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The autumn that I arrived at Bobby Alost’s school was the first time in my life that I felt that I truly belonged somewhere. That I had found my tribe. Dr. Alost, as we all called him, was a big, husky, papa bear figure who was the embodiment of our new home. He was our Big Chief. It’s funny, because he didn’t make a habit of getting too involved in the lives of his students, but then, he didn’t really have to in order to make an impression on us. We all knew that LSMSA existed because he had a dream, and he fought for it, and inspired good people ... to fight alongside him, and to nurture alongside him.

The autumn that I arrived at Bobby Alost’s school was the first time in my life that I felt that I truly belonged somewhere. That I had found my tribe. Dr. Alost, as we all called him, was a big, husky, papa bear figure who was the embodiment of our new home. He was our Big Chief. It’s funny, because he didn’t make a habit of getting too involved in the lives of his students, but then, he didn’t really have to in order to make an impression on us. We all knew that LSMSA existed because he had a dream, and he fought for it, and inspired good people ... to fight alongside him, and to nurture alongside him.

He showed me mercy once. There was quite a drinking culture among high school students in Louisiana back then. Liquor was strictly forbidden at LSMSA ... [After a romantic breakup, I was] depressed ... I went out and bought some booze. The head RA of my dorm caught me with it before I could drink a drop. That was my second offense. I could have been expelled for good, with only a few months till graduation. Had that happened, I would have done it to myself. But Dr. Alost decided to let me stay, when he did not have to. Like I said, I owed him a lot.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/lsmsa-robert-alost/|author=Rod Dreher|title=Rpbert Alost, 1935-2020|publisher=''The American Conservative''|date=April 21, 2020|accessdate=April 26, 2020}}</ref></blockquote

He showed me mercy once. There was quite a drinking culture among high school students in Louisiana back then. Liquor was strictly forbidden at LSMSA ... [After a romantic breakup, I was] depressed ... I went out and bought some booze. The head RA of my dorm caught me with it before I could drink a drop. That was my second offense. I could have been expelled for good, with only a few months till graduation. Had that happened, I would have done it to myself. But Dr. Alost decided to let me stay, when he did not have to. Like I said, I owed him a lot.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/lsmsa-robert-alost/|author=Rod Dreher|title=Rpbert Alost, 1935-2020|publisher=''The American Conservative''|date=April 21, 2020|accessdate=April 26, 2020}}</ref></blockquote>

After retiring from NSU, Alost was a financial advisor for AXA Equitable Insurance. He is an inductee of the NSU Hall of Distinguished Educators.<ref name=bio/> He died of a lengthy illness at the age of eighty-five.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/shreveporttimes/obituary.aspx?n=robert-alost&pid=196075199&fhid=10224|title=Robert Alost obituary|publisher=''The Shreveport Times''|date=April 25, 2020|accessdate=April 26, 2020}}</ref>

After retiring from NSU, Alost was a financial advisor for AXA Equitable Insurance. He is an inductee of the NSU Hall of Distinguished Educators.<ref name=bio/> He died of a lengthy illness at the age of eighty-five.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/shreveporttimes/obituary.aspx?n=robert-alost&pid=196075199&fhid=10224|title=Robert Alost obituary|publisher=''The Shreveport Times''|date=April 25, 2020|accessdate=April 26, 2020}}</ref>