Teachers hand down real life values to students
August 7, 2012Lawyers benefit with court e-filing; state Supreme Court adds service
August 7, 2012
Former Gibson Elementary student Bailee Theriot will be the only student from Terrebonne Parish to attend the presidential inauguration in January 2013.
“I am so excited about the trip,” Bailee said. “I freaked out when I learned I was going. When I showed the letter to my principal, she said ‘You are one of the best students at the entire school.’ She was thrilled that I was nominated.”
Theriot’s former principal Monica Breaux nominated the up-and-coming fifth-grader, daughter of Kristina Boulerisse of Gibson, for the trip last fall. The People to People Leadership Ambassador Program, which works to provide educational travel opportunities for students from around the world, will host the trip.
“The program was started by President Eisenhower,” Boulerisse said. “It gives children the opportunity to meet other children from different countries and different nationalities and helps to send children from here to other countries for one month during the summer.”
This marks the first time Gibson Elementary was asked to nominate a student for the trip. According to Bailee, Breaux was ecstatic about having one of her students honored with the opportunity.
“I received the letter in the mail last fall and I nominated several students,” the principal said. “Bailee is a high achiever – she has high expectations for herself and peers. She is a leader and is always interested in learning about new things.”
In addition to volunteer work and extracurricular activities, Bailee also earns excellent grades.
“I hope the trip shows her how far she can go in life and inspire her to reach for high things,” Breaux said. “Most children her age will never get this experience. I hope she enjoys the trip and learns from it. It is the experience of a lifetime for someone of such a young age and she has had amazing support from her family. She will achieve a lot and I think this will encourage and motivate her even further in her life.”
Boulerisse will accompany her daughter on the flight to Washington, D.C., and, when they arrive in the nation’s capitol, Bailee will spend the rest of the trip with the People to People staff.
“They will be having breakfast at the Smithsonian Institute and will get to take a picture on the front steps of the White House,” Boulerisse said. “This is a major accomplishment for Bailee.
“She was selected to go on a trip to Canada last summer, but we couldn’t afford it,” she said. “The group would have toured Canada. All the trips People to People organize are educational.”
Now a Greenwood Middle fifth-grader, Bailee said her favorite subject is math. She’ll be brushing up on her civics, though.
“I don’t know who I want to win the election because I don’t know who is running,” Bailee admitted.
Bailee Theriot, who will be attending the fifth grade this year at Greenwood Elementary, will be the only student from Terrebonne Parish to attend the presidential inauguration January 2013. Bailee was selected for the trip through the People to People Leadership Ambassador Program.
