Contact Information
Office: 101 Girard Hall
P.O. Box 40240
Lafayette, LA 70504
esters@louisiana.edu
337-482-5261

What do you love about UL Lafayette?
Great university in a great city in a great part of the country!

Area of Scholarship or Expertise:
I believe an expert is someone who knows more and more about less and less until they eventually know everything about nothing. I am a proud generalist!

Courses routinely taught:
Orientation to Ethical, Professional, and Legal Issues in Counseling, Practicum, Internship

A published work:
Esters, I. G., Tracey, Anne, & Millar, R. (2007). The Application of the Things I Worry About Scale to a Sample of At-Risk American Adolescents: An Examination of Psychometric Properties. Adolescence.

What is your hometown and what is unique about it? :
Elton, Louisiana. We had one stop sign and it said, “Whoa!” It was probably the most multicultural small town in Louisiana, being home to the descendants of German, French, African, Acadian, and Creole settlers and the Coushatta Tribe of Native Americans. It was also named after a town in England!

Outside interests:
Fishing, Cycling, Reading, Music, Travel, Hiking, Sailing

What was your first job? What did you learn from it?
I don’t remember ever NOT working. I grew up on a farm so my first job was definitely related to that lifestyle. I learned to drive a tractor before I could drive a car and I had several chores to attend to before school and before turning in everyday. I suppose the greatest lesson I learned was that hard work is a privilege. I also learned that one’s work must be personally gratifying and enjoyable or you will be miserable. I have worked in many jobs: janitor, salesperson, teacher, construction, you name it, I have probably done it at some point in my life. Work defines us. The most sacred thing one person can give another, besides love, is hard work. Growing up in a rural environment, neighbors participated in each others’ lives by sharing work: planting, caring for, and harvesting. It was great preparation for becoming a person.

Work of art, literature, or music that you would recommend:
Art – I like the work of Walter Anderson, a Mississippi Gulf Coast artist, especially his block prints.
Literature – I have varied tastes. I believe Joseph Campbell and Irvin Yalom to offer much in the area of nonfiction, but also pick up a lot of the modern bestselling non fiction. As for fiction, Mark Twain, Kurt Vonnegut and Tom Robbins always make me think and laugh.
Music – There is little music I don’t like. I am a big fan of singer-songwriters: Todd Snider, James McMurtry, Robert Earl Keene. I listen to a lot of old blues (I have the entire Robert Johnson collection). I also really like Great Big Sea, a Celtic-Folk-Rock band from Newfoundland.

Person you'd like to meet:
Lance Armstrong
Not Living -Kahlil Gibran

Why you do what you do:
The potential to help make someone’s life a little bit better has always appealed to me. As a counselor educator and practicing counselor, I get two shots at it. Besides, there is no place I’d rather be most days than with clients or students… that and the fact that I loved college so much, if it weren’t for the prospect of being a College Professor, I would never have graduated!

What do you want to give your students?
A sense of enthusiasm for the profession and for living a human life.

Why you are at UL Lafayette:
I came here specifically for the opportunity to help build a program in Counselor Education.

A favorite quote or anecdote:
The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are. - Joseph Campbell


Curriculum Vita