to build my resume and work with my professors outside of the classroom setting. It ultimately helped me get an internship because of my experience in research. The bulk of the research I performed was on improving pavement material mix designs and performances for highway infrastructure.
Research: Up until my senior year, I worked in the Undergraduate Research Apprenticeship program in the College of Engineering. I aided graduate students and my professors to set up experiments, collect data, and analyze results. It was a great opportunity to build my resume and work with my professors outside of the classroom setting. It ultimately helped me get an internship because of my experience in research. The bulk of the research I performed was on improving pavement material mix designs and performances for highway infrastructure.
Lauren Bainter
College of Education
School of Kinesiology
I am currently a senior majoring in exercise science with a concentration in pre-professional studies. I am also pursuing a minor in psychology. My career goal is to become an occupational therapist. I am grateful for the opportunity to be an ambassador as I get to collaborate with students and faculty in order to enhance creative endeavors for others and expand this program. I enjoy the enriching experience of being an ambassador and am excited to guide others on their research journeys.
Research: completed undergraduate thesis titled “The Effects of Running Durations on Executive Function” (studied the correlation between different running durations and 3 main components of executive function).
Research: completed undergraduate thesis titled “The Effects of Running Durations on Executive Function” (studied the correlation between different running durations and 3 main components of executive function).
- Effects of exercise on depressive disorders
- Impact of parenting on physical activity
Jaden Romero
College of Nursing & Health Sciences
LHC Group Myers School of Nursing
I am a second semester senior level Nursing student graduating in May. I love being an ambassador because it gives me a chance to be able to represent my college and work closely with the faculty and staff in my department to promote undergraduate research. I also get the chance to reach out to my peers and encourage them to be the best version of themselves. Being an ADVANCE ambassador has also given me the opportunity to meet great people from other colleges and network with students in other walks of life.
I’ve gotten the opportunity to complete and participate in lots of research opportunities within the College of Nursing: “Pour Decisions: Alcohol Use, Screening, and Prevention in Adolescents” which I am currently working on with a group of peers and the BSN coordinator of my program to get published, participant in “The PREP Framework’s Impact on Pre-Licensure Nursing Students’ Critical Thinking in Medical/Surgical Settings,” participant with the department of Psychology in studying "Childhood Adversity and Health Outcomes in a College Sample: Roles, Resilience, Social Support, and Mindfulness,” active quality improvement research on “Improving Patient Experience through Leadership Nursing Rounds,” and focus group leading for “Determining the Difference in Bedside vs. Remote Observation of Patient Simulation.” I’ve also gotten the opportunity to participate in a community as a client project in the city of Arnaudville, LA and work with my peers to initiate the implementation of an Alcoholics Anonymous group through St. Francis Regis Church and New Life Community Church of Arnaudville.
I love research because it empowers me and allows me to set myself apart from all other students in my program and at my university. Research has allowed me to grow, learn, and thrive as a student and has given me the opportunity to represent myself, my college, and my university through my academic excellence and achievement. Doing research has fulfilled me and given me a greater sense of accomplishment and success as I enter my final semester before graduating and starting my career. As a kid, my dad always told me to do everything I do to the best of my ability or don’t do it at all. Participating in undergraduate research as a student has allowed me to do just that: excel and push myself to go further than I ever thought possible. If I take pride in anything I’ve done through my college career, it is that.
Alexandria Self
B.I. Moody III College of Business Administration
I am a second-year junior formerly majoring in Business Administration now a Moving Image Arts major minoring in Business. I love being an ambassador because I get to work with amazing people and come up with ideas on how to advance our university’s research involvement.