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After attending an education conference in [[South Carolina]], Alost became burdened with opening a boarding school for talented high school students. To make this happened, he worked closely with three [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] state legislators, Representative Jimmy Dale Long, Sr. (1931-2016), of Natchitoches and then state Senators [[Francis C. Thompson]] of Delhi in Richland Parish and Donald Gene Kelly of Natchitoches, along with [[Republican Party|Republican]] [[Governor]] [[David C. Treen]], to open on the NSU campus the Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts, which enrolled two hundred of the most talented high school students from throughout the state. Alost was the founding director of LSMSA from its inception in 1982 until he was named president of the university four years later.<ref name=bio>{{cite web|url=https://traditions.nsula.edu/the-hall-of-distinguished-educators.html|title=The Hall of Distinguished Educators|publisher=Traditions.nsula.edu|accessdate=February 20, 2018; material may no longer be accesible}}</ref>  

After attending an education conference in [[South Carolina]], Alost became burdened with opening a boarding school for talented high school students. To make this happened, he worked closely with three [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] state legislators, Representative Jimmy Dale Long, Sr. (1931-2016), of Natchitoches and then state Senators [[Francis C. Thompson]] of Delhi in Richland Parish and Donald Gene Kelly of Natchitoches, along with [[Republican Party|Republican]] [[Governor]] [[David C. Treen]], to open on the NSU campus the Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts, which enrolled two hundred of the most talented high school students from throughout the state. Alost was the founding director of LSMSA from its inception in 1982 until he was named president of the university four years later.<ref name=bio>{{cite web|url=https://traditions.nsula.edu/the-hall-of-distinguished-educators.html|title=The Hall of Distinguished Educators|publisher=Traditions.nsula.edu|accessdate=February 20, 2018; material may no longer be accesible}}</ref>  

[[Conservative]] author [[Rod Dreher]], a native of [[Baton Rouge]], entered LSMSA in 1983 at the age of sixteen at the inception of the institution. In his blog, ''The American Conservative,'' Dreher describes how Alost impacted Dreher's life:

[[Conservative]] author Rod Dreher, a native of [[Baton Rouge]], entered LSMSA in 1983 at the age of sixteen at the inception of the institution. In his blog, ''The American Conservative,'' Dreher describes how Alost impacted Dreher's life:

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Bobby Alost’s school was not the kind of thing you expect in a poor Southern state: a public boarding school for gifted and talented kids. But there it was, and there a couple hundred of us were, excited, maybe even a little frightened, out at his house in the pine woods, on a lake, on a warm autumn weekend, trying to get used to our new family. ...

Bobby Alost’s school was not the kind of thing you expect in a poor Southern state: a public boarding school for gifted and talented kids. But there it was, and there a couple hundred of us were, excited, maybe even a little frightened, out at his house in the pine woods, on a lake, on a warm autumn weekend, trying to get used to our new family. ...

The LSMSA academics were superlative. This was a high school that taught college-style, and featured classes on [[William Faulkner]], [[Walker Percy]], Russian history, and  and so on. They figured students could handle it, and mostly they were right ... Imagine a school where the teachers didn’t have to spend half their time trying to get students to settle down and listen. Where you were encouraged to ask questions, because nobody was going to make fun of you for being smart. And imagine being in a high school with a pretty diverse set of kids from all around the state, not all of whom would be your friends, but none of whom would be your enemy.

The LSMSA academics were superlative. This was a high school that taught college-style, and featured classes on [[William Faulkner]], [[Walker Percy]], Russian history, and so on. They figured students could handle it, and mostly they were right ... Imagine a school where the teachers didn’t have to spend half their time trying to get students to settle down and listen. Where you were encouraged to ask questions, because nobody was going to make fun of you for being smart. And imagine being in a high school with a pretty diverse set of kids from all around the state, not all of whom would be your friends, but none of whom would be your enemy.

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.