FASHION

ELEVEN 26 BOUTIQUE

This adorable sage romper is made for fun! It features buttons on the bodice, a tiered style, and ruffle straps for an effortless look. Pair it with a simple gold necklace, a gold hammered cuff and matte gold floral earrings. Finish the look with these camo sneakers with glitter star detail.

HERRINGSTONE’S

This mini dress features a lightweight and breezy woven fabric, with a multiprint made up of black leopard spots and a dainty floral print in hues of orange, yellow, and blue. This dress has a ruffle-trimmed rounded neckline, fluttery short sleeves, stretchy smocking at the yoke, and a relaxed high waist atop a flirty mini-skirt with hidden side seam pockets. Pair it with these modern Superga high-top sneakers, Kendra Scott earrings, and jelly bangles.

PALETTE HOUSE AND PLUME

Constructed from super cozy cotton, this sweatshirt features a soft serene coral haze/lemon tie dye print with a ribbed crew neckline and is finished with a frayed crop hemline. Pair it with these go-to KUT “mom” jeans that feature button-front, high rise fit and deconstructed details.

Hooshang Khorasani

Hooshang’s Paintings in Museums in N. Dakota, Montana and Kentucky

THIS SUMMER, RUSTON artist Hooshang Khorasani’s abstract and equine paintings are in exhibitions that stretch from North Dakota and Montana to Kentucky.

Plains Art Museum in Fargo, North Dakota, and Paris Gibson Museum of Art in Great Falls, Montana, are displaying sets of his abstract works. American Saddlebred Museum in Lexington, Kentucky, has exhibited one of his running horse paintings.

Plains Art Museum chose a set of two 30-by-30-inch abstracts, “Color Storm XIV,” for its Summer Gala: Take Two: Déjà vu. The paintings will be on exhibit from July 16th through August 13th, when a silent auction will conclude the festivities.

The museum was founded in 1965 and

moved into a renovated turn-of-the-century International Harvester warehouse in downtown Fargo in 1997. Montana’s Paris Gibson Square Museum has also selected two of Hooshang’s abstracts from his Color Storm series: “Color Storm III,” Hooshang Khorasani’s “Sunshine” was recently on display at the American Saddlebred Museum in 20-by-20 inches each. Beginning July Kentucky. 30th and continuing through August 30th, this exhibition will feature both an online and live auction. Paris Gibson Square, a treasured Great Falls’ landmark, has served as a center for learning and growth for more than 100 years. The Kentucky exhibit at American Saddlebred Museum included Hooshang’s equine work “Sunshine,” a 48-by-48-inch acrylic, in an exhibition that concluded July 17th with its Equine Art, Antique and Rare Book Auction. The museum is on the grounds of the Kentucky Horse Park, which oversees the world’s largest collection of Saddlebred artifacts and a research library of more than 3,000 volumes.

“Color Storm XIV” (top) is currently being exhibited in North Dakota, and “Color Storm III” (bottom) is at a show in Montana.

TRIO Programs: 40 Years at ULM Helping Students

Educational Talent Search is the Oldest TRIO Program on Campus

JASMINE THENEKHAMSYHARATH, 21, DOES NOT KNOW the meaning of the word “quit.”In June, the Glenmora native was accepted into the University of Louisiana Monroe’s top-rated Dental Hygiene program. She will start classes in Fall 2021 as a junior. Jasmine is a first-generation college student whose parents immigrated to the United States from Laos, a tiny country in Southeast Asia. Jasmine’s father never graduated from high school, and both parents lacked insight into the many steps involved in the college application and enrollment process.

TRIO PROGRAMS STEPS IN With help from TRIO Programs at ULM, grant-funded through the U.S. Department of Education to assist those from disadvantaged backgrounds, TRIO stepped in to help Jasmine navigate the enrollment process and continues to help her and many others in their college journeys. Launched in 1965, TRIO derived its name from the fact it provided aid through three federal programs — Upward Bound, Educational Talent Search, and Student Support Services — though the total number of programs has grown in subsequent years.

Since 1981, ULM is home to two TRIO Programs. It started with Educational Talent Search to assist middle and high school students on the journey to achieve a higher education. Later, Student Support Services was added to help retain and guide ULM students to graduation. TRIO Programs provides additional grant-funded support for childcare assistance and mentoring. TRIO’s federal grant funding exceeds $928,000.

EDUCATIONAL TALENT SEARCH: CULTIVATING A COLLEGE

MINDSET Now in its 40th year at ULM, Educational Talent Search is the oldest TRIO program on campus. Over the last four decades, some 55,000 students in 16 high schools throughout Ouachita and surrounding parishes have been helped by this facet of TRIO. TRIO Executive Director Catherine Estis, Ph.D., is in her 29th year at the university. During her tenure, she’s held several positions, much of it as a field specialist working in nearby parish schools until taking over as director in 2008.

Educational Talent Search targets eighth- through 12th-grade students from low-income and first-generation households in which neither parent has obtained a four-year degree, according to Estis.

Students are guided to take core courses in high school and maintaining at least a 2.5 GPA. The goal? To enroll and graduate within six years from a postsecondary school, either at ULM or another university. It is a formidable challenge. The region’s poverty level hovers around 34 percent, and high school graduation rates typically run lower than the state averages. Estis notes it takes effort to convince students from impoverished backgrounds to imagine a future brimming with possibility.

