The ULM Honors Program received eight national award nominations from Suitable, a digital platform that records student engagement and co- curricular learning.
The nominations honored ULM’s FLIGHT Program, an initiative that connects students to academic, professional and personal development opportunities using a point-based system. Joshua Stockley, director of the ULM Honors Program, mentioned that he was ‘stunned’ by the announcement.
“I honestly expected one or two nominations, but not eight,” Stockley said. “That’s amazing by any standard.”
Suitable nominated ULM in eight categories: Best Branding, Highest Engagement, Most Completed Activities, Most Engaged Partner, Suitable Spirit Award, Suitable Innovator Award, Student Advocate Award and Distinguished Student Program.
Stockley credited the program’s growth and student involvement with earning national recognition from Suitable.
“These nominations boost our visibility and credibility across the country,” Stockley said. “It opens doors for future collaborations, recruitment of high-achieving students and continued support from the university and alumni.”
At the core of this recognition was FLIGHT, which stands for ‘Forging Leaders, Inspiring Growth and Harnessing Talent.’ The program encourages students to participate in events that build real-world skills. Then, students can track their progress through Suitable and earn digital badges for their achievements.
“FLIGHT is not just a co-curricular checklist,” Stockley said. “It’s a fully integrated framework that guides students through every phase of their college experience.”
Stockley credited the university’s partnership with Suitable for making the program possible. He highlighted the platform’s mobile-first design, game-like features and analytics dashboard, which allow students to track growth and administrators to make data-informed decisions.
“The Honors Program has no staff,” Stockley said. “Without Suitable, there can be no FLIGHT.”
Stockley attributed the branding success to ULM’s Office of Marketing and Communications (OMC), particularly Srdjan Marjanovic. As OMC’s executive creative director, Marjanovic led the effort to create the FLIGHT theme.
“Whether it’s on social media, event materials or the Suitable platform, students always know when something is part of FLIGHT,” Stockley said.
The program also received attention for empowering students. Stockley explained that students contribute to designing programming and events. The FLIGHT Program recognizes students for their involvement, which builds honors pride.
Looking ahead, Stockley said he hopes to bring home at least one award from Philadelphia.
“It would be embarrassing to receive eight nominations and not win one,” he said. “No one wants to be the Susan Lucci of the higher education world.”
Regardless, Stockley saw the nominations as beginning a new chapter for ULM’s Honors Program.
“These nominations are a launchpad, not “a finish line,” Stockley said. “They’ve shown us what’s possible, and now we’re even more energized to push boundaries, scale our impact and inspire other institutions along the way.”
The winners will be announced at Pathways 2025 in Philadelphia during the summer.
