Virgie M. Dronet – Mathematics & Science Education, 1963; M. Ed., 1970

Virgie M. Dronet

June 2, 1963 – B.S. in Mathematics and Science Education

                Little did I dream on June 2, 1963 that I, Virgie M. Dronet, a native of Kaplan, Louisiana, upon receiving my Bachelor of Science Degree in Mathematics and Science Education, would devote my life to serving the educational needs of students in Southwest Louisiana. When USL President Joel L. Fletcher and State Superintendent of Education Shelby M. Jackson awarded my Bachelor of Science Degree that day, they opened the door to a most wonderful career in the educational field. As I look back on those years, I know that I was destined to be a teacher and to work with developing young minds to afford them the opportunity to “live their dreams and aspirations.”

                I have such fond memories of years spent at USL. One semester into my 37th year as an educator and shortly after having been recognized by the USL College of Education as a “Centennial Honoree,” I reflect on how this all came to be! I recall that it was not easy to be awakened at 5:15 AM daily from June 8, 1959 through August 4, 1962 to get ready to board Mr. Barnett’s bus at 6:00 AM for the ride from Kaplan, through Abbeville and Maurice, to the USL campus in Lafayette. However, had it not been for this affordable “door-to-door” pickup and delivery service with the Crowley bus line, I probably would not have had the opportunity to receive a college education.

My parents, Zula Harrington Dronet and Percy Dronet, who grew up laboring in the rice and cotton fields of Cow Island near Kaplan, were both hard working individuals who wanted me to attend college to become a teacher. Mom spent long hours as the manager of Dronet’s Grocery and Meat Market, while Dad worked as the “head blueprint man” at Hardee Lumber Company in Kaplan. Together, they shared with me the principles of life that have taken me where I am today. They taught me to assume responsibility, to be kind, to stay close to God, to remain committed to all undertakings, and to always share what I had with others. Even while in high school, my sister Judy and I would rise early to remove the ice-packed chicken fryers from the wooden crates, clean the ice off, dry the fryers, and place them in the display cases of the Meat Market. Then we would get dressed and walk the 16 blocks to Kaplan High School to be there in time for 7:30 AM basketball practice. We never complained, for we loved and respected our parents and felt the urgency of helping out with family chores.

                During the Summer of 1959, I proudly bought my SLI Freshman Beanie Cap at the Book Store for $1.00; paid the $11.00 registration fee for nine hours of coursework, and spent $10.00 to purchase my books for those three courses. Goodness!! As I review financial records maintained during my three years at USL, I am shocked that $ 847 paid the entire cost of my Bachelors Degree, including registration fees, bus fares, P.E. clothing, science equipment, textbooks, lab fees, club dues, diploma fees, and graduation ring. Today, in 1998, that would not even cover the cost of registration for one semester as a fulltime university student. Can you imagine paying $27 for a university graduation ring? Oh, the woes of inflation!!

             To minimize expenses, I commuted to USL from Kaplan for those three years. Those bus rides to USL gave me a chance to read, review, and study in preparation for the daily classes. I maintained a log of expenses and this week when I pulled that folder, I was amazed to learn of the mininal $12.50 monthly fee for the bus service. We parked across the street from the USL Catholic Chapel. Perhaps that’s one reason why I became so active in the Newman Club, was named Outstanding Newmanite in the Spring of 1962, and continue to be an active member of the Catholic Daughters of the Americas and a Lector at Our Lady of the Lake Church in Lake Arthur. What great fun we had at the Newman Center with Monsignor Alexander Sigur and Father Jude Speyrer. We strengthened our Faith and attended the Newman Club Province Convention in New Orleans in the early 60s.

                Most of us who rode on that bus brought sandwiches to school and it’s a wonder that Gerald Broussard, Beverly Cormier, Maurice Daily, Dan Dartez, Mickey Fritz, Dianne Greene, Charles Hebert, Eston Hebert, Rodolph Hebert, Alvin Landry, Jim Quebodeaux and I didn’t die of food poisoning, because we left those paper sacks filled with food on the book rack above the seats on the bus all day long. Most of the time, I enjoyed a scrambled egg, bacon, or peanut butter sandwich; ate an orange, apple, or banana; and drank lemonade. Meals were eaten on the bus between classes and study sessions in the USL Library. No matter which curriculum we studied during the day, each of us huddled back to the bus parking lot to be there in time for it to pull out headed back to Kaplan at 5:00 PM daily, twelve hours after I had been awakened by my trusty alarm clock. Upon arriving home nightly, it was time to help out in the grocery store, bathe, have supper, and hit the books to complete all that homework, because I was determined to complete my studies within three years with a double major in mathematics and science. I suppose I secretly wanted to get a headstart on retirement!!!

                After graduation, I accepted a secondary science teaching position at Lake Arthur High School in Jefferson Davis Parish and learned so much about teaching and administration from my principal, Mr. R. O. Doland. Within five years, I was back on the USL campus to begin work on the Masters Degree and I finally got to live in a college dormitory for one summer, only to note that the bus ride had not been half bad compared to living within dorm restrictions after I had been working for five years. My Master of Education Degree in Mathematics Education and Administration was awarded on May 24, 1970 at Blackham Coliseum by President Clyde L. Rougeau and Superintendent of Education William “Bill” Dodd.

