I spent the first two days of the week on campus in various meetings with my administrative team. I also enjoyed some visits from students, including a couple of freshmen who wanted to interview me as part of their Comm/FYE class about our policies on bike racks on campus. This class really engages students in thoughtful activities about campus issues. Our focus is on student success, and getting these students engaged during their first quarter on campus is a key in their success. Jeremy Mhire, Director of the Waggonner Center, hosted five of Louisiana’s leading political journalists for a panel discussion on current Louisiana political issues. Greg Hilburn (USA Today), Jeremy Alford (LAPolitics.com), Elizabeth Crisp (The Advocate), Melinda Deslatte (AP) and Julia O’Donoghue (Times-Picayune) gave their perspectives on a few issues and then took questions from our students and faculty. I was pleased to host them for a dinner at the Ropp Center afterwards.  Kathy and I went to the Miss Louisiana Tech pageant afterwards and were pleased to see our talented students perform and compete for the title. Special Congrats to Samantha Hawthorne for being crowned as Miss Tech 2018 and special Thanks to Anna Blake for her excellent leadership and service as Miss Tech 2017. Kathy and I took an early morning flight to New Orleans on Wednesday morning for the NAISTD (workforce and training) conference along with my friends Mimi Hedgcock of CSRA, Brad Lambert of LED and Sandra Partain of BPCC.  The audience was quite intrigued with the strong partnerships in Northwest Louisiana that have led to amazing growth of a dynamic cyber ecosystem. Later Wednesday, Kathy and I drove to Baton Rouge for University of Louisiana System meetings. Wednesday evening, Southeastern hosted a reception for university staff, board members and alumni at the Capital Center. We were pleased that the Board approved our Masters in Cyber Technology Letter of Intent that will be another key program for developing a cyber workforce and enhancing Tech’s national prominence in the cyber field. Late Thursday, Kathy and I drove to Houston to meet with alumni and friends. We will wrap our week up later today watching the Bulldogs take on the Rice Owls. {Sunday Update: Bulldogs defeat the Owls!} Here are a few of my favorite pics for the week: