Louisiana Inspired

LSU Creative writing instructor becomes president of Young Entrepreneur Academy Baton Rouge

BY JOY HOLDEN | Staff writer
May 21, 2025

Native to Texarkana, Texas, Casey O'Banion came to Baton Rouge to go to LSU in 2007. Since graduating in 2011, he's had several positions in the area, including teaching English at Catholic Hi…

Son of a Saint helps to build confidence for New Orleans students: 'The world can be mine'

BY DESIREE STENNETT | Staff writer
May 20, 2025

At 13 years old, Jayden Cavet was excited to be accepted into the Son of a Saint program. Coming of age without his dad, the program was a shot at getting a mentor who could serve as a father …

Inspired Book Club summer choice wins Pulitzer Prize for fiction

BY JOY HOLDEN | Staff writer
May 18, 2025

"James," by Percival Everett, the second book for the 2025 Louisiana Inspired Book Club, has won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, in addition to the National Book Award and the Kirkus Prize.

'The world is small. We must be kind when we can' and other things that stuck

BY JAN RISHER | Staff writer
May 18, 2025

The near noon sun offered no slanting light.

New Orleans seniors get $80k in scholarships from Pelicans star C.J. McCollum

By JOSEPH CRANNEY | Staff writer
Updated May 14, 2025

Zayden Hills says he knew what he wanted to be when he grew up by the time he was 6 years old.

This 'double agent' retired after 41 years with Louisiana Sea Grant and LSU AgCenter

BY LAUREN CHERAMIE | Staff writer
May 12, 2025

Mark Shirley, a Louisiana Sea Grant and LSU AgCenter marine extension agent, retired in March after 41 years of service. He is known for many things during his career, but most notably, he dev…

How one Louisiana Girl Scout troop keeps mother-daughter bonds alive, even behind bars

BY QUINN COFFMAN | Staff writer
May 11, 2025

For the five girls who gathered at the Orleans Parish Sheriff Office's kitchen warehouse facility on a sunny Saturday in April, in some ways, it was a Girl Scouts meeting like any other.

Zena, the philosopher cat, made each of us feel like we were the one: Jan Risher

BY JAN RISHER | Staff writer
May 11, 2025

I am not a cat person.

Leading with the heart: Jill Rigby Garner’s mission to transform education through respect

BY LAUREN CHERAMIE | Staff writer
May 7, 2025

Jill Rigby Garner is an accomplished speaker, education expert, author and founder of Manners of the Heart, a nonprofit confronting incivility in our society. Manners of the Heart equips schoo…

Baton Rouge's Jewish community honors liberators and recognizes essay contest winners

BY JOY HOLDEN | Staff writer
Updated May 8, 2025

On May 4, the Unified Jewish Congregation of Baton Rouge, in partnership with Jewish Federation of Greater Baton Rouge, held its service for Holocaust Remembrance, where they honored not only …

Volunteer opportunities for Acadiana, Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Shreveport/Bossier City

May 4, 2025

Louisiana Inspired highlights volunteer opportunities across south Louisiana and the Shreveport/Bossier City area. If your organization has specific volunteer opportunities, email us at lainsp…

How the Wienermobile and a basketball video opened my eyes to the power of everyday connection

BY JAN RISHER | Staff writer
Updated May 4, 2025

When my husband asked if I’d watched the video he sent, I said no — I’d seen it, meant to and then forgot.

Hundreds of years and counting: The bonsai tree creates connections in New Orleans

BY LAUREN CHERAMIE | Staff writer
May 2, 2025

Carl Gilbert, president of the Greater New Orleans Bonsai Society, found his love for bonsai trees while he was in Japan serving in the U.S. Navy. He joined the society to learn from other bon…

Students add beekeeping, honey collection to their studies at Zachary High

BY ELLYN COUVILLION | Staff writer
Apr 30, 2025

When Zachary High’s agriculture students learned they’d be studying bees firsthand, they weren’t so sure about it.

This Baton Rouge addiction recovery house is free. Meet the duo behind it.

