Southeastern NEWS

                                                       Southeastern Louisiana University
                                           Public Information Office
                                           SLU 10880, Hammond, LA 70402
                                           504/549-2341/fax 504-549-2061
    Date: 12/15/01
      Contact:                           Rene Abadie or Christina Chapple (28)


SOUTHEASTERN SPEAKER STRESSES PERSEVERANCE, INTEGRITY

     HAMMOND   Success is found not in moments of brilliance but through perseverance and
years of "sticking it out," Southeastern Louisiana University graduates were told at the
university's winter commencement ceremonies held here Saturday.
     "I suspect it's a lesson you already know, perhaps the single most important lesson you
learned in your college education," said E. Renae Conley, president and chief executive officer of
Entergy-Louisiana and Entergy Gulf Sates Louisiana.
     Conley served as the featured speaker for the more than 1,000 students being awarded
associates, bachelors and masters degrees at the university's 77th commencement exercises. The
event marked the first graduation ceremonies over which newly appointed Southeastern
President Randy Moffett officiated.
     Moffett told the capacity crowd in the University Center that the Class of Fall 2001 included
students ranging in age from 68 to 20 who were from ten states and 19 countries. Eleven of the
1,072 students were earning two degrees.
     Among the crowd was the family of Lisa Louise Aucoin, who was posthumously
awarded a master of science degree in biology. The graduates were led into the University Center
arena by the Golden Graduates -- alumni who graduated 50 years ago or more -- including four
alumni who had children or grandchildren among the current graduating class.
     In her keynote address, Conley reflected on her career, starting as a staff accountant for a
utility company, and stressed the importance of staying focused on the work you are hired to do,
rather than "gunning for promotion. There are many people who have all the potential in the
world, but do not perform," she said. 
     The lesson Conley said she learned early in her career and which she applied to all her jobs
was not to be looking for the next promotion, but to perform well in her job so that her
supervisors could not help but considering her for promotions.
     Closely aligned with perseverance is integrity, "being true to who you really are, not chasing
after someone else's version of success," she said. "Companies like Entergy value diversity,
because we need a wide range of talents and perspectives. We don't want everyone to be the
same." She quoted a Yiddish proverb that says, "If I try to be like him, who will be like me." 
     "Being true to yourself means knowing and developing the true extent of your potential," she
added. "If you look inside yourself, you are likely to find a more inspiring vision of success than
if you just copy someone else."
                             -SLU-