Ask Joey Trappey where he thought life would take him after high school, and Monroe wasn't even on the list.

"I had no idea where Monroe was on the map," he laughed.

The New Iberia native came to ULM in 2001 to play football. He arrived knowing no one, navigating an unfamiliar town long before smartphones could point him toward the nearest restaurant - or even Walmart. What he found instead was a community.

Football introduced him to teammates who became lifelong friends. Professors knew him by name. Coaching at Ouachita Christian School after graduation expanded his circle even further. Before long, Monroe didn't feel like somewhere he had landed. It felt like somewhere he belonged.

That chance eventually became Fieldhouse Grill. Then Trapp's. Then Crawfish City. Then Lake Latigo. Then the Monroe Athletic Club and a growing list of investments that continue shaping the community that first welcomed him.

Julien Ferrington's path looked different. He'll be the first to admit college wasn't always easy. In fact, after attending just one math class, he dropped out.

"I freaked out," he laughed.

When he returned to ULM, everything changed. His finance classes were small - just a dozen students - but that became one of the university's greatest strengths.

"If someone was struggling," he recalled, "it became everyone's problem."

The classroom became a community. He met professors who invested in him. Friends who challenged him. And on the very first day of college, he met the woman who would eventually become his wife.

Suddenly, Monroe wasn't just where he went to school. It was where his future was taking shape.

Today, Julien helps lead The Toggery, one of Monroe's longest-standing businesses, carrying forward an 85-year legacy while building relationships with every customer who walks through the door.

For Jessica Pollard, coming home was a choice. A ULM graduate with a degree in fashion merchandising, she had opportunities to build her career elsewhere - including South Louisiana.

Instead, she came back.

"ULM feels like home to me," she said.

Thirteen years ago, she opened Eleven 26 Boutique in the heart of downtown West Monroe, creating a space where women don't just find clothes - they leave feeling more confident than when they walked in. For Jessica, success was never measured by geography. It was measured by community.

Ask each of them what ULM gave them, and none of them begin with a classroom.

They talk about people.

Joey remembers professors who knew students by name, not by student ID. "You're not a number at ULM," he said. "You're a student." Julien remembers classmates who refused to let one another fail. Jessica remembers meeting people from different backgrounds and discovering the career she was meant to pursue.

Each story is different. Yet they all point to the same thing. ULM isn't simply a place where students earn degrees. It's where relationships begin.

Those relationships become businesses. Those businesses become gathering places. Those gathering places become part of Monroe-West Monroe's identity.

Walk into any of Joey's restaurants and you'll quickly notice something. They're full.

Families catching up after ballgames.
Students grabbing dinner.
Friends celebrating birthdays.

"I wouldn't be anything without the local community," Joey said. He believes supporting Monroe-West Monroe isn't just good business - it's the responsibility of anyone fortunate enough to build one here.

"When you support the community," he said, "they turn around and support you."

Julien feels the same way. The Toggery has been part of Monroe since 1940, and while fashions have changed, one thing hasn't. Relationships still matter.

Jessica's business is built on a similar philosophy.

"I hope women feel confident when they leave my store," she said.

In an age of online shopping and self-checkout, all three have built businesses around something remarkably simple: People.

There are bigger cities. Bigger skylines. Bigger paychecks.

Yet all three entrepreneurs chose Monroe-West Monroe. Not because it was the biggest opportunity. Because it was the right one.

Joey encourages today's students to meet people, volunteer, join organizations, and immerse themselves in campus life.

"As important as my degree was, the biggest thing was the people I met."

Julien believes too many graduates assume success lives somewhere else.

"The grass isn't always greener," he said. "This town wants to see young business owners succeed."

Jessica offers perhaps the most fitting advice of all.

Every fall, another class of Warhawks arrives at ULM.

Some will become teachers. Some will become engineers. Some will become healthcare professionals. Some will leave Louisiana entirely.

And some - without even realizing it - will discover that Monroe-West Monroe isn't simply where they went to college.

It's where they'll meet lifelong friends. Where they'll build careers. Where they'll raise families. Where they'll open restaurants, preserve traditions, style generations of customers, and invest in the community that first invested in them.

The University of Louisiana Monroe doesn't just prepare students for what's next.

Sometimes, it introduces them to the place they'll call home.