90 Plus: UL employee Angelina Narcisse, 97, is a campus legend

LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY)- She’s been a familiar face at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette for more than half a century.

Angelina Bernard Narcisse, 97, of Lafayette, has worked in UL’s cafeteria since 1958.

“This weekend, the freshman, ‘Said where were you yesterday?’  I said I was off.  I said I don’t work all through the week. I said I have five days to come to work and two days off,” Narcisse said.

She has kept every name tag she was given during her 62 years there.

“When I got there I did salad work for four years and after that I became the head lady in the Salad Department and then after that they put me Line Leader. So, I was leading the line and taking care of the dining hall.”

Narcisse refers to work as her home away from home.

“Now, I’m sitting down talking to the children. I am the ambassador.”

She was raised in Milton but born in Youngsville.

There she was baptized and received her first communion at the local catholic church.

“I made my confirmation in the church in Youngsville and I got married there also,”  Narcisse said.

She and her husband had 10 children.

“I raised them in this little house right here.”

Today at UL, Lafayette displays a mural of Narcisse.  The mural honors her work her and more than sixty years of dedication to the school.

“I don’t know. I’m flattered. I feel flattered,” she said when asked about the permanent artwork.

Angelina says hard work pays off.

“Build up step by step and you are going to get somewhere,” she said. “And don’t forget God is going to help you.  You got to pray. Don’t forget to tell them that.  That’s my word to tell the children.”