Every once and while, life throws you a curve ball; but it’s not always a bad thing. Such was the case for an unsuspecting Jade Romain, whose experience overseas last summer turned out to be a whole lot different than she expected.

A senior speech pathology major from Los Angeles CA (St. Mary’s Academy), Romain traveled to Africa expense-free at the invitation of close friend, Teresa Langness, director and founder of Full Circle Learning, an international non-profit which provides educational services to community schools in developing countries around the globe.

Told she would be teaching “character development” to pre-K/kindergarten students (ages 2-7) in

an area of Lusaka, Zambia known as Chibolya, she was shocked to find herself in a situation where none of the children spoke any English. Needless to say Romain had failed to brush up on her Bemba, Tonga, Nyanja, or any of the other scores of languages spoken by the locals.

Introduced only as the “new teacher”, Romain struggled early on to teach 60 children the alphabet, shapes, colors, numbers, and other such rudimentary skills with no educational materials other than what she had brought along herself, in a community school classroom with no desks, no chairs, and no windows – just holes in the wall for ventilation.

Paris is often referred to as “the City of Lights”. That’s precisely the effect it had on junior political science major Thomas Walker, who had a “light bulb” inside his own head click on while studying abroad in the French capital last spring.

Back in 2012, Walker, who hails from Los Angeles CA (Frederick Douglas High), was floundering around as some sophomores are prone to do – not really sure about what he wanted to do and looking for some catalyst to ignite his passion. Much to his surprise, he found it one day when he wandered into one of the XU Center for Intercultural and International Program’s (CIIP) Study Abroad Fairs.

“I had given some thought to studying abroad before, but it wasn’t until I talked with the reps at the fair and to (CIIP director) Mr. (Torian) Lee, did

I realize that it was really a feasible option,” he said. “In fact I was shocked how easy the process was.”

Not the least among the surprising facts he learned about studying abroad: the cost of the program, which included a place to stay and most of his meals, was pretty much the same as his regular Xavier tuition would have been. His only real additional costs were for travel and some incidental living expenses. And as a result of his four months attending the American Business School in Paris through the International Study Abroad (ISA) program, Walker is no longer a floundering soul. He is, in fact, excited about his future, which he now envisions including law school and a career in international relations. But he’s not idling away his time at Xavier either. Since returning

he has become very active on campus, among other things, serving as an Ambassador for the CIIP and the Career Advancement Center. He finds he is much more focused academically as well.

While in France, Walker picked up academic credits in the areas of political science, psychology, art history, and, of course, French. He was surprised by two things: how easy it was to pick up the language, and how hard art history turned out to be.

“Paris is a great city to study art history – I got to visit the Louvre and numerous other great galleries and museums,” he said. “But it was a really difficult course to get through.”

Walker attributes his rebirth to the self-dependency he acquired abroad. Living with an older couple in the city several miles from the school,

he was forced to learn how to get around on the Metro, to learn the language, and to learn how to make his own decisions. “There’s a nine-hour time differential between Paris and Los Angeles,” he laughed. “There was no calling Mom for some quick advice.”

Having taken stock of himself, Walker is ready to take on the world.

Jade Romain:Language is No Barrier

Thomas Walker: The Lights Come on in Paris

continued on page 2

Affording a QualityXavier Education

continued on page 2

A Xavier education is well worth the investment that families make.

The University takes great pride in the quality of its academic programs. The value-oriented educational environment and the many positive influences provided through the campus life programs supplement the formal classroom experience. A Xavier diploma is one that is recognized nationally and, indeed, around the world. XU graduates are prepared to compete for positions in the work-force and slots in graduate, medical and other professional schools.

Xavier administers a broad array of financial aid programs, including scholarships, grants, loans, and work-study to assist in meeting a student’s demonstrated financial need. In addition, programs are available for families who

A publication for prospective students of Xavier University of Louisiana, their parents, and High School counselors

Volume 19Winter 2013

Enthusiastic members of Xavier’s new freshman class, (L-R) Teneaka White and Erica Greenwood, proudly display the Class of 2017 baseball caps they received during New Student Orientation’s annual “capping” ceremony. Xavier was pleased to welcome a freshman class of 675 into the fold for Fall 2013.

Non-Profit OrganizationU.S. POSTAGE

P A I DNew Orleans, La.

