Southeastern Alumni Association honors distinguished graduates from academic colleges
Tuesday, October 1, 2019
by: Tonya Lowentritt
HAMMOND – The Southeastern Louisiana University Alumni Association will honor
a distinguished alumnus from each of the university’s five colleges at its annual
Alumni Awards Evening scheduled Oct. 11 as part of Homecoming Week festivities.
This year’s honorees are Susan Mustafa, College of Arts, Humanities and Social
Sciences; Michael R. Sharp, College of Business; Michael Kyles, Jr., College of Education;
Christina Boover Lawrence, College of Nursing and Health Sciences; and Randell S.
Myers, College of Science and Technology.
Executive Director of Alumni Relations Michelle Biggs said the awards recognize
graduates with unique accomplishments on a national or international level who continue
to utilize their degrees from Southeastern to the fullest.
More information about Alumni Awards Evening and other Southeastern Homecoming
Week activities can be found online at www.southeastern.edu/homecoming.
Mustafa is a 1999 graduate with a bachelor’s degree in communication and journalism.
She is an investigative journalist and bestselling true crime author. Mustafa is the
coauthor of “The New York Times” and “San Francisco Chronicle” bestseller, “The Most
Dangerous Animal of All: Searching For My Father and Finding the Zodiac Killer,” written
with Gary L. Stewart.
Sharp, 1970 graduate, served as president and CEO of First Guaranty Bank before
retiring in 2012. He is a board member of Land Trust for Louisiana and Southeastern
Development Foundation and is a member of the Southeastern Alumni Association and
the Financial Council for St. Margaret Catholic Church. Sharp was also a “Founding
Father” of Southeastern’s E Phi Chapter of Delta Tau Delta Fraternity.
Kyles has been employed with the Tangipahoa Parish School System for 10 years
and currently works at Hammond Eastside Magnet School, where he serves as principal.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in social studies education in 2009 and a master’s degree
in educational leadership in 2012 – both from Southeastern. He is the current president
of the Kappa Psi Sigma alumni chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., a member
of the Southeastern African American Alumni Chapter, and a member of the Southeastern
GOLD Council.
Lawrence is a 2004 graduate with a master’s degree in speech pathology. In 2010,
she founded the Speech, Hearing and Balance Institute that brought teams of speech
pathology students to Nicaragua, Honduras and Mexico to deliver hearing aids and speech
therapy to needy children. Lawrence currently has two practices - one in Colorado
and one in Mexico.
A 1993 graduate with a master’s degree in wetlands ecology, Myers has worked
for the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries since 1993, where he currently
serves as the assistant secretary in the Office of Wildlife. In this capacity, Myers
oversees 263 employees with a $56 million budget, and oversees the management of 1.5
million acres of public owned wildlife habitat, as well as privately owned habitat.