“If you can get them to envision where they can be, it’s significant,” she said.

WHAT IS A FIRST-GEN STUDENT? Estis and other TRIO Programs directors know a thing or two about being first-generation students. Estis’ own father was a dairy laborer, and, as one of eight children, she was the only one of her siblings to graduate college.

Associate Director Debbie Upshaw, also a first-generation college graduate and ULM alumna, is fully aware that just the thought of university life can be intimidating. “They don’t have any idea where to start,” she said. “They have no clue how to afford college, what kinds of aid may be available. They don’t know how to apply for admission or how to choose a college major or how that relates to choosing a career,” Upshaw added. “They have no idea about any of that.” Often, students in targeted parish schools are without a single guidance counselor. They come from families who simply do not know how to help — whether failing to realize important application deadlines or applying for campus housing and meal plans, Upshaw said.

Educational Talent Search has several interventions to address these gaps, offering career workshops, identifying potential majors with aptitude tests, campus tours, job shadowing, even STEM camps.

Some 831 high school students receive assistance through the program, which has met the grant’s objectives, said Upshaw.

“Our numbers are good,” she said, noting 45 percent of the students served earned a degree within six years, better than the state average of 37 percent. The national average is 46 percent. And, while many students have chosen to remain in Northeast Louisiana, others expanded their horizons. “They go all over,” Upshaw said. “One went to Harvard; one went to China … It’s so fulfilling to see the realization dawn on them what can be achieved.”

WHAT’S IN THE FRIDGE

Colby Mardis, owner of For His Temple Family Foods in West Monroe, talks to Cassie Livingston about her stock of refrigerator must-haves.

Photos by Kelly Moore Clark

So what’s the deal with expiration dates? Do you abide by or care?

Personally, I don’t pay any attention to expiration dates on products. My Memaw and my mom taught me “if it smells good and tastes good, go for it.” I don’t focus on what a manufacturer puts on their packaging. Don’t get me wrong, things can and do go bad – or, sometimes they just taste off. But, I don’t let a package tell me when that is.

What do you cook the most at home?

This is really difficult. On the weekends we are big breakfast eaters – we love fresh eggs from our hens, Mahaffey Farms bacon, and sourdough toast from Scratch Bakehouse is a standard thing. It never gets old to us. For supper, I love to experiment with new recipes and sometimes will throw in our old time favorites. I just cooked a spicy pepper roast with butter beans and stewed cabbage. Yum! This weekend, I will stuff some Patty Pan squash, brine and grill some thick Mahaffey pork chops (there’s nothing better) and whatever else starts to sound good at the time!

What is your favorite dish at For His Temple to cook?

I truly can’t say. I really love to cook, so it’s hard to nail down one dish as my favorite. I love when my customers enjoy the food and leave satisfied. I cook some things that I don’t personally enjoy, but others do, so that makes it fun to cook.

Is there an ingredient that you use a lot?

Roasted garlic makes the top of the list. I roast large amounts and freeze it for quick use. Also, I make the trilogy at home and at the restaurant. It’s a time saving trick my Memaw taught me. It’s onion, celery and garlic chopped in a food processor and stored in the refrigerator for quick use. I made a video about it to help my followers save time in the kitchen.

What’s your go-to snack?

I love fresh fruit of all kinds - whether it’s for snacking or a fresh fruit salad. I’m also a chips and salsa fanatic. I could wipe out a bag of chips in a blink, but I try to control that. Also, a charcuterie board at home is a favorite of ours. Olli Salumeria pepperoni and salami, various Grazers cheeses, cocktail onion, pickles, Cowboy Candy (I make in batches at home, chips and crackers) – it all makes a great snack.

Butter or ghee?

I am a butter girl all the way. I use ghee at times, but much prefer better – from pastured cows, of course. Nothing is better on steamed veggies or smothered on a fresh piece of sourdough bread.

in the fridge

1) “The Zydeco Creole Trinity is a salsa from South Louisiana, and I’m all about supporting local foods. It’s fresh, chunky and has just the right amount of heat for me.”

2) “The Wildbrine Sriracha is amazing. It’s a probiotic sauce with a kick. We love using it on taco salads. Not only is it super yum, but it is also good for the gut – two of my favorite things.”

3) “Elderberry is a must. It’s an herbal immune booster that we take year ‘round. By using a tablespoon every day, its keeps our immune system strong despite the time of the year. It works great if it’s a quality brand AND it’s super easy to make yourself.”

4) “Naturally Nutty Pepita Sun is a small batch brand, which I prefer over big corporate food makers. The Pepita nut butter has a touch of cinnamon and is amazing on apples, bananas or straight off the spoon.” 5) “I love a dab of jam or preserves on our weekend sourdough toast. A very special friend gave me this jar of homemade blueberry jam as a house warming gift when we moved into our new home recently. I love it.”

6) “Organic raw cheeses are the best. The flavor and texture of the Rumiana Organic Mozzarella Cheese is rich, creamy and indulgent. I love to use Rumiano and Grazers cheeses in my home cooking. Both make the best grilled cheese.”

7) Wild for Salmon spread is absolutely divine. The company uses wild caught salmon from Bristol Bay, Alaska. Nothing beats the quality and nutrition of this salmon. The spread is amazing with chips (yes, again), on crackers or stuffed in fresh jalapeños.