You are here

Home » About Us

Meet Our Staff

Gabriel A. Carranza, D.V.M., Ph.D.
Executive Director of Global Engagement 
Adjunct Research Faculty
Institute for Coastal and Water Research
 
Email: gabriel@louisiana.edu
Phone: 337.482.6819
 
Responsibilities:
• Lead efforts to globalize education, research and community initiatives 
• Enhance the global presence of the University
• Oversee the offices of International Affairs and Study Abroad
 
Dr. Gabriel A. Carranza leads initiatives to enhance UL Lafayette's international reputation. He is responsible for centralizing programs the University offers to its domestic and international students and scholars, as well as, creating and developing new international programs. From 2009 to 2016, Dr. Carranza served as the Assistant Vice Provost for Global Engagement and Adjunct Research Professor in Biological Sciences at the University of North Texas. He also served as Director of the Office for Latin American Programs at Texas A&M University from 1992 to 2009. During that period, he was the Executive Director of the Texas A&M Center in Mexico and was Interim Director of the University's Institute for Pacific Asia. Dr. Carranza is also a visiting professor of Environmental and Sanitary Engineering at the State University of Ponta Grossa in Parana, Brazil.
 
Rose Honegger, Ph.D.
Associate Director of Global Engagement (PDSO, RO)
 
Phone: 337.482.6819
 
Responsibilities:
• Administer process of bringing international talent for collaborative research
• Foster international engagement to promote the University’s global interests
• Facilitate the implementation of UL Lafayette partnerships across the globe
 
 
 
Dr. Rose Honegger has overseen the Office of International Affairs and the Intensive English Program at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette since 2004. Prior to joining UL Lafayette, Dr. Honegger taught at the Intensive English Institute at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and at the Linguistics Department at the National University of Malaysia. She works closely with all international students to facilitate graduation and a successful transition to graduate programs or pursuit of careers.

Megan Lachaussee Miller
Assistant Director (DSO, ARO)

Phone: 337.482.6819
 
Responsibilities:
• F-1 and J-1 immigration advising
• Intensive English Program administration
• Sponsored students/advisors
 
 
Megan Lachaussee Miller is a 2002 graduate of UL Lafayette's College of Education with a B.S. in English Secondary Education and a 2011 graduate of the M.S. Communication program. Her thesis research was dedicated to post-secondary recruitment of international students. She has worked at the University since 2008 and enjoys assisting Ragin' Cajuns from all over the world.
 

Katie Louviere
Administrative Assistant (DSO, ARO)

Phone: 337.482.6819
 
Responsibilities:
• F-1 and J-1 immigration advising 
• OPT & CPT processing
• SEVIS I-20 and DS-2019 document management
 

A native of Lafayette, Katie Louviere graduated in 2013 with a Bachelor of Political Science from UL Lafayette. During her time at the University, she enjoyed working in the Department of Facilities Management, as well as, other departments on campus. She loves the spirited atmosphere throughout campus and enjoys interacting with students, faculty and staff.

Sara Beth Ferguson, Ph.D.
ESL Specialist - Acting Coordinator (Fall II 2018)
 
Phone: 337.482.9028
 
Responsibilities:
• IEP digital newsletter
• Monday Funday/Extracurricular Programming
• Facilities and safety
• Curriculum Development (LSP)
 

Sara Beth grew up in the farmlands of Georgia, and has lived, studied, and worked in many regions of the United States, including the frozen North, the deserts of the Southwest, and now the Louisiana swamp. She first became interested in ESL while taking a course in comparative linguistics and creative translation at the University of Michigan. She earned her PhD from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 2016. When she isn’t teaching, Sara Beth enjoys reading in hammocks, hiking, looking at things through microscopes and telescopes, and studying the integration of creative writing practices in ESL instruction.

