From Friday nights on the football field to a career dedicated to education and workforce development, Henry Eric Smith’s story is one of opportunity, leadership, and remembering the people who believed in you before you fully believed in yourself.
A member of Lakeview’s Class of 1998, Eric participated in football, baseball, the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership program (HOBY), and Boys State. Some of his favorite memories came from athletics—including the unforgettable night Lakeview won its homecoming game against Coushatta after years without a homecoming victory.
But some of Lakeview’s greatest impacts on Eric happened beyond the school campus.
Being selected to represent Lakeview at HOBY and Boys State exposed him to students from across Louisiana. Those experiences helped him realize something important: his Lakeview education had prepared him to compete with anyone.
That realization gave him the confidence to pursue college and began developing leadership skills that he continues to use today.
When asked to finish the sentence “Lakeview Built Me…”, Eric credits the coaches Lakeview placed in his life.
His coaches taught discipline, toughness, morality, and the importance of winning at life—not simply winning games. Years later, one of those same relationships helped open the door for Eric to return to Lakeview as a teacher in 2002.
Today, Eric serves as Dean of Manufacturing and Construction at Central Louisiana Technical Community College, and his advice to current Lakeview students comes directly from his own journey:
“Chase your opportunities and not your dreams.”
Eric once dreamed of attending LSU, but when the financial reality made that difficult, he chose the opportunity available to him at Northwestern State University through TOPS instead of taking on debt to chase the dream.
That opportunity eventually led him right back to the dream.
Fifteen years after graduating from NSU, Eric earned his Ph.D. from LSU.
His story is a reminder to our students that the path to where you want to go may not always look the way you imagined. Sometimes the opportunity right in front of you becomes the road that eventually takes you there.
Eric also credits Lakeview’s diversity with helping prepare him for life beyond school. Learning alongside people with different experiences and perspectives helped him develop an appreciation for the people of Louisiana and the emotional intelligence that continues to serve him professionally.
Once a Gator, always a Gator.