BIO for Nick Taylor
Taylor’s motto is “Make the small story big.” Nick began his career, in 1997, producing local, state, and national news, working as a stringer for various news agencies. From 1997-2000, Taylor was assigned digital stories highlighting community values, South Texas Culture and the areas historical events. During that time, Taylor began to build skills connected to cultural storytelling.
Upon receiving a master’s in communication, Taylor’s focus switched from news production to academic instruction and digital content production. Taylor, began working as an instructor for the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. As an instructor, he advised KVAC-TV. As advisor, Taylor guided the digital content produced by the group and took charge of the equipment inventory. From 2011 to present, Taylor began working as both an instructor and documentarian.
While at UTRGV, he produced several humanities related podcasts and documentaries. The podcast series, “Civil War Trail Tour,” produced in 2013, takes tourists through a series of historical stops along the southern Texas/Mexico border. At each stop, an episode of the podcast details civil war battles fought at that location. Working with UTRGV’s Department of History, Taylor produced the documentary, “Just a Ferry Ride To Freedom.” The award winning documentary focuses on the southern route of the Underground Railroad. Following the trail and telling stories which occurred for slaves escaping through Texas to freedom in Mexico. Taylor, has focused his creative work on sharing humanities focused stories, primarily connected to the Hispanic American experience.
Currently, Taylor works with Northwestern state university Louisiana (NSULA) as an Assistant Professor. He oversees the department’s ENG inventory, advises the Hispanic Student Journalist Association and student multimedia broadcasts. Taylor remains an active producer, creating documentaries highlighting South Texas and the Hispanic American experience.
Constance Milton is the Reference and Instruction librarian at SOWELA Technical Community College. and part time Reference Librarian at Capella University. She has a Master of Arts in History from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and a Master of Library and Information Science with a Graduate Certificate in Archival Studies from Louisiana State University. She is currently working on establishing a digital archive at SOWELA that will be part of the Louisiana Digital Library. She has over ten years of combined experience in museums, public libraries, and academic libraries.
I am Rubayet Bin Mostafiz, Assistant Professor at the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering at Louisiana State University Agricultural Center (LSU AgCenter) and Assistant Director (Research) at LaHouse Research and Education Center. I completed my Ph.D. in Oceanography & Coastal Sciences with a minor in Geography at Louisiana State University (LSU) in August 2022, where I also earned a GIS Graduate Certificate. My dissertation focused on estimating economic risks from coastal natural hazards in Louisiana. My research interests include flood risk assessment and mitigation measures.
I am passionate about using my expertise to contribute to educational initiatives that have a direct impact on community resilience and development. As someone deeply committed to improving access to education, I believe that everyone deserves the opportunity to succeed regardless of their background or financial situation. This drives my dedication to developing open educational resources (OER) that can provide students with high-quality, cost-free learning materials.
In this project, I am excited to bring my extensive knowledge of GIS, remote sensing, and hazard risk assessment to the development of OER for the Flood Mitigation Cohort. By integrating digital skills and advanced technologies, I aim to create engaging and practical educational resources that not only educate but also empower students to make informed decisions in the face of environmental challenges. I am committed to ensuring that all students have access to the necessary tools, skills, and resources to achieve their academic and professional goals, thereby contributing to a more resilient and competitive workforce in Louisiana.
