WHEN NORMAL BECOMES EXTRAORDINARY

On May 21 when 198 students from LSU Health Shreveport’s three professional schools experienced an in-person commencement, this once routine event became anything but ordinary. Now 15 months after overcoming much more than the rigor of their respective curriculums, this event became not just expected, but cherished, since the 2020 commencement was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The graduating class of 2021 will hold a place in history, having overcome living and learning during the only pandemic of their lifetimes. Pandemic life meant adjusting to limited social interaction as visits to restaurants, bars, gyms, and sporting events disappeared, as did daily interactions with classmates which are a primary support system for many. Couple this with a transition from in-person to online learning and the students had a complete change thrust on them, all while incredible amounts of information kept coming their way.

Once the difficult decision of whether to hold commencement in-person was made, the path forward was not paved with ease. After months of planning and implementing an outdoor, inperson commencement at Independence Stadium, a prediction of possible rain early in the week turned to a 70 percent chance of rain on the day of commencement, resulting in the necessity to move commencement indoors 24 hours prior to it occurring. Teamwork at its finest was in high gear and the 2021 LSU Health Shreveport Commencement became one for the record books. For as many things as went wrong, even more went right, including securing newly elected Congresswoman Julia Letlow as the commencement speaker. Having recently lost her 41-year-old husband, Luke Letlow, to COVID-19 on December 29, 2020, Congresswoman Letlow understood all too well the challenges these graduates had overcome when life went from normal to an unwelcomed and unexpected new normal. Congresswoman Letlow, who ran for and won her husband’s seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in April 2021, delivered a personal and poignant message on the irreplaceable impact of healthcare workers and scientists.

“In my life as well, I have experienced hardship and things that have not gone as planned,’’ Rep. Letlow shared. “Over the last few years, my young son Jeremiah turned 3 and my daughter Jacqueline was born just before quarantine. My career in higher ed at ULM was growing stronger and my husband, Luke, ran an incredible campaign, culminating with him being elected to Congress this past December. To say we were on a mountaintop, when my husband contracted and died of COVID-19, would be an understatement.”

Rep. Letlow, like these graduates, had been tested in ways never expected. After thanking the graduates and faculty in the audience for their selfless service during the pandemic, she turned her focus to a simple message of “Win the Day.” She encouraged graduates to “win the day” by choosing to make the decisions that are right for them and their patients every single day, allowing their career to go from good to exceptional.

On May 21, 2021, LSU Health Shreveport graduates won the day by achieving their goal of becoming healthcare professionals and by being able to share that amazing accomplishment with their fellow graduates, faculty, friends, and family.

LSU Health Shreveport salutes this class of graduates and commencement speaker for rising above life’s unexpected circumstances to prove that fortitude and the desire to make a difference really do matter.