Six Calcasieu Parish teenagers were among the group as 136 students started their first year of classes at the Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts on Aug. 20.
The students were invited to attend the tuition-free, state-funded residential school after a selective application process, according to a news release from the school.
Emily Shumate, the school’s director of Enrollment Management and Outreach, said students from throughout the entire state bring the diversity of Louisiana with them through cultures, perspectives and stories when they come together at the school.
“This blend not only strengthens our academic community but also fosters empathy, innovation, and a deeper understanding of what it means to be part of something greater than ourselves,” Shumate said. “Calcasieu Parish has traditionally been well-represented in LSMSA’s student body, and the students we enroll from Calcasieu come to us with a strong academic background that speaks to the robust education they have received before applying to LSMSA.”
Among the new students at the school in Natchitoches are Lake Charles sophomores Phoenix Sims and Cara Jones, West Lake sophomore Mia East, Sulphur junior Claire Hebert, Lake Charles junior Doug Mayberry III and Vinton junior Riley Snell.
The six additions are part of 15 students from Calcasieu Parish studying at the Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts.
Sims told The Advocate that she applied for the school because she was bored attending Barbe High School in Lake Charles and her friend suggested a change.
“I wanted something more, so I applied here … and I went on epical tours (and) I stood in on certain classes,” Sims said. “From there, I really just kind of fell in love with it.”
For Sims, attending the school is about future success. While she believes that every kid has some point in their lives said “I’m going to go to Harvard,” she is serious.
“I really do want to go to Harvard, I want to be a neurosurgeon, which would involve me getting an undergraduate major in neuroscience, and then going to med school,” Sims said. “LSMSA can set me up very, very highly on the track that I want to go to, especially (with getting) the connections that I would like to have and need to get into the school that I want to.”
Senior and third-year LSMSA student Jai Patel, who is also from Lake Charles and a former Barbe High School student, said that when he first started at the boarding school he planned to go into business finance after graduation.
However, after attending LSMSA, Patel realized he has a love for politics and economics through courses he has taken such as financial literacy, the history of American enterprise and American government.
“It’s something that I’m really fascinated in, that I’ve grew into throughout the last two years at LSMSA,” Patel said. “It’s motivated me to write a distinction on political economy and international markets.”
Patel said he recommends that other Calcasieu Parish students apply to the school to not only get ahead academically, but also to prepare themselves for their futures.
“You see students that go to high schools (like the ones in Lake Charles), and the students that I see over there, they’re being challenged, but I’ve seen students that I know want to be challenged more, they want to be pushed and just become better,” Patel said.
“I think LSMSA does that really well, and I see the students here that are being pushed and overcoming their challenges, and I see that they’re really happy. Besides that, I think it sets you up great for your future, being able to live in the dorm, and being able to experience the feeling of college before you get to college.”