A New Orleans Student’s Journey to Growth at Manor College

Aiden Tiblier (New Orleans Maritime Military Academy, New Orleans) graduates from Manor College with his Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology.

The hours went by as Aiden Tiblier typed out page after page of his Psychology capstone project.

In hindsight, he wished he’d chosen a topic other than the relationship between adolescent drug abuse and parenting styles – but it was personal to him.

“I grew up grateful for my home life,” Tiblier said, “but I looked at some of my friends growing up in New Orleans and wondered what affected them to go down that route.”

Tiblier escaped the paper-writing tunnel vision and began reviewing the Microsoft Word doc. He scrolled, swiped and moved through the paper, longer than he thought he’d need to. Enough to pause and think, “How many pages in this draft?” He found the answer some time later.

Fifty.

While he eventually cut the project down to around half that, Tiblier acknowledges he’s a far cry from the student who failed a few classes during his Manor College career.

“It’s easy to look back and say I could’ve passed this class or that class, but without failing, I couldn’t become a better student,” Tiblier said.

The failures stemmed from a lack of caring and time management. Tiblier thought general education classes were useless. The History of Medicine class at Manor College changed that for him.

“I love history, so I thought maybe that’s why I would like it,” Tiblier said, “but it showed me how one point in history could create an impact on the medical system.”

Coming from New Orleans and knowing no one, Tiblier admits he felt compelled to constantly hang out with the friends he was able to meet.

“It was hard for me, coming in here, making friends and, once you do make those friends, you don’t want to tell them no,” Tiblier said. “It ended up biting me in the butt and I had to say no.”

Tiblier started simple. After his sophomore year, he focused on his priorities. He switched his major to psychology and hasn’t looked back. In May 2026, he’ll be one of the first four-year Bachelor’s-earning graduates of Manor College’s Psychology program.

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Tiblier came to Manor College in 2022 after living most of his life in New Orleans. At the time, he’d never lived in the cold, never ate a real cheesesteak and only heard rumors of Philadelphia sports fans. After four years in Philadelphia, Tiblier said most of those distinctions held up.

“They were not wrong about Phillies fans,” Tiblier said. “I never really watched baseball like that growing up. They can be aggressive and lively, but they’ve made me a fan at this point, too.”

What surprised him most was the beauty of four seasons.

“Fall is beautiful up here,” Tiblier said. “We don’t get those kinds of colors in the Fall down South. It’s beautiful when I look out of my window and see the forest and how pretty our campus is. I’ll miss the snow, too.”

Tiblier credits Athletic Director, John Dempster for not only getting him to Manor College, but for making a huge impact in his life.

“We’ve had this great bond and he looks out for me on and off the field,” Tiblier said. “He’s like another father to me.”

Speaking about Tiblier, Dempster said, “Aiden has become a great team leader and he has done it the old fashioned way – by example. He is the first one there and the last one to leave, but, most importantly, he makes the rest of the group accountable for their actions. Winners want to win, all the time, and that’s Tibs.”

As he prepares to return to New Orleans and become a high school teacher, Tiblier believes the best advice he could give to anyone is to sit with the people you don’t know.

“Don’t be afraid to ask someone a stupid question,” Tiblier said. “If you’re in a shell, get out of it. Observe. There are so many people here from different walks of life. Talk to as many people as you can and learn about each other.”

To hear more from Aiden, watch these videos: