Future coastal Leaders projects
Fall 2020
Ria Salway and Clair Sullivan
Louisiana State University
Claire Sullivan is a freshman at Louisiana State University studying coastal environmental science and concentrating in environmental science and research. Ria Salway is also a freshman at Louisiana State University majoring in the biological sciences and concentrating in marine biology. Our project is about the CMA CGM nurdle spill that took place in August 2020 in New Orleans. Included are the perspectives of scientists, journalists, and volunteers on the response to the spill and its lasting impact on the Gulf of Mexico. We hope to combine our passion for environmental issues and love of film into more projects in the future.
Hannah Laville
Louisiana State University
Hannah is a student at Louisiana State University studying ecological restoration. Her creative project focused on the impact of oil and gas navigation canals on Louisiana’s coast. She interviewed Mr. Al Duvernay, lifetime Louisianian and former Geologist with Shell gas company. With the help of Mr. Duvernay, Hannah explored both the scientific and cultural factors surrounding oil and gas navigation canals and land loss. Check out her blog post where she explains what she learned!
Hailey Louviere
McNeese State University
Hailey is a senior at Mcneese State University studying Animal Science. Hailey shares her thoughts on participating in the fall semester. “CRCL helped me to become more involved in my community. Being in this organization has given me the opportunity to be involved in the community of Lake Charles as well as surrounding areas. I became part of the solution by helping with trash pickup along waterways and educating people about the importance of our coast.”
Kayla Tysinger
Louisiana State University
Kayla Tysinger is a sophomore at Louisiana State University majoring in Coastal Environmental Studies. During her time as a Student Ambassador, Kayla wrote a constitution to serve as the basis for starting a University recognized club chapter of Student Ambassadors. She reflects on her semester as a Student Ambassador “Being a part of the CRCL Student Ambassador Program has been an amazing experience for me. As I am from Georgia, I did not previously know much about coastal restoration and preservation. This program has taught me more than I could ever imagine, and I am truly grateful that I was granted this opportunity!”
Madelyn Helm
Louisiana State University
Madelyn Helm is a freshman at Louisiana State University pursuing a degree in Natural Resource Ecology and Management. She became interested in the Louisiana Watershed Initiative while job shadowing team members of the Louisiana Office of Community Development. With her creative project, She hopes to educate the public about the Louisiana Watershed Initiative and flood control to garner involvement and support for the initiative as well as to foster a better understanding of the dangers of flooding within her state.
Maegan LeBlanc
Nicholls State University
Maegan LeBlanc is a student at Nicholls State University in the Environmental Biology program. She fell in love with coastal restoration in highschool and is a recurring volunteer at various marshgrass plantings. During her time as a Student Ambassador, Maegan became interested in whooping cranes and compiled information about current whooping crane flocks and migration groups in the US.
Simbrey Majors
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Simbrey Majors is a native of Winnsboro, LA. She received her bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science with a concentration is soil and water conservation from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in Lafayette, La in May of 2016 and graduate with her master’s degree in Urban Forestry and Natural Resources from Southern University and A&M College on December 11, 2020. For Simbrey’s creative project, she focused on the Hypoxia Zone (the Dead Zone) in the Gulf of Mexico. She focused on non-point pollution explaining how human activities contribute to the excess amount of nutrients in water bodies that are removing oxygen from water and negatively affecting aquatic life.
Sophia Lingo
Louisiana State University
Sophia Lingo is from Arkansas and is a biology major at Louisiana State University. Her project is centered around the abundance of microplastics in the waters on the coast, their consequences, and how to help. Her project was inspired by her drive to advocate for recycling and her oceanography classes at LSU.
Stewart Serpas
Delgado Community College
Stewart Serpas is a student at Delgado Community College studying social sciences. Growing up in New Orleans, he was acquainted early on with the problems faced by Louisiana’s coastal communities. For his project, he focused on freshwater diversions which are a part of the 2017 Coastal Master Plan and looked at how the Caernarvon Freshwater Diversion project has resulted in land gain in the Big Mar area over the last 30 years.
Trap Puckette
Tulane
Trap Puckette is from Charleston, SC and is a sophomore at Tulane majoring in geology and minoring in mathematics. His hobbies include fishing, surfing, and playing soccer. For his creative project, he focused on nurdle pollution in the Gulf of Mexico. Using GIS mapping, he demonstrates how nurdle density varies across the shores of the Gulf.
*The Future Coastal Leaders college track was formerly known as Student Ambassadors program.