This month, Nicholls State University is receiving a new scholarship from Mike and Christine Bourgeois to benefit upperclassmen, as reported by a Nicholls Press Release.

The Bourgeois family donated $30,000 to the Nicholls State University Foundation to create the Michael C. and Christine P. Bourgeois #4 Endowed Upperclassmen/Alumni Scholarship, making this the fourth scholarship created by the family. Their precious scholarships were aimed at benefiting first-generation students and those enrolled in the School Psychology Specialist program.

Mike and Christine Bourgeois wanted to give back to those students often overlooked by financial aid and scholarship opportunities, the upperclassmen, stating, “so much money is geared toward freshmen, but what happens in the years after that? We want to help those students finish school, so that’s why we brought in juniors and seniors with this scholarship. Nicholls has opened a lot of doors for us and prepared us for successful careers. This is a way we can give back.”

Applicants wanting to benefit from this scholarship must be graduates of any Lafourche or Terrebonne high school and be enrolled at Nicholls as a junior or senior with a cumulative 2.0 GPA or be an enrolled graduate student with a cumulative 3.0 GPA. Up to three students meeting those requirements will be awarded $200 per semester.

The Executive Director of the Nicholls Foundation, Jeremy Becker, commented, “Mike and Christine are alums that are not only supportive of Nicholls, but also concerned with creating opportunities for students to be successful. By creating their now fourth different scholarship opportunity for Nicholls students, they are leaving a legacy that is admired by the university, the Nicholls Foundation and the community.”

Though, the scholarship from Mike and Christine Bourgeois isn’t the only effort Nicholls is making to make the financial stresses of its students less menacing. Due to the restrictions placed on the campus as a result of Covid-19, the annual Sponsor A+ Scholar Wine and Food Tasting Extravaganza will not be held in person, but it will instead be a rolling donation drive over a two week period. Peoples Drug Store in Houma is the headline sponsor for this year’s event.

In November, alumni, community members, and more are invited to donate to the scholarship fund, and donors with gifts of at least $75 will receive a limited edition set of wine glasses bearing the Nicholls logo, while supplies last.

This annual event has been greatly impactful on the university’s campus, as 159 scholarships worth $125,500 have been awarded over the past decade. These scholarships are awarded each fall to full-time Nicholls student leaderswho have a 2.5 GPA or high school students actively involved in their communities who hold a cumulative GPA of at least 2.50 and a minimum ACT composite score of 21.

Monique Crochet, who earned a Bachelor’s of Science from Nicholls in 1998 and a Mastery in Education in 2000, is the executive director of external affairs. Crochet lamented on the pivoting of the scholarship drive from an in-person event to an ongoing virtual one by saying, “while we are sad that we cannot host the A+ Scholar Food and Wine Extravaganza in person this year, we are excited about the opportunity to continue to raise much-needed scholarship dollars for our students. Now more than ever, scholarships are a necessity for our students so that they may continue to pursue their dreams of a college degree.”

For more information on the Michael C. and Christine P. Bourgeois #4 Endowed Upperclassmen/Alumni Scholarship applicants can visit Nicholls’ Office of Financial Aid’s dedicated scholarship listing, and those wanting more information on the Sponsor A+ Scholarship fund can visit this information hub.

For more education related information, click here.