GRAMBLING, La. – Congressman Ralph Abraham will deliver Grambling State University’s 2015 Spring Commencement speech. The ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, May 8 in the Frederick C. Hobdy Assembly Center.
“We are privileged to welcome Congressman Ralph Abraham to GSU as our special guest and graduation speaker,” said GSU Interim President Cynthia Warrick.
Abraham was elected to represent Louisiana’s 5th District in December 2014. He represents Grambling, Lincoln Parish and 23 other parishes in north, central and southeastern Louisiana.
Though he is a new member, Abraham has already become one of the leading voices in Washington in calling for reforms to the Department of Veterans Affairs. He is the chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs, a rare post for a freshman to attain. He also serves on the Agriculture Committee, an important assignment since Louisiana’s 5th District is one of the largest row crop districts in the nation.
Abraham grew up in rural Richland Parish where he and his wife, Dianne, reside today. He graduated from Mangham High School before earning his degree at Louisiana State University. He graduated from the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine and practiced for 10 years before eventually seeking his Medical Doctor degree, which he earned at the LSU School of Medicine in Shreveport. Before being elected to Congress, Abraham was a practicing family medicine doctor in Mangham. He is also a veteran of the U.S. Army National Guard, a veterinarian, a business owner and pilot. He flies for the Coast Guard Auxiliary, the Civil Air Patrol and Pilots for Patients, a program that flies patients who cannot afford to travel on their own to places where they can receive specialty medical care.
Abraham and Dianne have been married for 39 years. They have three grown children and eight grandchildren.
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