Since the 2008-2009 school year there has been a group of students who live, learn and lead together. They are the Cardoner Scholars.
“The Cardoner Program was developed three years ago to institute a first-year residential leaadership learning community,” said Cissy Petty, vice president of Student Affairs and associate provost.
The initial program began with 20 freshmen, and now there are close to 60 students in the program, according to Petty. Students live together in Buddig Hall. The program now has freshmen, sophomore and junior components.
“We are now working on bringing the esteemed national leadership honorary Omicron Delta Kappa to campus as a capstone experience for the junior/senior year,” Petty said.
The Cardoner Fellowship is based on a strategic three-phase plan of leadership activities that include service, student internships and participation in campus leadership programs, said Peter Burns, political science professor. Burns teaches the freshman seminar, Rebuilding New Orleans, which is required for all Cardoner scholars.
“As we enter the fourth year, we will focus on getting the fourth-year students in contact with community organizations so they can apply their leadership skills to the community,” said Heather Roundtree, director of Co-curricular Programs and director of the Cardoner program.
“The idea of the class is for the students to give back to the overall community with their minds,” Burns said.
Rebuilding New Orleans solicits policy topics from local officials. Students write policy briefs, and some have testified in front of city and government organizations, according to Burns.
Each class of Cardoner scholars has different components to complete throughout the year. Some of these things include selecting a mentor, attending Leadership in Entergy and Environmental Design speaker series and student leadership initiatives.
“Being in the program has been very productive. It helped me get thrown into the Loyola community faster, and helped me realize what could and needed to be done in our community. The program is great because they (professors and program advisers) treat us like equals, and everyone is very enthusiastic,” said Kyle Vogt, political science senior.
“I have met really compassionate, kind-hearted students through the program, and I really like that. Cardoners are usually together and they have an undeniable bond that is clear as day. I think this is a great program for students to live and learn together and share that common experience,” Burns said.
Yvonne Cappel-Vickery can be reached at