Aaron Gyarfas
ESL Specialist
 
Phone: 337.482.9028
 
Responsibilities:
• Math vocabulary class
• Conversation Hour/Extracurricular Programming
• Curriculum Development (Grammar)
 
Aaron Gyarfas completed his Master's degree in TESOL from UL Lafayette in 2017. He previously spent four years teaching English in Vietnam. While a graduate student, he worked as a tutor in the UL Writing Center and taught ESOL 102: Writing and Research About Culture for Non-Native Speakers of English. He recently worked as a Composition & Rhetoric Instructor at the South Louisiana Community College campuses in Lafayette and Crowley. His interests include cinema, literature, history, language, and travel. He has visited Cambodia, Hungary, the Netherlands, Germany, and Jamaica. He delights in helping each student reach his or her personal and professional goals.
 

Sarah Moosa
ESL Specialist

Email: iep@louisiana.edu
Phone: 337.482.9028

Responsibilities:
• Math vocabulary class
• IEP digital newsletter
• Student Health
• Curriculum Development (Reading)                             
                                                                           

Sarah Moosa grew up on the Acadiana prairies in Louisiana. She received her B.S. in Environmental Science and interned for the National Park Service. While working on her M.S. in Geology, she found her passion for teaching and decided to pursue an M.A. in TESOL at UL Lafayette which she earned in December 2017. While earning her degree, she taught international high school students English and introduced them to American culture at Concordia Language Villages during the summer of 2017. She also worked at UL’s Writing Center for about two years where she helped national and international students from both science and liberal arts departments become more confident, academic writers. To further improve her knowledge of language acquisition, she has been studying Japanese and hopes to travel there one day.

Brandt Snook
ESL Specialist

Phone: 337.482.9028
 
Responsibilities:
• TOEFL ITP
• Technology
• Weekly newsletter
• Curriculum Development (Writing)
 
Originally from Michigan, Brandt moved to Louisiana in 2011 to pursue a Master’s degree in Rhetoric & Composition. While working in the English Department’s Writing Center, he discovered an interest in ESL studies by working with international students. Brandt enjoys road trips and local festivals, and can usually be found at UL’s pool swimming laps.
 
 

Howard Varnado
Teacher

Phone: 337.482.9028
 
 
 
 
 
Mr. Howard Varnado graduated from Louisiana College in 1968 with a degree in social studies and English education. While in college, he worked as a grader in the English department. Following college, he became involved in working with international students. He has taught English in several states including Louisiana, Kentucky, and New York. For over 25 years, he has traveled extensively to Central America, Europe, and India doing missionary work. He has taught at the Intensive English Program for the past five years. His goal is to see every student become proficient in the English language.
 

Oludamilola Adesiyun
Graduate Assistant

Olu Adesiyun is currently pursuing her Master’s in Civil Engineering. She also holds an M.S. in Geology and a B.S. in Biology from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. She is from Offa, Kwara State, Nigeria. She chose UL Lafayette because of the scholarship opportunities and the wonderful people and food.

 

Alexandra Morrow
Graduate Assistant

Alexandra Morrow is a graduate student in the Master of Business Administration program. She completed a B.S. in Middle School Education from UL Lafayette in 2018.  She is originally from South Hampton, Ontario, Canada.  As an undergraduate, she was a student athlete for the Ragin' Cajun track team. She is looking forward to pursuing her MBA.

 

 

Roxana Montes Reichle
Student Assistant
 

Roxana Montes Reichle is an undergraduate student majoring in chemical engineering. She is a legacy student (her father is a graduate of the University) from Tegucigalpa, Honduras. She chose UL Lafayette so that she could follow in her father's footsteps and to be close to her siblings.

 

Zayira Quiroz Parraga
Student Assistant

Zayira Quiroz is an undergraduate student from Ecuador. She came to Louisiana three years ago as an exchange student and fell in love with the culture and food. After studying at LSU-Alexandria for a year, she transferred to UL Lafayette to study political science with a concentration in International Relations. She chose UL because of the opportunities and scholarships for international students that the university offers.

 

Militza Varela Toro
Student Assistant
 
Militza Varela is an undergraduate student majoring in nursing. She came to Louisiana four years ago from Venezuela to learn English at UL Lafayette's Intensive English Program. After studying at South Louisiana Community College, she transferred back to UL. She has been granted three scholarships by the University. She chose UL Lafayette because the University offers excellent opportunities for international students and it is one of the few universities in America to offer scholarships to international students.