ON THIS… The Day I Graduated From UL Lafayette [PHOTOS]

December 19th comes up every year on the calendar and I don't let it pass without remembering how important this day was for me. December 19th was the day my wife and I both graduated from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Yes, we were in different rooms at the Cajundome. She graduated in Nursing and I graduated with the College of Liberal arts. When I think back on the day, it was filled with a lot of uncertainty. Where will this degree take me? Who would go with me? Am I ready to move around the country like so many others in the broadcasting industry?

I had already been working full-time throughout college in radio and in television. I had built a pretty solid foundation and had a full-time job at KATC TV 3 waiting, but my time at UL taught me that I was capable of much more. It was less than 3 months after this date in December that I was off for my first big boy job: an offer to move to Dallas to work for KDFW Fox 4. I remember consulting friends and colleagues in Lafayette about the move and if it was worth it. Almost every one of them laughed in my face and said "...is it worth it? When can I help you move!"

I'm not one to really believe in luck, instead I believe you have to put yourself at the right place at the right time. Sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn't. I was a lifelong LSU Tigers fan and headlong dreamed of going to LSU for college. But at one of the orientations, something about it just didn't feel right to me. Too big. I knew that a major like Broadcasting (which has been increasingly based on technology) resources would have to be shared. There were hundreds of Mass Communication students.

So I took a chance, 45 minutes down the road at UL Lafayette, with the plan of one day transferring to LSU. But I loved it. I stayed. I met my future wife, fell in love with the people of Acadiana and made Lafayette my home.

After two awesome opportunities that took me to Texas and then Atlanta, GA, we decided to come back. And we haven't looked back. So today, December 19th may just mean six days to Christmas for you. But for me, it's much much more. The unversity and the surrounding community has given me so much. I can't thank the University, my classmates, my biggest supporter and college advisor Dr. William Davie, and station managers along the way who given me a chance.

I hope I make you proud. Geaux Cajuns