Those were the days when a strong rivalry existed between USL and McNeese State University. Hesitatingly, during the Summer of 1973, to offset expenses of yearbook pictures due to the skyrocketing cost of silver (an element used in developing solutions in the darkroom), I enrolled in a photography course at McNeese to learn to develop and process black-and-white photographs. That eventually led to an Educational Specialist Degree in Educational Technology which was awarded on December 15, 1976 by President T. S. Leary.

I moved to Commerce, Texas during the Summer of 1977 to enroll in the Doctor of Education degree program at East Texas State University. Dr. Beatrice Murphy guided me and served as a wonderful mentor through the Ed.D. in Educational Media and Technology. It was awarded on August 17, 1979. With that terminal degree completed, I returned to my math, science, publications, and computer classes at Lake Arthur High School and remained there for nine years before accepting a position at McNeese State University.

Since joining the MSU faculty in 1988, I have worked hard to redefine the direction of educational technology in the Department of Educational Leadership and Instructional Technology; redesign coursework and add new courses; focus on increasing enrollment in the Ed Tech Masters Program; and provide improved advisor and advisee consultation. I was fortunate to receive a 1990 F Grant for a 50-computer station Apple S lab; and later secure additional funds to add Macs and Gateway 2000 computers networked with Internet access.

I served as Principal Investigator for five Microsoft Corporation Grants to secure software licenses for Ed Tech classes, professional development sessions, and methods courses; currently serve as State President of Louisiana Association for Educational Communications and Technology, fostering collaboration with officers/members in the Louisiana Association of Computer Using Educators and Louisiana Association of School Librarians; and am a member of numerous state, national, and international organizations, such as the Louisiana Technology Consortium for Teacher Education and the Louisiana Multimedia Consortium.

As a 37-year veteran educator I have been active in The Delta Kappa Gamma Society International, serving as a member of numerous International Committees since becoming a member in 1967. It was a joy to serve on the International Executive Board and as 1989-91 Louisiana State President of Delta Kappa Gamma.

Serving as 1994-1995 University Contact for the LaNIE (Louisiana Networking Infrastructure in Education) Grant and helping provide Internet training to  Calcasieu, Jefferson Davis, and Allen Parish educators changed my life. As MSU Contact for the $4.3 million U.S.D.E. Challenge Grant (1995-2000), it has been challenging to develop two graduate courses to help educators utilize the Internet in Standards-Based Teaching and Learning. This has compelled me to strengthen a collaborative network with professionals from the five parishes and five university sites affiliated with Louisiana Challenge Projects.

It’s been interesting to publish articles in national and international refereed journals and a wonderful feeling to be recognized along with Kathleen Babineaux Blanco and Dr. Ed Dugas as Outstanding Alumni by the College of Education at USL in 1989. Delta Kappa Gamma honored me with the Louisiana State Achievement Award in 1993, and in 1997 I was recognized by the College of Education at Texas A & M University -Commerce (formerly East Texas State University) as an Alumni Ambassador.

Today, I am a Full Professor of Educational Technology at McNeese State University. I love teaching more now than when I started 37 years ago. I live next door to my 76-year old Mother and my sister Judy Dronet, who is a school librarian at Northside Junior High School in Jennings. I am filled with pride that my Godchild and youngest sister, Melissa Dronet, received a Bachelors Degree from USL in 1978. She is now a successful business woman and owner of Cajun Spice ScreenPrinters, Inc. in Lafayette. All of us in the family enjoy simple Cajun family style living and love to sit on the screened porch and gaze over the Lake. My Dad succumbed to cancer in 1982, during my first semester as an Adjunct faculty member at McNeese State University.

While attending the Academic Showcase on November 14, 1998, I was privileged to sit next to Mrs. Gladys Hoffpauir Robinette and behind Dr. G.L. Coussan, two of my former USL professors. It was good to reminisce with them and to express my appreciation for the strong educational background they had provided me in the late 50s and early 60s. Any claim to success that I might have has resulted because of the contributions made by former USL professors who touched my life nearly forty years ago. Today, I love to travel and to read maps because Minnie Pearl Kelley gave me a love for geography; to read good literature and attend theatre productions because of Eleanor Marionneaux; to appreciate math because of Jessie May Hoag and Ray Authement; to use various types of media because of Gerald Zernott; to respond to the needs of learners because of Gladys and Walter Robinette; to use and apply statistics because of G. Louis Coussan; to enjoy the marvels of nature because of F.S. Gooch; to value good health because of Vesta Bourgeois and Margaret McMillan; and to practice successfully the art of teaching others because of Lurnice Begnaud.

Life has been so good to me. It has been 39 years since I commuted to USL on Mr. Barnett’s bus. Today, I commute forty miles daily from my home in Lake Arthur to McNeese State University in Lake Charles to do what I do best ….. teach. The more things change, the more they stay the same. As I approach the new millineum, the main difference is that instead of reaping the benefits of an education, I am dispensing knowledge and computer experiences for those preservice and inservice educators who will devote their lives to making things better for so many youngsters in the future.

With fond memories of USL, I am

Virgie M. Dronet, Ed.D.