THIBODAUX, La. — Mike and Blanche Callais are honoring his grandfather with a new scholarship at Nicholls State University.
The donation will create the Abdon Callais Family First-Generation Endowed Undergraduate Scholarship for Maritime Management.
Mike and his wife, Blanche, donated $80,000, with a $20,000 match from the Louisiana Board of Regents, to create the scholarship.
Callais promised he would create a scholarship when he ran for a seat on the Greater Lafourche Port Commission last year.
He named the scholarship after his grandfather, Abdon Callais. A former trawler and trapper with little formal education, Abdon moved over to oil and gas in the mid-1900s. The decision paid off and helped him put his children through college. Callais sees this as an opportunity to help students, Nicholls and the industry.
“My grandfather started from humble beginnings but he saw potential, took a risk, and it paid off for him. Now, the maritime industry is so important to the economy of Louisiana,” Callais said. “He had very little education, but he helped his children become first-generation college students. I want to help other South Lafourche youth be able to better themselves.”
Recipients must be:
- a graduate of South Lafourche High School
- a first-generation college student
- a Pell Grant recipient
- enrolled full time in the Nicholls College of Business Administration
Students in the maritime management program will receive priority.
Four recipients each academic year will receive $1,000 for the year. Recipients must keep a 2.66 GPA and can continue to receive the award for up to eight semesters.
The College of Business Administration offers the country’s only maritime management degree concentration designed and supported by industry leaders.
Nicholls Announces New Scholarship for South Lafourche Graduates, Maritime StudentsFor more information, contact the Office of Scholarships at 448-4411.