BY JOY HOLDEN | Staff writer
Apr 28, 2025

When she was 19 years old, Emily Tilley started going to O'Brien House, a Baton Rouge residential treatment center, to visit her mother. Her mother, Shirley Cormier George, was a recovering ad…

At 30,000 feet, a most embarrassing moment comes with an upside: Jan Risher

BY JAN RISHER | Staff writer
Apr 27, 2025

When asked, "What was the most embarrassing thing you've ever experienced?," I have a clear answer.

Growing home: The Harry Tompson is expanding its day shelter for the needy and unhoused

By STEPHANIE RIEGEL | Staff writer
Updated Apr 27, 2025

Like many cities, New Orleans has struggled to address its homelessness crisis in a way that is both compassionate and effective.

How a Louisiana nonprofit client became a volunteer then its executive director

BY JOY HOLDEN | Staff writer
Apr 25, 2025

In 1978, Julia Richard visited the Thensted Center of Grand Coteau when she was looking for assistance to purchase a home. She talked with Sister Margaret Hoffman of Society of the Sacred Hear…

It's hummingbird season in Louisiana: Here are tips from a Baton Rouge expert.

BY JOY HOLDEN | Staff writer
Apr 22, 2025

Jane Patterson, the president and education chair of the Baton Rouge Audubon Society, started her birding odyssey in 2005 when she spotted a bird in her backyard that she didn't know. The disc…

No white before Easter and other lessons that linger: Jan Risher

BY JAN RISHER | Staff writer
Apr 20, 2025

My mother was not a fan of wearing white before Easter.

She was recruited from Canada to teach French in Louisiana. This is why she stayed.

BY LAUREN CHERAMIE | Staff writer
Apr 18, 2025

Peggy Feehan is a native French speaker, born in New Brunswick, Canada, and educated there. She taught high school science before moving to Louisiana in 1999, when she was recruited by the Cou…

Meet Ezzie Smith, the flight instructor teaching Baton Rouge high schoolers to fly

BY SERENA PUANG | Staff writer
Apr 17, 2025

In 2001, Ezzie Smith took his first flight lesson. He was a freshman in college, and he was given the opportunity to learn at a monthlong flight program in Delaware through an ROTC course. Wit…

Jr League of New Orleans fellowship that supported James Beard finalist announces new winner

BY JOY HOLDEN | Staff writer
Apr 14, 2025

On April 10, six women stood in front of judges and pitched their business presentations for the Junior League of New Orleans Women's Entrepreneur Fellowship, a grant that could change their lives.

Here is the one dining tip I wish I had learned years ago: Jan Risher

BY JAN RISHER | Staff writer
Apr 13, 2025

With the Inspired section, we focus on people who are working toward solutions — some big, some small.

Lafayette sex-forward couples therapist offers marriage tips: 'Love is in the thanksgivings'

BY LAUREN CHERAMIE | Staff writer
Apr 11, 2025

Lauren Bordelon, LPC, is a licensed professional counselor and coach. She owns Bordelon Counseling in Lafayette and is the founder of Modern Marriage Coaching. In her practice, she helps high-…

A new Louisiana law helped them find their birth moms: 'I felt like I was complete'

BY TYLER BRIDGES | Staff writer
Updated Apr 8, 2025

Born in New Orleans and adopted at eight weeks, Elise Lewis found her birth parents in 1996 when she was 28.

New Preservation Hall program works to make sure New Orleans' musical legacy gets passed on

BY HANNAH LEVITAN | Staff writer
Updated Apr 16, 2025

On a windy Thursday morning, a group of nearly 60 fourth graders from Christian Brothers School crammed into Preservation Hall, where the creaky wooden floors and faded paint gave testament to…

These pesky caterpillars are back early in Louisiana. What to do if you get stung.

BY HANNAH LEVITAN | Staff writer
Updated May 2, 2025

It's that time of the year again: stinging caterpillar season. Furry buck moth caterpillars, armed with hollow spines attached to their venom sac, are slowly emerging throughout the state.