University recognizes top scholars as Outstanding Master’s Graduates

David Allen is the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s overall Outstanding Master’s Graduate.

He was among five finalists for the award. Each will be recognized at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 9, during a Fall 2020 Commencement ceremony for the Graduate School at Cajun Field.

The ceremony is among nine ceremonies that will be held over two days beginning Tuesday, Dec. 8. In addition to the Graduate School, ceremonies will be held for the University’s eight academic colleges.

Graduate programs nominate one student as their Outstanding Master’s Graduate. Criteria include leadership, scholarship, service and research.

The dean of UL Lafayette’s Graduate School leads a panel that selects the top candidates. An Alumni Association committee interviews the finalists and chooses an overall Outstanding Master’s Graduate.

Allen is this year’s overall honoree. In addition, he represents the School of Architecture and Design as an Outstanding Master’s Graduate Finalist. He is pursuing a master’s degree in architecture and has a 4.0 GPA.

The School of Architecture and Design is in the College of the Arts.

Allen is the recipient of the Edward C. Mathes Endowed Superior Graduate Student Scholarship and the American Institute of Architects South Louisiana Endowed Scholarship.

He is a member of the UL Lafayette chapters of the National Organization for Minority Architect Students, which he has served as public relations coordinator, co-vice president and Graduate School liaison; the Black Male Leadership Association, serving as its scholarship chair; and Tau Sigma Delta, a scholastic honor society.

He also volunteers with Habitat for Humanity and at Lafayette Middle School. He mentors first-year design students in the School of Architecture and Design.

For his terminal project, Allen designed a youth community center for his hometown, Eunice, La.

Allen graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in architectural studies from UL Lafayette in 2019. He is the son of Grace Allen and Nate Allen of Eunice.

After earning his master’s degree, Allen plans to pursue architectural design opportunities at firms in Chicago, Dallas, Denver or San Diego.

Here’s a look at the remaining Outstanding Master’s Graduate Award finalists.

Allison M. Bernard is an Outstanding Master’s Graduate Finalist from the Department of Educational Curriculum and Instruction in the College of Education. She is pursuing a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction with a concentration in special education diagnostics and has a 4.0 GPA.

Bernard is a special education teacher at Southside High School in Lafayette.

She graduated from UL Lafayette in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in education with a concentration in social studies. Bernard maintained an active research agenda during her undergraduate and graduate school tenures.

In one project, she taught incarcerated individuals with histories of learning difficulties so she could explore the educational gaps that might hinder their success in the workplace after release. In another, Bernard helped devise a program in which incarcerated fathers could read to their children via video to support early childhood literacy.

She collaborated with College of Education faculty on these projects and others. A book chapter and manuscript, and national, state and regional conference presentations were based on her research.

Earlier this year, Bernard was named Special Education Teacher of the Year at Westgate High School in New Iberia. She was Iberia Middle School’s 2019 Teacher of the Year.

Gabrielle C. Glorioso is an Outstanding Master’s Graduate Finalist from the Department of Psychology. She completed a master’s degree in psychology in August 2020 and earned a 3.92 GPA.

The Department of Psychology is in the College of Liberal Arts.

Glorioso’s master’s thesis focused on the relationship between autism and schemas, cognitive frameworks that enable people to quickly infer what is typical – and what is not – in different environments.

In two other research projects, Glorioso collaborated with a faculty member in the Department of Psychology to better understand people’s susceptibility to misinformation and its link to memory.

Her research resulted in two publications and numerous national and international conference presentations.

In addition, Glorioso managed a lab at Texas A&M University, where she worked with researchers to explore the effects of multitasking or task-switching on a person’s cognitive abilities.

Glorioso taught introductory psychology courses at UL Lafayette and mentored undergraduate researchers. She also served on a department committee that recruited and interviewed potential graduate students.

She graduated cum laude with bachelor’s degrees in psychology and French from Centenary College of Louisiana in Shreveport in 2016.

She is the daughter of Melissa Glorioso and Vincent Glorioso and lives in Seattle.

Angelina Huynh is an Outstanding Master’s Graduate Finalist from the School of Kinesiology. She is pursuing a master’s degree in kinesiology with a concentration in exercise and sport science. She has a 3.77 GPA.

The School of Kinesiology is in the College of Education.

Huynh was a research intern at UL Lafayette’s New Iberia Research Center and LSU’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center. She participated in grant-funded research at both centers that focused on increasing understanding of cancer and cancer treatments.

Her master’s thesis examined how the central nervous system enables individuals to learn and develop new skills, then transfer those skills from one task to another. Her thesis research was part of a study conducted in UL Lafayette’s Motor Learning Laboratory.

Huynh is a member of the National Association for Kinesiology in Higher Education, the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity, and the National Strength and Conditioning Association.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in exercise science with a concentration in fitness studies from UL Lafayette in 2018.

After earning her master’s degree, Huynh plans to pursue a Ph.D. in kinesiology with an emphasis in motor neuroscience. She is the daughter of Ashley and Minh Huynh of Lafayette.

Garrett Ohlmeyer is an Outstanding Master’s Graduate Finalist from the MBA program. He is pursuing an MBA in the B.I. Moody III College of Business Administration. Ohlmeyer has a 3.85 GPA.

As a graduate student, he conducted an efficiency study for McIlhenny Co. that the Tabasco manufacturer then used to implement changes to its production process. He also analyzed sales data to create a marketing plan for an area rubber and gasket company. He was part of a team of students who worked with the Evangeline Parish School System to help increase awareness of its educational programs.

Ohlmeyer was a market intelligence intern at the Lafayette Economic Development Authority. There, he created and analyzed data that tracked hotel-motel, oil and gas, real estate, retail sales and jobs statistics, among other economic metrics.

He represented the MBA program in the Graduate Student Organization. He was also president and social media manager of UL Lafayette’s MBA Association.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology with a concentration in sports management from UL Lafayette in 2016.

Following Commencement, Ohlmeyer will work as a data analyst for Sterling Wellness Solutions in Crowley, La. He is the son of Patty and Butch Ohlmeyer of Lafayette.

View livestreams of individual Fall 2020 Commencement ceremonies. Learn more about Fall 2020 Commencement.

Photo caption: The University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s Fall 2020 Outstanding Master’s Graduates are, from left: Overall Outstanding Master's Graduate David Allen, School of Architecture and Design; Allison M. Bernard, Department of Educational Curriculum and Instruction; Angelina Huynh, School of Kinesiology; and Garrett Ohlmeyer, MBA program. Not pictured is Gabrielle C. Glorioso, Department of Psychology. (Photo credit: Rachel Rafati / University of Louisiana at Lafayette)