CREATING A BLUEPRINT FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Undergraduate students helping to resurrect New Orleans, other areas through interdisciplinary approach

As he stood with his fellow students near the Industrial Canal levee breach in eastern New Orleans, LSU accounting sophomore Tres Cossaboom had a sobering indication of the nightmare that befell the Crescent City and the Gulf Coast. He was left wondering if anything would ever be the same.

“Coming through the city to the levee breach, it was amazing to see just how far we have to go with rebuilding. Mountain after mountain of debris just blew me away,” recounts Cossaboom, a former resident of New Orleans’ Uptown area.

He was part of a group of 38 students, representing all of LSU’s colleges, who toured New Orleans shortly after Hurricane Katrina struck the city last fall. The students are taking part in Vision Louisiana, a residential college at LSU that prepares participants for leadership roles in the economic and community development of Louisiana.

The centerpiece of the program is an extended research project, which students are allowed to investigate, develop, and complete over a four-year period. Students are divided into teams and assigned an issue affecting communities or economies across the state. Project ideas are also taken from Vision 2020, Louisiana’s blueprint for future development put forth by state government. To get a full grasp of the issues affecting communities, the students travel to those communities for a firsthand look.

“For students to grasp the realities of living in Louisiana post-Katrina, they need to know not only what needs to be fixed but how to fix it. Our trips are designed to help them know Louisiana and to see a positive future for the state,” says Judith Sylvester, rector of Vision Louisiana and associate professor of mass communication.

As a residential college, Vision Louisiana’s students live together in Acadian Hall for two years. They also meet regularly to discuss their projects and are required to complete 16 additional academic credit hours on economics, research methods, and community development, in addition to their major field requirements.

“Vision Louisiana blends living and learning. It’s a fusion of many disciplines and skill sets,” says Sylvester.

Faculty from the fields of economics, geography, history, law, political science, and social work are also participating in Vision Louisiana. The program has partnerships with Louisiana Economic Development, the Louisiana Municipal Association, and the Baton Rouge Area Chamber as well. At the end of the program, the students will travel the state to present their ideas and projects to regional and local leaders in public presentations.

Louisiana needs more people with the skills to improve the state’s economy and communities now more than ever. Cossaboom and his fellow students, with help from Vision Louisiana, are poised to develop skills and programs that could rejuvenate this culturally diverse region. As they take a role in the future of the state, they offer a new generation of ideas that will help New Orleans recover and change Louisiana for the better.

ON THE WEB:
LSU Residential Life Vision Louisiana

from Winter 2006 Issue