Class Notes - Spring 2021
Received between June 1, 2020 - May 14, 2021.
Class notes are subject to content editing by the Offices of Alumni and Family Relations and Marketing & Communication.
The Centenary Alumni Association seeks news of Centenary alumni. Please send news and information to alumni@centenary.edu.
Office of Alumni and Family Relations
Centenary College of Louisiana • 2911 Centenary Boulevard • Shreveport, LA 71104
318.869.5115 • alumni@centenary.edu
1971
Cragin Shelton, Little Rock, AR, spoke as a panel member on October 29, 2020, at the IEEE Eta Kappa Nu (HKN) Experience 2020 on the topic Life-Long Learning, Certification, & Licensure. IEEE-Eta Kappa Nu ( https://hkn.ieee.org), the honor society of IEEE, promotes excellence in the engineering profession and in education with ideals of Scholarship, Character, and Attitude. The panel was aimed primarily at undergraduate and graduate level engineering students but the content may be informative to anyone in a profession that has certificates, certifications, or licenses. You can view the one hour session on YouTube here.
1992
Heather Stallard Anderson, Shreveport, LA, has received her Ed.D from Louisiana Tech. She teaches and holds clinic at LSUHSC School of Allied Health in Shreveport, LA. Her new title is Speech-Language Pathologist, Clinical Assistant Professor of Communication Disorders.
1994
Denis Poljak
Denis Poljak, Shreveport, LA, was named to Forbes Magazine’s 2021 list of America’s Best-in-State Wealth Advisors. This is the third consecutive year Dr. Poljak has been recognized with this honor by Forbes Magazine.
1992
Jay Ellington, Ruston, LA, was recently named the next city manager of Texarkana, Arkansas.
1995
Davor Poljak
Davor Poljak, Shreveport, LA, was named to Forbes Magazine’s 2021 list of America’s Best-in-State Wealth Advisors.
2002
Bryan Ehricht, Hammond, LA, will serve a new two-year term as a Member at-Large of the Society of Louisiana Certified Public Accountants (LCPA), having recently completed a two-year term that began in 2018. Mr. Ehricht is an Associate Director with James, Lambert, Riggs and Associates, Inc. in Hammond, where he focuses on tax. He is a Past President and current Member at-Large of LCPA's Northshore Chapter.
2006
Darrius Hills, Sparks Glencoe, MD, was recently selected for the 2020 Young Scholar in American Religion Program.
2008
Nic Clark, Gretna, LA, Nic's business, Civil War Tours of New Orleans, the only guided Civil War tour business in all of Louisiana, has been recognized by TripAdvisor with the 2020 Travelers' Choice Award, placing Civil War Tours of New Orleans within the top 10% of all tours and activities worldwide.
Shukella Price, Shreveport, LA, earned her Doctorate of Educational Leadership from Sam Houston State University and will graduate in May. Her dissertation topic was “Differences in School Discipline Efforts and Cyberbullying by School Level: A National Analysis.” She is elated to reintroduce herself to academia as Dr. Shukella L. Price!
Versha Sharma, New York, NY, was recently named the next editor in chief of Teen Vogue.
2010
Stacey Bowers, North Little Rock, AR, is living in Little Rock and is now a jewelry designer who has received national recognition for her work and her brand Bang-Up Betty. In the last few years, she has been featured in Chris Guillebeau's book 100 Side Hustles, had her jewelry shared by Joey Lauren Adams, seen Julianne Moore and Janelle Monae wear her work, and used her work to raise money for multiple causes, including the Arkansas Foodbank, an LGBT shelter called Lucie's Place, and Arkansas Women's Outreach. She recently launched a new collection of jewelry inspired by art history called The Gallery Collection, which was heavily influenced by her time in Dr. Lisa Nicoletti's classes at Centenary: https://www.bangupbetty.com/gallery-collection.
Lorna Dopson, Shreveport, LA, won the Louisiana Film Prize for her film ‘Untitled Post-Baby Project’. She is the first woman to win.
2018
Travion Kirkendoll, Campti, LA, has joined former Centenary College basketball coach, Adam Walsh, on the men's basketball coaching staff at Shenandoah University.
2020
Brooke Williams, Natchitoches, LA, was selected by Omicron Delta Kappa as a 2020 Leader of the Year.
2015
Kirk Reedstorm, Shreveport, LA, recently signed with literary agent Ana Crespo at East/West Literary Agency. East/West Literary Agency, Inc. is, purposely, a boutique agency, to facilitate hands-on, personalized service and attention to authors and their books. E/W represents a wide range of #1 NYT, #1 PW, IndieBound, USA Today, WSJ, and Amazon best-selling and best illustrated books, Caldecott, Newbery, Sibert, Cook, Stonewall and Geisel medalists, as well as Andre Norton, Gelett Burgess, Children’s Choice, Parents’ Choice, Prism, Audie, Green Earth and Crystal Kite award-winners and nominees.
Marriages
Ian Graham & Lauren Beadle
Janae Howe ‘03, Hammond, LA, married Tessa Howe on August 28, 2020, in New Orleans Audubon Park. Janae and Tessa first met during high school, through LA United Methodist youth activities, and became re-acquainted in late 2018. Earlier last year, Janae began work as a coordinator in the City of New Orleans Office of Police Secondary Employment.
Regis Johnson & Navia Jordan
Amy Harrell '07, Dallas, TX, married Stephen Holloway '08 in January 2021.
Amanda Price Smith ’14, Norphlet, AR, married Eric Smith on April 18th, 2020.
Lauren Beadle ’19, Des Allemands, LA, married Ian Graham '18 on January 30, 2021.
Lauren Benoit & Arash Ataei
Halen Sumner ’18, Shreveport, LA, married Jeffrey Scott '18 on January 2, 2021 in Shreveport, LA.
Navia Jordan ’19, Dallas, TX, married Regis Johnson '19 on February 6, 2021.
Lauren Benoit ’16, New Orleans, LA, married Arash Ataei '16 on April, 17, 2021 in New Orleans, LA.
Laura Perilloux ’17 and Stafford Lyons ’16, Shreveport, LA, were married on May 12, 2021.
Births
Robin Bourgoyne ’16, Saint Gabriel, LA, and her husband, Blake Bourgoyne ‘15, had a daughter on May 22, 2020, Madeline Jane Bourgoyne.