Randy Cheramie, 1976 alumnus and chef instructor, is one of the many diverse members of the Nicholls community. Cheramie, 47, received his bachelor’s degree in theater and fine arts.

He has three children: a son, Jean-Luc Cheramie, and two daughters, Kimberly C. Wright, and Stephanie Cheramie.

While at Nicholls, he was an active member in the Nicholls Players and the program director for the radio station, which was then named KVFG.

“I decided to come to Nicholls because I wanted to be the big fish in the small pond. I really wanted to be on the stage, and Nicholls was the perfect place,” Cheramie said.

He said he was fortunate enough to be in eight productions, with seven major roles and one supporting role.

He said when he first got out of school, he was able to get a job acting for an outdoor drama in Natchitoches called “Louisiana Cavalier.”

Cheramie was also the co-concert chairman for two years.

“The years that I helped with the concerts was supposedly the only time in Nicholls history that the University actually made a profit,” he said.

Cheramie also owns a restaurant in Golden Meadow called Randolph’s, which he bought from his father in 1982 after a short run at Alley Theater in Texas.

He said he first became involved in the restaurant business when he would help his grandmother and father.

“The restaurant business is very demanding, and anyone involved has to sacrifice a lot,” Cheramie said.

He said one of the unfortunate side-effects of the business is that he missed out on a lot of family time.

However, he said the rewards are equally satisfying.

“When I put a plate of food in front of someone, and they say it is the best that they have ever had, it makes me really proud. Plus, the people who come in the restaurant become just like family,” Cheramie said.

Cheramie teaches several courses in the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute.

“It is really a pleasure to teach students who are so eager to learn everything. They are just like huge sponges ready to soak up information,” he said.

Cheramie is still very active in the New Orleans Theater.

He will record an audio novel for a company in Minnesota, and he will also be in a show called “A Walk in the Woods.”

Cheramie said he hopes to refine his teaching skills while at Nicholls.

“I hope that I can try to be like all of the teachers who had a great impression on me. I want to be able to have a good sense of humor and a clever way to convey all of the information in class,” he said.

Cheramie said he lives by a motto he saw years ago: “Love like you’ve never been hurt. Work like you don’t need the money, and dance like no one is watching.”