We combed through our archives to find past People to Watch honorees who are up to interesting new projects. Here’s a peek.
2014
Aaron Nola
Then: Nola was warming up for LSU Baseball’s 2014 season as the starting pitcher. That season, LSU secured the title as champs in the 2014 Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament. That same year, Nola took home the SEC Pitcher of the Year Award and the National Pitcher of the Year Award.
Now: At 30, Nola is still out on the field, but today he’s pitching for the major leagues. He was a first-round draft pick in 2014, chosen by the Philadelphia Phillies. He has stayed loyal with the team since his 2015 debut and recently signed a $172 million contract that will keep him in the City of Brotherly Love for seven more years.
2015
Gaye Sandoz
Then: Sandoz was the director of the LSU AgCenter Food Incubator, where she was busy growing the concept as an instrumental resource for local food businesses looking to launch tasty ideas.
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Now: Last month, Sandoz retired from the incubator, which she helped rebrand into the LSU AgCenter Food Innovation Institute (FOODii) in 2021. During her time as executive director, FOODii received millions of dollars in grants. Sandoz was named one of Business Report’s Influential Women in Business in 2017. She has recently made the move to North Carolina, where she continues to create cooking segments for
Tony Chachere’s.
Her career advice: “I think everyone should know that they can do whatever they want to do in life, and that’s what I intend to do for the rest of my life. As well as just finding things that are meaningful and give back to the community, especially the food community.”
2018
Ozzie Fernandez
Then: Fernandez was working to expand his Go Eat Concepts with a then-new-to-Mid City full-service pizza restaurant: Rocca Pizzeria.
Now: Rocca opened shortly after Fernandez’s People to Watch feature was published and is doing well as a Government Street hot spot for cocktail drinkers and pizza lovers—it was even voted Best Pizza in 2023 by Best of 225 voters. Go Eat Concepts has grown to include a sit-down Tex-Mex spot Modesto Tacos, Tequila and Whiskey. Fernandez has also continued opening more locations of Lit Pizza and Izzo’s.
What’s next: Fernandez hopes to continue to expand his fast-casual concepts, Lit Pizza and Izzo’s. He also is working on some new concepts that he says could involve “entertainment venues.”
2020
Tina M. Harris
Then: Harris was a pioneer at LSU’s Manship School of Mass Communication when she became the school’s first Douglas L. Manship Sr.-Dori J. Maynard Chair in Race, Media & Cultural Literacy—which was also a first-of-its-kind role around the country.
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Now: Her recent notable achievements include receiving the National Communication Association’s (NCA) Distinguished Scholar award and giving the Carroll C. Arnold Distinguished Lecture at the 2021 NCA conference. She has even published her first solo-authored book, Dismantling Racism, One Relationship at a Time.
What has been inspiring her research: “In everything I did for my graduate courses, I always had the question of ‘Why am I not in the research?’ or ‘Why don’t I see myself in these studies?’ … I would always think ‘Well, they’re doing these studies about college students and relationships, but I don’t see people of color represented in the populations that they’re polling.’ So, I committed myself to asking questions I thought other people should have an answer for. … My research interest has opened doors for me that I never would have imagined.”
This article originally appeared in the January 2024 issue of 225 magazine.