By CANDACE MIERS

Staff Writer

Stuffed with information and gumbo, the engineering students who participated in the fourth annual Gumbo Fest Sept. 23 went home full.

Engineering students, faculty and staff feasted on all-you-can-eat gumbo, compliments of Savoie's Catering Service of Shreveport, cold drinks and ice cream sandwiches.

"This is a significant event for our college, as it is our way of kicking off the year," John Elmore, a junior chemical engineering major, said.

"Gumbo Fest gives freshman engineering majors a chance to decide exactly what kind of engineer they want to become, as well as introducing them to the organizations and activities in the college," Elmore said. "Upper classmen get to enjoy the food and the company."

The engineering crowd crammed on the west side of Bogard Hall to avoid the scattered showers that loomed above threatening to make their clothes as sloppy as their gumbo.

"Gumbo Fest is such a huge event for this college. It gets the year rolling," Laura Jones, development assistant for the College of Engineering and Science, said.

Gumbo Fest IV was crowded with not only freshmen but also students of all classifications.

"When I first came to Gumbo Fest it was to get informed and meet people," Joshua Brown, a junior electrical engineering major, said. "I started having my general studies classes with the people I met."

The general engineering classes break into smaller groups for the different types of engineering fields.

"Coming back to Gumbo Fest gives me the chance to catch up with old friends who have been replaced by studying," Brown said.

There was information at Gumbo Fest for biomedical, civil, electrical, industrial, chemical and mechanical engineering.

Bryce Faulkner, a freshman biomedical engineering major, said, "I came to [Gumbo Fest] pretty much knowing which field I wanted to be in, but now I'm certain biomedical [engineering] is what I want to do."

Gumbo Fest was sponsored by the Louisiana Tech Engineers Association. The students' only required admission to the event was the 2004 Gumbo Fest T-shirt.

The price for the shirt was $10.

The two caterers, dressed in off-white aprons and armed with serving spoons, continued to serve the students standing in line for seconds and even thirds of Savoie's gumbo.

Brown said, "You know the food's good when juniors keep coming back for the gumbo."