Outgoing, strong willed and compassionate are three characteristics that would best describe Denise Guidry. Guidry, a government major from Churchpoint, came to Nicholls as a student and resident in one of the residence halls in the fall of 1997.

“When I was a resident, I was very involved with the Residence Hall Association programs, so my Resident Assistant (RA) asked me if I would like to be an RA. I gave it a try,” Guidry said.

As an RA, Guidry caught the eye of some of the personnel in Student Life. The following year, she was promoted to Assistant House Director.

Guidry then worked in Residential Services for three years. At the beginning of her third year, she was promoted to house director.

“Her dependability, loyalty to the job and also her loyalty and dedication to the residents are the reasons why we decided to hire Denise as a House Director,” Tommy Ponson, assistant director of Residential Life, said.

“I was excited when I got promoted to house director, but I was doubtful because the responsibility was so large,” Guidry said.

Guidry, however, has handled those responsibilities.

“Taking the positive of the good things and the negative of the bad things that the house directors did behind me contributed to my success,” she said.

Guidry also gets along with her residents, which is also another vital part of being a house director.

“The first impression that I got from Denise was that she was a very warm person, and I could go to her with any of my problems,” Stephanie Moore, freshman from New Orleans and resident of Babington Hall, said.

Guidry is also president of the Student Programming Association and secretary of the Nicholls chapter of the NAACP.

She enjoys spending time with her friends and family, and she also likes to shop.

Guidry said there were a few people who influenced her when she was young, but her biggest role model is her mother.

“I learned things from my siblings, but my mother raised me,” she said.

She said her mother was her inspiration and sole hero.

After Guidry graduates next fall, she said she will go to graduate school, where she will study either public administration or criminal justice.

Above all, Guidry said that perseverance is the key to her success.

“One must find motivation from within to be successful,” she said.