For Lauren Rouly-White, teaching has always been and always will be a part of her life.

“Education is important, and I wanted to set a good example for my child, and it’s never too late to go back to school,” Rouly-White said.

After attending the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Rouly-White went back for a second chance.

Now majoring in middle school education, Rouly-White said it’s the grade she wanted to teach.

“That’s the age that I’ve always been drawn to and I’m not sure why,” Rouly-White said. “The middle school ages are rough, and people think I’m crazy for wanting to teach them but that’s the age I’ve always wanted to teach.”

When Rouly-White was in middle school, she said she had really good teachers.

“It’s so important to have good teachers at that age because it is a very impressionable age,” she said.

Before wanting to teach middle school science, Rouly-White was already teaching, but in a different way. The owner of On Pointe Studio, she started the dance studio in 2006 in Lydia for children to come, dance and learn.

“We do tap, jazz, ballet and hip hop,” Rouly-White said. “It’s a close group of kids and it’s extremely family-oriented.”

With locations in both Lydia and New Iberia, Rouly-White said her studio has a small-town feel, but it’s always a joy to go to work every day.

Though it’s not a normal classroom, Rouly-White still loves teaching, regardless of the material.

“I’ve had 14 years of experience in a classroom, it’s not a traditional classroom but it’s the reason why I went back to school for teaching because I know it’s a passion,” Rouly-White said. “No matter what, teaching is always something I’m drawn to, no matter what capacity it is.”

Growing up and raised her whole life in New Iberia, Rouly-White has been married to her high school sweetheart Langston White for seven years now. The two have a 3-year-old son named Ford White.

Rouly-White said it’s important to raise her son in her hometown.

“It’s very important we raise our child in this community because so many leave and forget where they come from and it’s super important I instill that in my son,” Rouly-White said.

Rouly-White said that just because things look more tempting in other places, it’s important for her to stay here.

“The heritage is here, the culture for us is just as good as any,” she said.

Rouly-White’s efforts to give back to the place she’s always wanted to be haven’t gone unnoticed, as she was named to The Daily Iberian’s “20 Under 40” list for 2019.

According to Rouly-White, it’s a very humbling honor.

“I’m not the type of person who wants to be known,” Rouly-White said. “I don’t do anything for further recognition so just to be nominated, it’s just was almost surreal.”

Rouly-White said she loves to do things for her community, but she never expected things to get out there.

“I like doing things for this community,” Rouly-White said. “It’s almost like I’m always the person in the background, I’m the worker in most cases, so to be out there, and for everybody to see, I’m excited about it.”

 

“It’s so important to have good teachers at that age because it is a very impressionable age.”         

— Lauren Rouly-White