An avid supporter of Monroe businesses, Joyce Zhou, Ph.D., impacts the community outside the walls of her classroom. As a marketing professor, Zhou designs her classes with community involvement, skill development and student career opportunities in mind. She encourages students to become active members of the community by promoting creative and “out of the box” ideas.

“I want to bring out the best out of the students.  I feel proud when I see students being resilient when facing challenges,” Zhou said. “I hope to be able to help them adapt and get out of their comfort zone and accomplish great things by applying what they learned in the classroom.”

Zhou’s commitment to her students resulted in her advising multiple Pelican Cup Entrepreneurship teams, even working with two finalists. She currently holds two third place trophies for the competition.  Zhou also received the Honors Faculty of the Year Award for her continued devotion to the program’s success.

As the newly announced chair of the 2025 Women’s Symposium, Melissa Kiper seeks to empower and motivate women in her community. While working at ULM, she served as an academic advisor, a director of Alumni Affairs and a marketing instructor in the College of Business and Social Sciences. She continuously supports students throughout their college journey, whether the student is an incoming freshman or fifth-year senior.

“I am passionate about teaching and reaching students where they are,” Kiper said. “College is a time for exploration and self-discovery. It is my job to help foster that self-discovery.”

Her passion for marketing and position as the advisor for the Marketing Club allowed her to offer opportunities to students through the annual Agency Crawl and Student Advertising Competition/Scholarship banquet. She has also given back recently as a mentor in the Women Take Flight program.

First lady Christine Berry, Ph.D., can be spotted around campus, making appearances at speaking events or engaging with students. However, Berry values the individual connections she made as a professor and Risk Management and Insurance (RMI) program coordinator the most. Her passion for RMI and mentorship has allowed her to teach, mentor and advise RMI students and alumni long after they’ve graduated.

“There is nothing more fulfilling for me than to be a part of the process of a student discovering what they want to do after college,” Berry said. “Like most of us when we were in college, students are often a little scared and maybe feel sort of lost. I love getting to know them through class, advising and student organization meetings and helping them discover just how much they have to offer this great and very important industry.”

Guiding students to their desired careers, Berry is proud to see ULM’s RMI graduates becoming highly sought professionals in the industry. She remains devoted to providing students with opportunities.

When Mkay Bonner, Ph.D., began her interdisciplinary education, the study of psychology merged with criminal justice was much less common. Today, her specialty is more widely recognized as a division within forensic psychology. As a pioneer in her practice, Bonner values the importance of encouraging students to combine their interests across multiple areas of study.

“It is really important to me to do my work accurately and professionally, to give 110%. Cutting corners or halfhearted efforts are not an option,” Bonner said. “Theories and book knowledge are not sufficient. My passion is applying my knowledge and expertise in the real world where it can make a difference in people’s lives.”

For nearly 25 years, Bonner worked as a public safety psychologist for several police, sheriff and fire departments in the region. She made waves in her community through extensively working with and training law enforcement and public safety personnel throughout Louisiana, the United States and Canada.