Nicholls mass communication alumna Tresha Mabile, currently a senior producer for Towers Productions, Inc. in Chicago, will speak during the 14th annual Bonnie J. Bourg Lecture Series in Le Bijou Theatre in the Bollinger Memorial Student Union on March 31. The annual lecture series held each spring recognizes the accomplishments of exceptional women in the professional world. The event is named for Bourg, one of the original faculty members of the University in 1948. During her career, she served as an instructor and a dean and became the first woman vice president for Nicholls as vice president for student affairs.
Mabile began at Nicholls in 1985, worked at KNSU for a couple of semesters and on the La Pirogue yearbook staff.
After graduating from Nicholls in 1989 with a bachelor’s degree in mass communication, she worked as an audio and video production specialist for the Department of Defense in Washington, D.C. She produced news and analysis packages for classified news networks at the Pentagon.
While in Washington D.C., Mabile attended American University and received a master’s in journalism and public policy. Mabile said she does not know of any university other than Nicholls in which the professors personally look after the students.
She said the University is like an extended family and it has been a “safety net” that she could not have gotten anywhere else. Mabile emphasized the importance of the people at Nicholls; a particular favorite of hers is Alfred Delahaye, professor emeritus of journalism.
“I’m really excited that she’s coming back because she’s really branched out because she’s doing such a variety of things,” Angela Hammerli, a member of the lecture series committee and coordinator of the annual Jubilee Festival, said.
Mabile has produced a variety of documentaries for television stations such as Discovery and A&E.
One of her best known documentaries, “After Saddam,” filmed in 2003 in Baghdad, includes exclusive access to Iraq’s leadership council and interviews with ethnic leaders throughout Iraq, such as a former Fedayeen member, Shiite clerics and their followers.
Mabile said filming “After Saddam” required her to spend two-and-a-half weeks in Iraq. Mabile said her stay in Iraq was very intense and exhilarating. While she was in Iraq, she had to take a 12-hour trip by bus, which she described as being dangerous with a lot of heat.
“On a physical level, it was intense,” Mabile said. “On a journalistic level, it was very interesting because there were many rich and fantastic stories to cover. “
The lecture is free and open to the public on Wednesday at 10:45 a.m. in Talbot Theater. Audiences are also encouraged to join both Bourg and Mabile for a luncheon in the Lafitte Room in the Bollinger Memorial Student Union at noon. Admission to the luncheon is $12. To make reservations, call (985) 448-4176 by March 26.
Wednesday afternoon, Mabile will join local journalists in Le Bijou Theater at 1 p.m. for a free panel discussion on ethics and the mass media hosted by the Nicholls chapter of the Society for Professional Journalists.
“During the years, I have been most charmed by and most fulfilled by bringing back people from our area,” Hammerli said. “We’re bringing back those people who have come through Nicholls so that they can say to everybody, ‘This is a beginning, and from here, you can do anything.’ “
Mabile said she loves the thought of coming home to Louisiana and to Nicholls because she loves the University.
“I’m happy to be coming and honored to have been asked,” Mabile said.
