Taylar Johnson is the University of Louisiana at Â鶹´«Ă˝app’s overall Outstanding Master’s Graduate. Johnson is among six award finalists who will be recognized Friday and Saturday during Spring 2025 Commencement ceremonies.
Individual ceremonies for UL Â鶹´«Ă˝app’s eight academic colleges will be held at the Cajundome and the Cajundome Convention Center. 

Graduate programs nominate one student as their Outstanding Master’s Graduate. Criteria include leadership, scholarship, service and research. The dean of the University’s Graduate School leads a panel that selects the top candidates. An Alumni Association committee interviews the finalists and chooses an overall Outstanding Master’s Graduate.
In addition to being the spring semester’s overall honoree, Johnson is an Outstanding Master’s Graduate Finalist from the Department of Psychology in the College of Liberal Arts. She is pursuing a master’s degree in psychology.
Johnson’s research includes using intragroup processes and identity theory to understand how a K-pop fandom community succeeded in advocating for the Black Lives Matter movement’s digital activism.
Other research has resulted in publication in two prestigious academic journals. One published study centered on a social media analysis of digital movements. The other involved a network analysis of students’ campus experiences and academic successes.
Johnson has presented research at conferences for the Association for Psychological Science and the Society for Personality and Social Psychology. She plans to work as a researcher.
Caroline Alise Dugan is an Outstanding Master’s Graduate Finalist from the Department of History, Geography and Philosophy in the College of Liberal Arts. She is pursuing a master’s degree in history.
Dugan researched and wrote about Jean Broussard, a key figure in the history of the region’s LGBTQ+ community. That project, which also explored elements of race and class, was expanded for her public history capstone project.
Dugan facilitated the workshop “Doing Queer History in a Hostile Political Climate” at the National Council on Public History Conference in Montreal. She plans to work in historical preservation and pursue a master’s degree in library and information sciences.
Mallory Fontenot is an Outstanding Master’s Graduate Finalist from the School of Kinesiology in the College of Education & Human Development. She is pursuing a master’s degree in athletic training.
With more than 1,000 clinical hours, Fontenot has gained a wealth of expertise in areas that include injury evaluations, treatment care plans, manual therapy for orthopedic injuries and emergency care.
She presented research at the Southeast Athletic Trainers Association conference. Her capstone research project examined “CrossFit Members’ Confidence in CrossFit Coach’s Ability to Recognize Injury and Adapt Workouts to Prevent Further Injury.”
Fontenot will work as an athletic trainer at a high school and hopes to eventually work at a college.
Keely McLeod is an Outstanding Master’s Graduate Finalist from the School of Kinesiology in the College of Education & Human Development. She is pursuing a master’s degree in exercise science.
McLeod was first author for a paper published in the journal “Biomedicines.” She presented research at an American Physiological Society conference at Penn State University.
McLeod researched the role of gaseous signaling molecules in obesity-associated metabolic-vascular disease. She also conducted specialized heart failure research using animal models to investigate potential therapeutic applications of hydrogen sulfide and exercise.
McLeod will work in clinical exercise physiology research, focusing on metabolism and helping people manage chronic diseases. She also plans to pursue a Ph.D. in exercise physiology.
Mahek Chirag Pathak is an Outstanding Master’s Graduate Finalist for the Department of English in the College of Liberal Arts. She is pursuing a master’s degree in English.
Pathak’s master’s thesis – “Transgressive Humor in Roald Dahl’s Books for Children” – reflects her interest in children’s literature. She wrote a seminar paper about author Rudyard Kipling’s portrayal of the Bandar-Log in “The Jungle Book” as a colonialist mockery of the Vanar Sena as they appear in the Hindu epic the “Ramayana.”
Pathak presented her work at the Children’s Literature Association conference in Madison, Wisconsin. She will pursue a Ph.D. in English with a specialization in children’s literature. Pathak envisions a career as an academic researcher.
Maxwell J. Volk is an Outstanding Master’s Graduate Finalist for the School of Music & Performing Arts in the College of the Arts. He is pursuing a master’s degree in music performance.
Volk played lead trumpet in the UL Â鶹´«Ă˝app Jazz Ensemble with guest artists that included Allen Vizzutti and the New York Voices. He has also held section leader positions with the jazz ensemble and with the University’s Symphony Orchestra.
Volk participated in master classes and recruitment activities with the Louisiana Brass Quintet for area public schools. He also taught music performance, music theory and composition to students at Â鶹´«Ă˝app Renaissance Charter High School. Volk will teach band and work as a professional musician.
Learn more about Spring 2025 Commencement.
Photo caption: UL Â鶹´«Ă˝app’s Spring 2025 Outstanding Master’s Graduates are from left: Mallory Fontenot, School of Kinesiology; Caroline Dugan, Department of History, Geography and Philosophy; Maxwell Volk, School of Music & Performing Arts; Overall Outstanding Master's Graduate Taylar Johnson, Department of Psychology; Mahek Pathak, Department of English; and Keely McLeod, School of Kinesiology. Photo credit: Paul Kieu / University of Louisiana at Â鶹´«Ă˝app