Southeastern students awarded newly established safety scholarships, accept donated equipment


Tuesday, April 28, 2015 Computer Science and Industrial Technology scholarships and donated equipment
by: Rene Abadie

CHECKING THE NEW EQUIPMENT - Ephraim Massawe, right, associate professor of occupational safety, health and environment at Southeastern Louisiana University, demonstrates some of the new equipment purchased for the program by the New Orleans chapter of the American Association of Drilling Engineers. Looking on are, from left, students Brennen Waguespack of Gonzales, Leiah Roberts of Springfield and Melanie Verdin of Loranger.


HAMMOND -- Several students enrolled in Southeastern Louisiana University's Occupational, Safety, Health and Environment (OSHE) program have been awarded scholarships sponsored by the Greater Baton Rouge Chapter of American Society of Safety Engineers.

The scholarships were officially presented to Brennan Waguespack of Gonzales, Melanie Verdin of Loranger, Leiah Roberts of Springfield and Zachary Smith of Franklinton.

"We are delighted to receive scholarship support for these worthy students in our OSHE program, and are indebted to the GBR American Society of Safety Engineers for their support of our program," said Sebastian van Delden, head of the Southeastern Department of Computer Science and Industrial Technology. "Our partnership with GBRASSE is strong and we appreciate their support by serving as professional advisors to our program."

van Delden gave special credit to GBRASSE President Brett Perricone, a Southeastern graduate who has emphasized the importance of university's program in providing highly qualified graduates for area industries.

The scholarships were presented at the Livingston Parish Literacy and Technology Center, where major equipment items recently donated by the New Orleans Chapter of the American Association of Drilling Engineers (AADE) are utilized in OSHE coursework. The equipment included a variety of noise, airborne contaminate, ventilation and particulate monitoring and evaluation devices.

"AADE recognized that Southeastern needed sufficient modern equipment for students to receive adequate hands-on training and funded a $25,000 grant to purchase safety-related equipment," explained van Delden. "Michelle Chauvin of Chevron was particularly instrumental in helping us obtain this grant."

Southeastern's OSHE program has been identified by companies such as Valero, Axiall Performance Contactors and other industrial firms as a key partner for recruiting graduates. The Southeastern bachelor's program was started in 2004 at Southeastern and approximately 100 graduates have gone through the program.

 

 




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