Nursing Student Jacob DeLaune was chosen by Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University to receive the Norman C. Francis Scholarship awarded by the Louisiana Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.
Founded in 2014, the $3,000 scholarship is awarded to a student of a LAICU institution who exemplifies the qualities of leadership and service as continuously demonstrated by Dr. Norman Francis, whose 46-year tenure as president of Xavier University of New Orleans earned him the distinction of being the longest-serving college president in the nation.
DeLaune is a fifth-semester senior in the FranU BSN program. “I grew up in Gonzales with my mom, dad, and seven siblings. We were all raised in the Catholic church and being Catholic is a big reason I pursued FranU’s nursing program,” he explained.
In March 2015, his mom passed away due to childbirth complications while giving birth to his youngest sister Jennie.
“This tragedy left my siblings and me without a teacher, as our mother was our primary homeschool teacher. My older brother and I continued to homeschool, with my older sister stepping in and teaching us through the rest of our time in high school. Through this time of hardship and grief, we were all able to continue to grow in our faith and trust in God.”
DeLaune said that his dad took on the role of a single parent and has taken amazing care of him and his siblings.
“My Dad has helped me as a full-time student for the past five years as best as he could and I work as a Nurse Tech at OLOL Regional Medical Center to fill in the gaps.”
During his time at FranU, DeLaune has become a part of the Student Nurse Association, where he participates in the mentor program for first-semester nursing students. After graduation in the Fall, he plans to pursue Critical Care nursing and eventually CRNA school.
“I am beyond grateful and blessed to have gotten this scholarship, truly. Going into my last semester of nursing school is exciting but stressful when it comes to making sure tuition is taken care of. When I was made aware that I had been granted this scholarship, I felt so much relief and so much gratitude for those that helped me with this opportunity. This has allowed me to finish school and I could not be happier!”
LAICU is a statewide nonprofit association that represents Louisiana’s 10 regionally accredited nonprofit private colleges and universities whose members are: Centenary College of Louisiana, Dillard University, Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University, Louisiana College, Loyola University New Orleans, Saint Joseph Seminary College, Tulane University, University of Holy Cross, Xavier University of Louisiana, and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.
More than 28,000 students are served by Louisiana’s nonprofit private higher educational institutions.
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