Jerome Hebert:
CLASS OF 1985
Thibodaux High SchoolClass of 1985
Thibodaux, LA
Nicholls State UniversityClass of 2005
Thibodaux, LA
Nicholls State UniversityClass of 1991
Thibodaux, LA
West Thiboudaux Junior High SchoolClass of 1981
Thibodaux, LA
Jerome's Story
Life
I have never been married and have no children. I never took the time for it. And with a blink of an eye, 20 years have gone by.
School
The teacher that inspired me the most was Mrs. Verrett at West Thibodaux Jr High. I don't remember the year but it was the 9th grade. Unlike the kids of today, we started High School at the Jr High. In fact, we were the first 7th graders at West Thibodaux Jr High. I spent many years dreaming of going to West and hearing the stories of the riots. I wanted to be part of that. I was influenced by a generation before me and thought that they were all so cool for quiting school. And I was convinced that was my destiny.
It was the first day of Pre-Algebra (or whatever it was called) and Mrs. Verrett said "You starting high school now and it is like starting over. If you didn't learn it the first time then you now have the chance to learn it." It just stayed in the back of my mind. My current friends back then weren't much so to speak, they had no ambition from what can recall, they were all wanting to quit school, etc. I never was stupid, but influenced by the wrong people. Her statement, though, made me think.
I believe that one statement by Mrs. Verrett influenced me and is the reason why I finished High School. If I wouldn't have finished High School, life would have been so much different. However, I graduated probably by the skin of my teeth so to speak because I didn't try, i.e. not even once.
Since then I was able to go on to college earning a BS in Computer Science and an MBA from Nicholls State University. For a dumb kid that started out hating school and spent 12 years perfecting drawing, today I have the highest respect for education, what it means to be educated, and what it means to learn. Just more than I could ever write hear.
If I could do it all over again, I only would do it if I knew then what I know now. I would be dangerous if I did though LOL. I would spend more time building lasting friendships and less time doing whatever I was doing or lack of doing. I just hated school so much back then that I hated being there, hence, I hated every thing about it and tried to escape it as much as possible. Of course what I thought school should have been like, college was exactly like :-)
Some things I can remember, but alot of things I don't, i.e. I really don't. Part of that is I really didn't care about it. Some people I can remember their names but not their faces, and others I remember the name but have no idea what they looked like, and unfortunately for others I have NO Clue who they were or are today. In fact, one of my good friends in college, Erroll Robichaux, graduated with us in 1985, but I didn't know him then. I lost touch with him after college when he moved and I moved.
College
After High School, I bumbed around for a year. Just hanging out, doing little odd jobs, etc. Then I decided to go to college after reading a college book with class descriptions in it. It was filled with all these things about computers, i.e. microprocessor architecture, programming langues, algorithms, etc. I was just dying to learn these things, and I couldn't find a full-time job because I wasn't interested in any thing. It is sad to say, but I had no interest in any thing but that dumb computer. In fact, I have forgotten more about computers than most people will ever know.
I remembered when I called my mom and said that I wanted to go to college, she cried. I lived next door to Coach Tatum, and he is the one that help me get into college. Of course I went to Nicholls because it was in town, it was cheap, and at the time they had the best Computer Science department in the state. I had to take the ACT almost a year after being out of school which mean I had to learn how to write my name again. No joke, I had to learn how to write again because I never used a pen or pencil after graduation. I couldn't even remember what a noun, verb, etc was or how to do algebra, et...Expand for more
c. I have never taken Geomorty, which is amazing to me since my minor is in mathematics.
College was just what I always thought school should be like. You can wear shorts to school, drink soda in the classrooms, in those days you could smoke in the buildings, sit where you pleased, go to class when you wanted LOL, and most important you were treated like a person and not a prisoner. In college, you learn very quickly how to do for yourself, how to speak up, and most importantly independence.
There is a devine beauty in learning just as there is in tolerance. To learn means to except the postulate that others have come before me. The books that I have read are composed of generations of fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, and clergy and scholars that have all come before me. And I am the sum product of all their experiences. It took me a long time to comprehend those statements, but I appreciate and respect it.
Being educated is more than having a piece of paper to hang on your wall. You will find alot of college graduates have a diploma on their wall, but few have an education. As your knowledge grows so does your ignorance, and you become self-aware that what you know is far less than what you don't know. I was caught in this during my final semesters of graudate school. With the help of Dr. Covey, Dr. Bryant, and Dr. LaFleur, I was able to deal with it and move on. As Dr. LeFleur once told me, True intelligence comes from realizing ones own ignorance.
All in all, college was a great experience. I would advice any and every one to at least try it once.
Workplace
After graduating with my BS in Computer Science, I began work for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statics (BLS), which is part of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). I was fortunate enough to be stationed in HQ, which was in Washington D.C. I was there for at least 4 1/2 years. I started as a Computer Programmer, which was a GS-7. When I terminated my employment I was a Computer Specialist, which was a GS-12. I had 1 month left to be in grade before I was elligible for a GS or GM 13.
During my employment for BLS, I was a computer programmer, a computer analyst, a network technician, and a network administrator. We designed mainframe and PC-based computer systems. We had a wide area network that spanned the whole United States of America. I was able to travel to New York and Boston to install and train users on computer systems.
It is vey difficult describing how it is to work in a Federal City. We were located, when I left, in the old Postal Sqaure building across from Union Station, which is a block or so from the Capital. So basically, I was in the middle of the city. In fact, I was there during the Oklahoma bombing. Trust me when I say that being evacuated every day for 2 weeks from your building is not fun.
While working for BLS, I lived in Fairfax, Virginia. In fact, I lived about 2 blocks from the Fair Oaks Mall. Virginia is a beautiful state, but I hate snow. Going to work in it is the pits. However, going to work on a subway system is an experience that people around here will never know or appreciate. It is also expensive, but cheaper than driving in.
Returning to Louisiana was a BIG adjustment. There are some things that I never lost from living up North. Northern people are just not as friendly as Southerners and just dropping in for a visit is not a good thing - trust me. I now work for the Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH), Office of Public Health (OPH) as a Information Technology Systems Support Specialist Supervisor. It is just a job nothing more.
I returned back to school a few years later. I first did 1 semester for my MBA then dropped out. I then did 2 semesters of Education and dropped out. I then returned to the MBA program and completed it several years later. Now seeking other avenues of possible employement if the situation is right.
Military
I have no military experience. You can thank Vietnam for that one.
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