New scholarship aims to help students who are in college

Getting to college is a challenging, years-long journey.
Once that goal is reached, getting through college is another challenge all together. Obstacles to earning a degree can be more than just the classes, as finances can put a strain on many students.
Vermilion Parish native Marcus Doucet, through a non-profit organization he helped create, aims to ease the financial burden for some students.
“We want to get students towards graduation,” said Doucet, a 2003 graduate of Erath High School.
The Coalition for Louisiana Academic Student Scholarships (CLASS) has a mission is to provide a means of academic scholarship funding to low-income, academically successful students pursuing a degree, certificate or technical diploma in a Louisiana public community college, college or university and to support on-campus scholastic organizations that demonstrate a path to academic excellence.
“We are trying to help students who are not eligible for scholarships that are out there,” said Doucet. “Say a student has a GPA between 2.5 and 3.5 for their previous year. If they are not currently receiving TOPS, then they may qualify for one of our scholarships.”
Doucet first organized CLASS last September. The first step was creating a board of directors. That group includes Nellie Broussard of Erath, a teacher with more than 40 years of experience, Rosalinda Alemany, Coordinator of the Spanish Language Program at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and Brian Thead, an accountant.
With a board of directors in place, the group held its first meeting last October. The mission has grown since.
“We just got our web site up this week,” Doucet said. “We are progressing.”
The web site is www.classla.org. Doucet said CLASS has its 501C3 from the IRS.
“All the donations that we get are tax deductible,” Doucet said. “We have been approved through the Secretary of State for our corporation certificate.
Doucet first attended the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, before eventually transferring and completing his degree in geography from the University of South Alabama. Doucet said he knows from experience the frustration of working hard and still having scholarships remain out of reach.
“I know there is a need for low-income people who are doing well in college,” Doucet said. “When I was in college, I always had between a 3.0 and a 3.5. I was studying a lot and preparing well. I just couldn’t get all A’s until my final semester. By then it was too late for scholarships. In my major, all the scholarships went to students with 4.0s.
“I know there is a need for people who are doing well, but come up just short.”
Doucet said he is certain situations like that will become more common.
“With college tuition rising two to three times inflation each year,” Doucet said, “a simply unsustainable rate, and with tuition likely to increase at greater rates in coming years because of State budget cutbacks to Louisiana colleges, CLASS was founded to fulfill a need for scholarships available to students who may not qualify for existing scholarships.”
For more information on types of scholarships available or to donate to CLASS Louisiana scholarships, visit www.classla.org.