Permit No. 387

Xavier University of Louisiana1 Drexel DriveNew Orleans LA 70125www.xula.edu

It is altogether fitting that Raven Holmes will be among the first graduates from Xavier’s new Public Health Sciences program when she walks across the stage next May. She’s been on the front lines for community health for quite some time.

A senior from Washington DC (Walter Johnson High in Bethesda MD), Holmes arrived at Xavier in 2009 with the sole intention of getting into medical school. And where better than XU, which is first among the nation’s colleges in the number of African American graduates who go on to complete medical school.

But during those intervening years that singular ambition was taken on a detour. First there was a death in the family that compelled her to attend college in Maryland for a full year [she returned to New Orleans upon realizing that XU was where she really wanted to be], followed by an overseas summer internship that altered her career focus. Lastly there was Xavier’s decision to offer a new major in Public Health Sciences (PHS) in 2012.

Not that she has forsaken her original goal – she still plans to go to medical school and specialize in obstetrics. It’s just that her passion has been redirected towards working in a community setting, amongst the poorest and neediest of the world’s populations. She envisions herself one day working for an organization like Doctors without Borders, an international medical humanitarian group which provides independent, impartial assistance in more than 60 countries to people whose survival is threatened by natural and man-induced phenomenon.

As a transfer into the fledgling PHS program, Holmes is in a unique position with relationship to medical school. Prior to entering the program, she had already taken several science courses not specifically required for the PHS degree, but pretty much considered sine qua non for medical school admission.

She also possesses a lot of other intangibles that would be considered highly desirable. Her real world, hand-on experiences include a malaria research program internship at prestigious Johns Hopkins University, research on the impact of Vitamin A on pregnancy and infant growth in Bangladesh as part of another Hopkins project, and teaching health education to high school students through the Louisiana Public Health Service. And, by the way, she is quite fluent in French.

Here at Xavier, Holmes is the founder and co-president of GlobeMed, a group that seeks to educate and train student advocates for global health equity by partnering with a grassroots organization overseas and building strong long-term relationships. XU’s GlobeMed partner is the Food and Rural

Development Foundation in Buea, Cameroon, and the group is currently raising the funds necessary to promote a good hygiene and safe sanitation project there.

“Just as in many rural areas of the world, too many people in

Cameroon are becoming ill unnecessarily because they do not have access to safe drinking water or a place to bathe free of contamination,” said Holmes, who expects to be part of student group that travels to work on-site next summer. “Our hope is to raise enough funds to construct a community latrine and to raise awareness in these communities about how important sanitation is to their health.”

Raven Holmes:A Compelling Attraction to Public Health Sciences

For more information or to submit an online application for admission, please visit the Xavier website at www.xula.edu.

Office of Admissions Phone: (504) 520-7388 | Toll Free: 1 (877)-XAVIERU

Fax: (504) 520-7941 | Email: apply@xula.edu

(L-R) XU President Dr. Norman C. Francis, senior public health sciences major Raven Holmes, and the 18th Surgeon General of the United States and the new Endowed Chair in Public Health Sciences Dr. Regina Benjamin

XU junior political science major Thomas Walker in Paris, France.

She found herself among the poorest of the poor. She remembers spending the whole first night crying.

“The real challenge was trying to motivate children who rarely had enough to eat and who endured the most rudimentary of living conditions,” said Romain, pointing out that families in the area routinely shared the same scarce sanitation facilities and water resources. “Even with such organizations as Children’s International providing some relief, on Mondays I’d have half the class out because they had eaten no food the whole weekend.”

Undeterred, however, Romain persevered and is proud to say that by the time she departed three months later her “babies” were well on their way to mastering some of the basics of the English language.

But that wasn’t enough for her. She and a colleague approached government officials and consulted with the local U.S. Embassy, and the end result was creation of the Khondanani Project, a certified national organization dedicated to bringing educational resources to the nation’s community schools. The Project has partnered with Children’s International, which has agreed to help with distribution.

“There is a dire need of educational

materials for both the children and the teachers,” said Roman, who pointed out the native “teachers” are in fact non-paid volunteers who themselves seldom have even a high school education. “The teachers are there because they love the children, but they really have no sense of curriculum or of effective teaching methods.”

