|
April Broussard came to Ole Miss as an admittedly “shy, country girl, in my shell.” To meet Broussard today, one catches only a glimpse of that introverted girl from Smithdale, MS. Today Broussard, an English and Journalism major, is an accomplished student leader on campus, with a bevy of honors and accolades to her name. What brought about the change, one might ask. Broussard says it was her involvement with the Women’s Council, its Leadership-Mentorship Program, and her mentor. “The community of this program is wonderful,” she says. “I needed that point of contact. Hopefully I will always have some of the personality and attitude changes that the program helped to develop.” There is no doubt they will. Broussard is a member of the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College, Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, Golden Kay, Sigma Tau Delta, where she serves as Vice-President, and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. She has received the prestigious Taylor Medal, the Drane Lester Memorial Award in English, and was selected to Who’s Who. In addition, Broussard is Design Editor for Hyperbole, the undergraduate literary magazine, and serves as a student mentor for the Ole Miss First Scholars Program. Broussard is quick to point out all these things might not have happened it were not for the Cox Family and the Women’s Council. “I wouldn’t be in college if it wasn’t for the generosity of Ms. Cox’s family,” she says. “My parents, though willing, were unable to pay for my education. No words can adequately describe the gratitude I feel toward the Women’s Council and its donors.” When asked about what she has learned about the importance of leadership in education, this once quiet student now has plenty to say: “I think it’s an essential skill. Isn’t higher education supposed to mold the future leaders of world—the teachers, politicians, CEOs, etc.? If they don’t learn leadership skills in college—and perhaps they haven’t learned them from their parents—where will they learn? If colleges and universities are going to educate people in fields within which those people will go on to become leaders, it makes sense that the schools should also give them the opportunity to learn what it takes to BE a leader.” After graduation, Broussard will have a chance to use her leadership skills and her education as she pursues a career in editing, with plans to eventually attend graduate school. She will be moving to Bethesda, MD, with her husband John, also an accomplished Ole Miss student, as he attends medical school at the Uniformed Services University as a member of the U.S. Army.
|
