Margaret Lucy Gremillion Begnaud – 1973, 1978, 1991

Margaret Lucy Gremillion Begnaud

1973, 1978, 1991

            Once upon a time there was a young girl, fresh out of high school, with her whole life ahead of her.  Advisors had told her that she could apply for a scholarship to become a teacher.  But, NO! She told them that she would rather do “something more important” with her life.

            I was that young girl 28 years ago I did indeed become a teacher (without the aid of a scholarship!) and have 19 years experience teaching everything from mentally handicapped to gifted students in grades two through college!  I guess I should have listened better to those who seemed to know my future even before I did.

            In 1970 when I graduated from high school, there was never any question about which college I would attend.  Although several of my friends were going out of state or to LSU, I knew without a doubt that I would be attending USL.  You see, my father had graduated from there (then SLI), and my older sister and brother were attending USL.  We lived a mile from the campus, so I could walk to class.  I was never able to live on campus because the chores involved with being in a family of eight children were many, and I had to do things at home as well as keep up my schoolwork.  After I completed my undergraduate degree in 1973, I thought I’d never have to study for another test again.  I’d be G the tests now that I was a teacher!  Although the professors at USL were wonderful, I just couldn’t see myself going any further with a graduate degree.

            In just a few short years, I found myself wanting to know more, wanting to do a better job for my students.  So I entered the Masters Program at USL.  I earned my Masters Degree in 1978 with a minor in Reading.  By this time I was married (to a 1970 USL graduate) with a young daughter (1998 graduate of Ole Miss) and a son on the way (now a Sophomore in Nursing at USL).

           I decided to take some time off from teaching and raise my two children.  Once again, I found myself yearning to learn more, so I pursued advanced degrees.  These came more slowly, as the pressures of raising a family and working only allowed me to go to school at night.  I earned a Masters 30 in 1990, and became an Education Specialist in 1991.  This time I was E I would never see the inside of a classroom as a student again.  Once again, I was wrong!

In 1995, I began taking classes at LSU toward my doctorate degree.  Now, lest you think I am a turncoat, let me assure you that I am not.  If there E a Ph.D. program at USL in education, I am sure that is where I would be!  I can happily report that with the love and support of family and friends (especially my husband and my now-grown children), I have completed my coursework, have successfully defended my prospectus, and I am now in the final stages of completing my dissertation!  I hope to graduate before the year 2000 with a Ph.D. in Education, Curriculum and Instruction.  I suspect that this one will indeed be the last degree I pursue.  I say that with some degree of sadness, as I have learned to appreciate the wonderful education I have received over the years.  I have learned that I love teaching, and I also love learning!  I thank all of the professors at USL who guided and directed me and helped to make me the person I am today.

This past November, USL had an Academic Showcase.  To show our support of USL and to encourage my fourth and fifth graders to look to their own futures, I asked them to design posters for this showcase.  The results were priceless!  Some of the slogans included such phrases as:  “U See Learning at USL”; “USL: The Possibilities are Endless”; a small dog asked “Yo Quiero USL?”; and “USL is the Bomb” (translated for the older generations–“USL is the Best”).  It gives me such a heartwarming feeling to share my love of learning with the ten and eleven-year-olds who may one day follow in my footsteps down the halls of USL.  After 28 years, I find that I DID do something more important with my life after all!  I teach!