Since returning to New Orleans, Romain has made some outreach to local public and private schools to acquire their surplus and otherwise unneeded educational materials, and has begun to outline plans to appeal to individuals for funding. The Project is awaiting official U.S. certification that would qualify it for corporate and federal funding.

Meanwhile Romain, who will graduate in May, is completing her clinical practice at the Lusher School this semester and busily applying for graduate school. But a return to Zambia is also definitely in her immediate future.

“I am anxious to get back to Chibolya and bring the community schools the things they need to be successful,” she said. “But I also note that there is no speech pathology or audiology presence in the country, and that’s something I’d also like to help change.”

do not demonstrate financial need but who are interested in investigating various education financing options such as a monthly payment plan, the Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loan and the PLUS Loan for Parents. ROTC programs provide yet another alternative for some students. Many families combine two or more of these programs to help manage their financial obligation.

What is “Financial Need”? It’s the difference between the estimated cost of attendance for a school year and the estimated family contribution. The estimated family contribution is based upon the information the family provides annually on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Factors such as income, assets, liabilities, family size, number of family members in college, age of parents, and private school costs for other children are considered in determining a family’s financial strength. The University assumes that all families will contribute to educational costs to the extent that they are capable.

What’s the first step? Students should submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at www.fafsa.gov as soon as possible after January 1st using the Xavier Code of 002032.

Call the Office of Admissions at 504-520-7388 for more information.

Affording a Xavier Educationcontinued from page 1

Jade Romain... continued from page 1

Senior speech pathology major Jade Romain in Chibolya, Zambia

Ten reasons you should be at XAVIER

1 6

2 73 8

49

510

AFFORDABILITY

Xavier’s 2013-14 cost of attendance (including tuition, room & board, transportation and other miscellaneous expenses) is $33,786 a year. That’s less than the national average for private institutions ($43,289) and even the national average for out-of-state residents at public institutions ($35,312). Even so, 85% of all Xavier students receive some form of financial aid or scholarships, which lightens the burden even more.

RETURN ON INVESTMENT

Xavier was named one of the top colleges and universities in Louisiana for “return on investment” by AffordableCollegesOnline.org, which places Xavier fifth in the state among colleges that the organization feels “balance cost with long-term earnings potential”. XU was the highest rated of the two private schools on the list, which included only the top 13 of the 132 state schools reviewed.

WE’RE NO. 1

Xavier is first among the nation’s colleges and universities in the number of African American graduates who go on to complete medical school, according to data compiled by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). Xavier had 60 African-American graduates earn medical degrees in 2011, the latest year for which complete data is available.

We’re also No. 1 in the nation in producing African American graduates who go on to receive life sciences PhDs. (source: National Science Foundation) and No. 1 number one in the nation for awarding African Americans baccalaureate degrees in physics and the physical sciences (source: American Institute of Physics).

WE’RE ALSO NO.’s 5, 7 &12

A National Science Foundation report ranks Xavier 5th in the nation in producing African American graduates who go on to receive science and engineering PhDs, and 7th in the nation in producing African American graduates who go on to receive physical sciences PhDs. A Diverse Issues in Higher Education magazine report showed Xavier tied for 12th nationwide in the number of African American students earning professional doctorate degrees (in this case, the Pharm.D. degree) with 54.

DID SOMEONE SAY PHARMACY?

Xavier’s College of Pharmacy, one of only two such schools in Louisiana, is one of the nation’s top four producers of African American Doctor of Pharmacy degree recipients.

HIGHLY REGARDED

The 2014 edition of the Fiske Guide to Colleges has tabbed Xavier as among its “Best Buy Schools” for academics and affordability. XU was the only Louisiana institution and one of only three Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to make the list. Xavier was also singled out as one of the nation’s best institutions for undergraduate education by The Princeton Review in the 2014 edition of its annual “The Best 378 Colleges”. In addition, Xavier tied for the No. 5 spot among Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the 2014 edition of “Best Colleges” by U.S. News Media Group.

THE PERSONAL TOUCH

Xavier’s national prominence is not the result of churning through large numbers of students – far from it. A moderate enrollment (3,121) feeds a “quality not quantity” approach and lends itself to a low faculty/student ratio (13 to 1) that encourages close faculty-student interaction and enhances opportunities to work with a mentor in collaborative classroom projects, high-level undergraduate research, and service-learning activities.

