2026 Woman of Achievement Awards
The Nicholls Women’s History Month Luncheon will be held on March 25, 2026 at 11:30AM in Bistro Ruth at the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute.
The Woman of Achievement Awards are presented at the luncheon to a Nicholls faculty or staff member, a student and a community member who serves as a healthy role model, has contributed to the advancement of her field and to the historical legacy of women, and demonstrates this year’s theme, Leading the Change: Women Shaping a Sustainable Future.
The Bonnie Bourg lecture and luncheon is held every spring to raise the level of awareness in the arts and humanities for the Nicholls community and the southeast region of Louisiana.
The guest speaker will be Stephanie Styles, JD who is the Founder & Executive Director of Study N Play and the National Student Parent Advocate & Lead Architect.
Stephanie Styles is the Founder and Executive Director of Study N Play, a nationally emerging model advancing structural solutions for student parents in higher education. Inspired by her own experience navigating law school as a new mother, she designed Study N Play to close institutional gaps that force parenting students to choose between academic persistence and childcare. Stephanie holds a Juris Doctor and a policy certification from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Her work sits at the intersection of higher education reform, workforce development, and economic mobility, and she advises institutions and policymakers on scalable, equity-centered systems that improve outcomes for student parents.
About Dr. Bonnie Bourg
Dr. Bourg was a native of Houma. She was a 1943 graduate of Terrebonne High School and attended H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College of Tulane University, graduating in 1947. She graduated from Louisiana State University in 1948 with a Master’s degree in Health and Physical Education and in 1979 with a doctoral degree in education.
Dr. Bourg was a charter member of the faculty when Francis T. Nicholls College opened its doors in September of 1948. She began her career at Nicholls as an instructor of health and physical education. She held various positions through her forty-two years at Nicholls. She was named the first Dean of Women. Later she became Dean of the Freshman Division and retired on January 5, 1991 as the Vice President emeriti of Student Affairs. She organized many groups and traditions that are still a part of Nicholls today. She wrote the Nicholls Alma Mater.
She was a parishioner of the St. Thomas Aquinas where she was a lector and Eucharistic minister. She was a past member of the St. Thomas Aquinas parish council and led the New Life program for many years.
In 1994, Dr. Bourg founded Thibodaux chapter of Marian Servants of the Word associated with the Catholic Diocese of St. Petersburg, FL. She was Director-emeritus of the group and remained active in the group to her death. Prior to Marian Servants of the Word, Dr. Bourg was active with the Bayou River chapter of Magnificat.
Dr. Bourg was a member of many professional and religious organizations on local, state and national levels.
