Mari Walker

First published on the Baton Rouge Parents magazine website and its November 2020 print issue. Nearly 2,000 accidental shootings happen in the United States each year, and on April 7, 2019, it happened to 24-year-old Devin Puckett while he and a friend were hanging out after playing basketball. “My friend and I were sitting in the house, and he was cleaning his gun and the gun accidentally went off,” Devin says. “He immediately picked me up and rushed me to the hospital.” The single bullet went through Devin’s right arm, through the right side of his back, came out the left side of his back and hit his left arm. His spine and kidney were injured. After he was stabilized, doctors told Devin’s parents, Cassandra Puckett and Calvin Williams, that the injury to his spine was likely permanent and so severe that his feet could no longer move up and down. The sad news was that Devin would not walk again. “That’s what they told my parents, and my parents told me,” Devin says. ...

First published on the Baton Rouge Parents magazine website and its November 2020 print issue. Jay Iyer’s journey with science started with his grandpa in the garden. “My grandfather was probably the most influential person in my life,” Jay says. His first science fair project was inspired by the time they spent together. That science fair was the first of many that Jay would win. This summer, the Baton Rouge Magnet High School senior participated in the Center for Excellence in Education’s prestigious Research Science Institute and created a top written presentation. Jay’s family was the inspiration for pursuing medicine, as several members, including his beloved grandfather, have suffered from neurological diseases. An experience in summer 2019 solidified those professional goals. Jay traveled to Guatemala with the nonprofit Agape in Action and worked in a medical clinic. “It was one of the best experiences of my life,” he says.  Outreach is important to Jay, who...

As Education and Community sections editor, I wrote pages 16-23 and page 28 of the November 2020 issue of Baton Rouge Parents magazine (except the Mother Son Dance brief on page 16). See the web layout on the magazine's website .

  Originally published on the Baton Rouge Parents magazine blog . “What are you doing about Halloween?” has replaced “What are you doing about school?” as the new go-to question within my parent friend groups now that we’re all pretty settled in our learning routines, whether hybrid, virtual or homeschooling. It’s not a super easy or clear cut decision, mostly because we want our kids’ childhoods to be magical, and what’s more magical than a full moon Halloween on a Saturday night when the clocks fall back?! And we’re also all so, so tired of the restrictions even as they’re making a difference in our state . The Center for Disease Control & Prevention has said traditional trick-or-treating and costume parties are “high-risk” activities during the pandemic. EBR Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome has set trick-or-treat hours as 6-8 p.m. in our parish while also recommending safer options as found on the CDC website . Our family is choosing to forgo traditional tr...

  First published on the Baton Rouge Parents magazine website and its October 2020 print issue. Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick. Those 12 seconds changed everything for Dylan Domangue, and they were the first seconds of his life. “Basically my brain did not receive oxygen for about 12 seconds,” Domangue says. “It caused neurological damage to my brain that affects the muscles in my legs.” Domangue has lived with a mild form of cerebral palsy due to that brief lack of oxygen. A recent graduate of Southeastern Louisiana University with a degree in communications, Domangue took his personal story of overcoming the odds and created a documentary as his senior thesis. After premiering on the Southeastern Channel in August, “12 Seconds at Birth” is available to watch on YouTube. Domangue gives a lot of credit to his parents, Krista and Josh Domangue, for helping him succeed. “They never treated me as having a disorder,” he says. “T...

  First published on the Baton Rouge Parents magazine website and its October 2020 print issue. This summer, Baton Rouge area teens spoke out against racial injustice and said Black lives matter, organizing a peaceful protest downtown. Colleen Noelle Temple, a senior at University Lab School, was one organizer. “I was just tired of sitting at home and seeing a new name almost every week, sometimes every day,” she says. “I wanted to get outside and just make my voice heard. I am not OK with this and a lot of people aren’t OK with it. We want the government and everybody to know that something needs to change.” An award-winning, two-sport athlete, Colleen has earned spots on the All-District and All-Metro volleyball teams and honorable mention for the All-District basketball team. This summer, she received an Honorary ESPY award from the local ESPN radio station for her athletic and community service accomplishments.  Colleen’s athletic career started just befo...

As Education and Community sections editor, I wrote pages 16-23 and page 28 of the October 2020 issue of Baton Rouge Parents magazine (except the pandemic pods brief on page 18). See the web layout on the magazine's website .