ULM Political Science student completes internship with City of Monroe focused on ice storm response

Published May 11, 2026

Monroe Mayor Friday Ellis discusses the results of a survey with ULM student Catalina Droddy as they sit in chairs.

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

MONROE, La.听鈥撎齍LM Political Science senior Catalina Droddy recently completed an听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.听听

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

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

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

During their discussion,听Droddy听shared generational differences in communication patterns and how younger people gather information versus other generations.听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.听听

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

鈥淚 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,鈥澨齬eflected Dr. Hummel.听

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