Evan’s Scholarship Story

Elevating Lives through Research

The moment Evan knew he wanted to attend LSU was during a visit to the flagship campus during his junior year at Brother Martin High School in New Orleans.

“The campus was beautiful to walk around,” he remembered. “The energy was very positive and uplifting, and everyone we met with was so welcoming. At one point, I was sitting on a bench just imagining myself as a future LSU student switching classes and walking through the quad, and years later I can look back on that moment and feel the same excitement about LSU as I did then. All that I had experienced on campus that day made me realize my future was at LSU, and I am very happy I later went with that gut feeling and came here.”

Despite the easy decision to attend LSU, Evan said it was still up for debate which degree path he wanted to take.

“I wasn’t exactly sure what I wanted to do, but I was interested in medical school. I was interested in law school. I was interested in definitely going to graduate school at some point, so I saw psychology as, like, ‘This interests me, and I think it would be a good stepping stone to any of those things.’ Four years later, and I’ve really enjoyed it.”

One of Evan’s most defining experiences at LSU has been his involvement in research.

Collaborating with his mentor, psychology Professor Julia Buckner, Evan noticed a gap in available research detailing how microaggressions toward the LGBTQ population potentially affected substance abuse outcomes. Merriam-Webster defines “microaggression” as “a comment or action that subtly and often unconsciously or unintentionally expresses a prejudiced attitude toward a member of a marginalized group.”

Evan built his thesis around contributing research to address the gap he had observed, looking into the problems that members of the LGBTQ community experience from certain substance abuse and the frequency and nature of the use.

“What we found was the relationship is there between microaggressions and frequency and problems. When you experience microaggressions, you experience a negative affect, and then that negative effect can lead you to use cannabis to cope, which ultimately might lead to more frequent and problematic use. I’ve definitely experienced my own share of microaggressions, so the findings from this research feels tangible.”

Evan, an LSU Foundation Merit Scholarship recipient, has also managed to pursue minors in economics and Spanish – the latter influencing his decision to move to Spain for a year after graduation. During that time, he plans to invest further in learning the language through the North American Language and Culture Assistance Program before exploring graduate school options.

And he says none of this would have been possible without the scholarship he received leading up to his final year at LSU.

“Beyond just making this last year much more financially feasible, it also makes me feel very appreciated and validated in what I have achieved thus far,” Evan shared. “The scholarship has strengthened my experience and given me an even stronger connection to LSU, as I now know that there is at least one other Tiger out there rooting for my success.”