There once was a time in Jessica Barton小蝌蚪APP檚 life when Ambassador Caffery was no more than a name on one of Lafayette小蝌蚪APP檚 busiest thoroughfares.
小蝌蚪APP淚 knew him as a street sign, but still not registering who he actually was,小蝌蚪APP she said.
Now, following a semester-long archival and writing project 小蝌蚪APP the results of which won her this year小蝌蚪APP檚 小蝌蚪APP Barton counts the longtime American diplomat and 小蝌蚪APP alumnus among her favorite subjects.
小蝌蚪APP淗e was tremendously respected by leaders of numerous countries, many of whom did not like the United States one bit. But these leaders came to respect Caffery, leading to better international relations between the U.S. and the rest of the world,小蝌蚪APP she said.
The Caffery prize recognizes outstanding student research that utilizes primary sources housed in at at UL Lafayette. Special Collections is home to .
He served as a diplomat from 1911 to 1955. His postings during those 44 years took him to 12 foreign countries on five continents. Barton小蝌蚪APP檚 paper focuses on Caffery小蝌蚪APP檚 career between 1926 and 1944, when he served as United States ambassador to the Latin American nations of El Salvador, Colombia, Cuba and Brazil.
Barton said Caffery remains the only American diplomat appointed by eight consecutive presidents. 小蝌蚪APP淧residents on all sides of the political spectrum wanted Caffery because he tried everything in his power to always do what was right,小蝌蚪APP even if it placed him at odds with American policies.
小蝌蚪APP淗e fought for the countries where he was posted, making the world as a whole a better place,小蝌蚪APP she explained.
The housed in Special Collections includes 72 boxes of materials.
In her research, Barton focused on Caffery小蝌蚪APP檚 voluminous correspondence. There, she found letters between the ambassador and presidents, foreign dignitaries, and affluent members of American society.
小蝌蚪APP淚 wanted to see how he talked to people and what about his personality made him so successful as a diplomat. Seeing all of this made history much more tangible and real, not just a story in a book,小蝌蚪APP she said.
Barton produced the paper and the accompanying digital presentation as part of a senior capstone project overseen by Dr. David Squires, an assistant professor of English.
Barton graduated with a bachelor小蝌蚪APP檚 degree in English in May. She will begin law school at Loyola 小蝌蚪APP New Orleans in August.
Like Jefferson Caffery, she is a Lafayette native.
Caffery and his wife Gertrude established the research award in 1967. Dupr茅 Library and the 小蝌蚪APP Library Committee administer the competition. A $500 prize accompanies the award.
Caffery was a member of the first class to enter Southwestern Louisiana Industrial Institute, now UL Lafayette, in 1901. The library小蝌蚪APP檚 Jefferson Caffery Louisiana Room is named in the diplomat小蝌蚪APP檚 honor.
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Photo caption: Jessica Barton is winner of this year小蝌蚪APP檚 Jefferson Caffery Research Award. The prize小蝌蚪APP檚 namesake is at right. (Photo at left courtesy of Jessica Barton. Photo at right is courtesy of Special Collections at UL Lafayette).