GOOD TO THE CORE

Undergraduate students, regardless of their major, are required to complete sixty hours of liberal arts core curriculum in addition to courses required of their major field. You’ll not only be well-prepared for your profession, but for life.

A DIVERSE STUDENT BODY

From its founding Xavier has embraced a special mission to serve the African American Catholic community; however, its doors have always been open to qualified students of every race and creed. Today 72.8 percent of its enrollment is African American and 27.1 percent is Catholic.

WHERE YA AT?

It is easy to fall in love with New Orleans. One of the great cities of the world, New Orleans continues to be internationally revered for its foods, its music, its festivals, and its people. Student life is enriched by that social and cultural setting, as well as by campus activities designed to enhance personal growth, interpersonal skills, and leadership in such areas as community service, the environment, cultural concerns, and social justice.

LAGNIAPPE: DID WE MENTION AFFORDABLE?

Xavier is ranked No. 13 on the Affordable CollegesOnline.org website’s list of the Top 36 Most Affordable Roman Catholic Colleges with High Starting Salaries. XU is the only predominantly Black and the only Louisiana institution to make the list.

Every once and while, life throws you a curve ball; but it’s not always a bad thing. Such was the case for an unsuspecting Jade Romain, whose experience overseas last summer turned out to be a whole lot different than she expected.

A senior speech pathology major from Los Angeles CA (St. Mary’s Academy), Romain traveled to Africa expense-free at the invitation of close friend, Teresa Langness, director and founder of Full Circle Learning, an international non-profit which provides educational services to community schools in developing countries around the globe.

Told she would be teaching “character development” to pre-K/kindergarten students (ages 2-7) in

an area of Lusaka, Zambia known as Chibolya, she was shocked to find herself in a situation where none of the children spoke any English. Needless to say Romain had failed to brush up on her Bemba, Tonga, Nyanja, or any of the other scores of languages spoken by the locals.

Introduced only as the “new teacher”, Romain struggled early on to teach 60 children the alphabet, shapes, colors, numbers, and other such rudimentary skills with no educational materials other than what she had brought along herself, in a community school classroom with no desks, no chairs, and no windows – just holes in the wall for ventilation.

Paris is often referred to as “the City of Lights”. That’s precisely the effect it had on junior political science major Thomas Walker, who had a “light bulb” inside his own head click on while studying abroad in the French capital last spring.

Back in 2012, Walker, who hails from Los Angeles CA (Frederick Douglas High), was floundering around as some sophomores are prone to do – not really sure about what he wanted to do and looking for some catalyst to ignite his passion. Much to his surprise, he found it one day when he wandered into one of the XU Center for Intercultural and International Program’s (CIIP) Study Abroad Fairs.

“I had given some thought to studying abroad before, but it wasn’t until I talked with the reps at the fair and to (CIIP director) Mr. (Torian) Lee, did

I realize that it was really a feasible option,” he said. “In fact I was shocked how easy the process was.”

Not the least among the surprising facts he learned about studying abroad: the cost of the program, which included a place to stay and most of his meals, was pretty much the same as his regular Xavier tuition would have been. His only real additional costs were for travel and some incidental living expenses. And as a result of his four months attending the American Business School in Paris through the International Study Abroad (ISA) program, Walker is no longer a floundering soul. He is, in fact, excited about his future, which he now envisions including law school and a career in international relations. But he’s not idling away his time at Xavier either. Since returning

he has become very active on campus, among other things, serving as an Ambassador for the CIIP and the Career Advancement Center. He finds he is much more focused academically as well.

While in France, Walker picked up academic credits in the areas of political science, psychology, art history, and, of course, French. He was surprised by two things: how easy it was to pick up the language, and how hard art history turned out to be.

“Paris is a great city to study art history – I got to visit the Louvre and numerous other great galleries and museums,” he said. “But it was a really difficult course to get through.”

Walker attributes his rebirth to the self-dependency he acquired abroad. Living with an older couple in the city several miles from the school,

he was forced to learn how to get around on the Metro, to learn the language, and to learn how to make his own decisions. “There’s a nine-hour time differential between Paris and Los Angeles,” he laughed. “There was no calling Mom for some quick advice.”

Having taken stock of himself, Walker is ready to take on the world.

