Kenny Boudreaux, mass communication senior from Houma, recently placed in the Top 50 in the 2003 Obadiah Press Christian Writer’s Contest. According to a press release from Obadiah Press, Boudreaux is believed to be the only college student ever to place in the Top 50 as well as the only winner this year from Louisiana. The winning entries will be published in an anthology volume titled “Hope Lives On” in 2005.”Hope of Life”, Boudreaux’s entry, chronicled the life of Lottie Toups, a 21-year-old Houma native who was born with Trisomy 18, the debilitating abnormality caused by an extra chromosome present at birth. Most affected have a life expectancy of six months, and less then 10 percent live beyond their first year of life.
The article told the story of the struggles of Lottie’s mother Phyllis and how she coped with raising a child with special needs and found strength through her faith. “The fact that she has made it this long and doing the things she’s doing is just simply amazing,” said Phyllis in the article. “She just keeps beating the odds time and time again. God has a plan for her.”
A member of the Class of 1999 at H.L. Bourgeois High School, Boudreaux was encouraged to become a writer by his senior English teacher, Mrs. Diana Galliano. When he came to Nicholls, Boudreaux enrolled as a general studies major but began to follow the mass communication curriculum, eventually declaring it his major with a minor in creative writing.
Among the inspirations Boudreaux lists is Lloyd Chiasson, professor of mass communication. “He is the kind of professor where he may stress you out, but once you leave his class, you soar,” Boudreaux said.
Another mentor in Boudreaux’s life has been Jaime Dishman, Nicholls alumna and feature writer for the Courier. “She is a great journalist and person, and she’s inspired me to follow in her footsteps,” Boudreaux stated.
A guiding force in Boudreaux’s life has been his faith in Jesus Christ. “My faith gives me the courage to be the best I can be.” Upon his graduation from Nicholls, Boudreaux will be traveling to the Evangelical Press Association’s annual convention to network and search for a position with national Christian magazines.
Boudreaux’s ultimate goal is to return to the Houma area and start his own non-denominational Christian newspaper focusing on the news and people’s stories about their faith. According to Boudreaux, it will “report the news and people’s stories about their faith without being preachy or proselytizing.”
When Boudreaux leaves Nicholls, he will also be leaving behind The Nicholls Worth where he has served as Lagniappe Editor for the spring semester. He has also held the positions of photographer, staff writer and reporter.
