Soledad O’Brien honors SU’s Dr. Emma Perry at gala in New York

Dr. Emma Bradford Perry, Southern University’s Dean of Libraries, was recently honored by CNN anchor Soledad O’Brien for her mentorship of SU honor student Tyreiron ‘Terri’ Segue at the second annual “New Orleans in the Hamptons” gala held July 27 in New York City.

Perry attended the gala as a guest of O’Brien, anchor for the CNN morning show “Starting Point.” She was accompanied at the event by Dr. Steve Perry of CNN and his family along with Pamela Ravare-Jones, who is a Southern graduate and serves on the Board of Directors for the Soledad O’Brien and Brad Raymond Foundation.

O’Brien thanked Perry for being a role model for Segue and the foundation. “You have set the standards of mentoring for the foundation. We appreciate your hard work and service, thank you for all you do for us and for Terri,” said O’Brien.

The Foundation literature says it is dedicated to giving gifted young women new opportunities for achievements by supplying them with the tools they need to succeed in college including a mentor to navigate through the bumps and hurdles.

The foundation was started by O’Brien and her husband, Brad Raymond after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005.

A Soledad Scholar, Segue spent her freshman and sophomore year at Southern majoring in Economics. While at Southern, Perry helped Segue in everything from advising her for classes to securing an on-campus part-time job.

“I ran interference if she ran into any issues on the campus,” said Perry

The New Orleans native will transfer in the fall to Spelman for her junior year. Segue’s education at Spelman is paid for by the Soledad’s Education Foundation, as the foundation did at Southern.

“She doesn’t know yet . . . but I have already set up a job for her at Spelman. I will probably be with her for the rest of my life because I think she’s worthy of that.”

Segue spent her summer interning in Manhattan, NY with CNN