Jade Romain:Language is No Barrier

Thomas Walker: The Lights Come on in Paris

continued on page 2

Affording a QualityXavier Education

continued on page 2

A Xavier education is well worth the investment that families make.

The University takes great pride in the quality of its academic programs. The value-oriented educational environment and the many positive influences provided through the campus life programs supplement the formal classroom experience. A Xavier diploma is one that is recognized nationally and, indeed, around the world. XU graduates are prepared to compete for positions in the work-force and slots in graduate, medical and other professional schools.

Xavier administers a broad array of financial aid programs, including scholarships, grants, loans, and work-study to assist in meeting a student’s demonstrated financial need. In addition, programs are available for families who

A publication for prospective students of Xavier University of Louisiana, their parents, and High School counselors

Volume 19Winter 2013

Enthusiastic members of Xavier’s new freshman class, (L-R) Teneaka White and Erica Greenwood, proudly display the Class of 2017 baseball caps they received during New Student Orientation’s annual “capping” ceremony. Xavier was pleased to welcome a freshman class of 675 into the fold for Fall 2013.

Non-Profit OrganizationU.S. POSTAGE

P A I DNew Orleans, La.

Permit No. 387

Xavier University of Louisiana1 Drexel DriveNew Orleans LA 70125www.xula.edu

It is altogether fitting that Raven Holmes will be among the first graduates from Xavier’s new Public Health Sciences program when she walks across the stage next May. She’s been on the front lines for community health for quite some time.

A senior from Washington DC (Walter Johnson High in Bethesda MD), Holmes arrived at Xavier in 2009 with the sole intention of getting into medical school. And where better than XU, which is first among the nation’s colleges in the number of African American graduates who go on to complete medical school.

But during those intervening years that singular ambition was taken on a detour. First there was a death in the family that compelled her to attend college in Maryland for a full year [she returned to New Orleans upon realizing that XU was where she really wanted to be], followed by an overseas summer internship that altered her career focus. Lastly there was Xavier’s decision to offer a new major in Public Health Sciences (PHS) in 2012.

Not that she has forsaken her original goal – she still plans to go to medical school and specialize in obstetrics. It’s just that her passion has been redirected towards working in a community setting, amongst the poorest and neediest of the world’s populations. She envisions herself one day working for an organization like Doctors without Borders, an international medical humanitarian group which provides independent, impartial assistance in more than 60 countries to people whose survival is threatened by natural and man-induced phenomenon.

As a transfer into the fledgling PHS program, Holmes is in a unique position with relationship to medical school. Prior to entering the program, she had already taken several science courses not specifically required for the PHS degree, but pretty much considered sine qua non for medical school admission.

She also possesses a lot of other intangibles that would be considered highly desirable. Her real world, hand-on experiences include a malaria research program internship at prestigious Johns Hopkins University, research on the impact of Vitamin A on pregnancy and infant growth in Bangladesh as part of another Hopkins project, and teaching health education to high school students through the Louisiana Public Health Service. And, by the way, she is quite fluent in French.

Here at Xavier, Holmes is the founder and co-president of GlobeMed, a group that seeks to educate and train student advocates for global health equity by partnering with a grassroots organization overseas and building strong long-term relationships. XU’s GlobeMed partner is the Food and Rural

Development Foundation in Buea, Cameroon, and the group is currently raising the funds necessary to promote a good hygiene and safe sanitation project there.

“Just as in many rural areas of the world, too many people in

Cameroon are becoming ill unnecessarily because they do not have access to safe drinking water or a place to bathe free of contamination,” said Holmes, who expects to be part of student group that travels to work on-site next summer. “Our hope is to raise enough funds to construct a community latrine and to raise awareness in these communities about how important sanitation is to their health.”

Raven Holmes:A Compelling Attraction to Public Health Sciences

For more information or to submit an online application for admission, please visit the Xavier website at www.xula.edu.

Office of Admissions Phone: (504) 520-7388 | Toll Free: 1 (877)-XAVIERU

Fax: (504) 520-7941 | Email: apply@xula.edu

(L-R) XU President Dr. Norman C. Francis, senior public health sciences major Raven Holmes, and the 18th Surgeon General of the United States and the new Endowed Chair in Public Health Sciences Dr. Regina Benjamin

XU junior political science major Thomas Walker in Paris, France.