An Honor for any prof

First: an apology.

I apologize to my ever-growing fan-base who’ve wondered where I have been most of the summer. Well, I can say that early in the summer, the Central Intelligence Agency contracted me to infiltrate a cabal of baddies in a foreign country to bring them to justice. I can say that because it is my column and Shell Armstrong, who is the editor of this fine publication, never told me I couldn’t make stuff up. Of course, it’s not true, but being an undercover agent for the CIA has always been a dream of mine, so there.

Actually I was overseas but not in so dangerous a situation. What I was doing for a month is serving as instructor for the Nicholls State’s Honors Program in London and Plymouth, England. It’s a primo job with primo students in a primo program. Nicholls’ Honor Program is headed by two of the top professors at the university, Dr. John Doucet and Dr. Deb Cibelli, and administered by my good friend and semi-retired prof, Martin Simpson.

It’s a terrific program that allows honor students to visit London for a week, then undergo three weeks of study at the University of Plymouth. This time, we had nine students who, based on their academic prowess, pay a nominal fee to earn six hours of college credit while visiting such places like Buckingham Palace, Stonehenge, Westminster Abbey, the London Bridge, the Eden Project and on and on.

For a school the size of Nicholls, the Honors program is nothing short of awesome, and this type of trip is significantly cheaper than many, many other universities (Just check around the state and see what I’m writing about.).

From a teacher’s perspective, I have to say the students were a pleasure to instruct because they are the cream of the crop. They were from different disciplines, yet when I asked them to write feature stories about what they were seeing and learning about, their pieces where first rate and required little editing. For me, it was a dream situation. Good students. Good attitudes. Good work ethics. The result: a happy Lloyd.

My point is that you can be proud of Nicholls State University, and you certainly can be proud of its Honors program and the students who comprise it.

But more on the trip. We were lucky enough to be in London during the Queen’s Jubilee and it was worth every minute. The Jubilee essentially opened with the river cruise, and the students, along with millions of others, were there to see an incredible tribute to Queen Elizabeth II. The students staked out room at the River Thames and waited patiently for what turned out to be a remarkable boat-ship-yacht display. Although it rained a good portion of the day, no one seemed to mind. Besides, sights were everywhere. People dressed like the Union Jack, and best described as a Mardi Gras-like party.

A day or two later, the students arrived at Hyde Park to see the best concert I have ever seen, a musical celebration for the queen. Rock stars, opera stars. Every type of musical star imaginable played in honor of Her Majesty.

It was a remarkable display of affection from the British people to their queen. For visitors, it was a learning experience about the British people and their love for the monarchy. And that’s exactly why we were there. To learn about another culture, to experience that culture first hand, to make friends, some of which will last a lifetime, and to make us more well-rounded citizens of the world.

Not a bad deal for a group of Cajuns, most of whom hail from down-the-bayou and go to a university named Nicholls State.