Published May 11, 2026

CAPTION: Recent ULM Political Science graduate Catalina Droddy (right) meets with Monroe Mayor Friday Ellis as part of her internship focused on researching the city’s response to the recent ice storm.  

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MONROE, La. – ULM Political Science senior Catalina Droddy recently completed an internship with the City of Monroe. The internship was funded through a partnership between the city, ULM Political Science Professor Dr. Daniel Hummel, and the Lawson and Sharon Swearingen Endowed Professorship.  

As part of her internship responsibilities, Droddy worked on a project to assess public perception regarding the January 2026 ice storm that disrupted the city of Monroe and the Northeast Louisiana region. 

Droddy had the opportunity to sit down with Mayor Friday Ellis to review the survey results, using research skills acquired in her political science research methods class. By coding responses and using different techniques to account for sample size, Droddy was able to provide useful results to the mayor as he considers future responses to disasters like this.  

A centerpiece of future disaster response is communication, including making the public aware of local amenities with regular updates that can be easily accessed. Some respondents’ suggestions also included improvements to infrastructure, which carry high costs. 

During their discussion, Droddy shared generational differences in communication patterns and how younger people gather information versus other generations. She also shared the willingness of respondents to invest more in infrastructure improvements to be better prepared for extreme weather, which has increasingly affected the region over time.  

Mayor Ellis noted that disasters have come with ice, wind, and water, deeply affecting people in Monroe and the surrounding areas, and that more effort is needed to be better prepared for these disasters. 

“I am looking for more of these kinds of experiences for our students. They can get hands-on experience doing the work that they are learning about in the classroom. This includes local opportunities and other opportunities across the country. Additionally, it creates networks for our students who will be looking for work or going to graduate school,” reflected Dr. Hummel. 

Mayor Ellis added that he was very happy with this internship experience and the contributions Droddy made to his administration. Droddy graduated from ULM on May 9, 2026. Mayor Ellis said he looks forward to seeing where she goes next.