Lafourche Parish Sheriff Craig Webre has announced the winners of two local $500 scholarships. Kristen Weimer, a senior at E.D. White Catholic High School, has been selected as the recipient of the 2017 Louisiana Sheriffs’ Association Scholarship for Lafourche Parish. Additionally, Thibodaux High School senior, Sydney Matherne, has won the 2017 Norman Swanner Scholarship award for LPSO employees and family members. Both students plan to enroll in Nicholls State University this fall.
On her application, Weimer indicated plans to complete an undergraduate degree in pre-veterinary medicine at Nicholls before attending LSU Veterinary School. After college, she hopes to practice veterinary medicine locally. Matherne plans to study allied health at Nicholls and hopes for a career in occupational therapy or pediatrics. Sydney is the daughter of Jason Matherne, a bicycle patrol deputy.
“I am always excited to see the pool of applicants for these scholarships each year,” said Sheriff Webre. “It is refreshing to see such talented, outstanding young adults about to embark on a new journey in higher education, and it is our privilege to help them facilitate their dreams. Ms. Weimer and Ms. Matherne are both outstanding young ladies who will undoubtedly achieve their goals.”
Criteria for the scholarships are similar in that both require applicants to plan to enroll as a full-time student at Nicholls State University, L.E. Fletcher Technical Community College, or South Central Louisiana Technical Community College. The Louisiana Sheriffs’ Association requires the applicant to be a graduating high school senior and permanent resident of Lafourche Parish. The Swanner Scholarship, which was first awarded in 2016, is only open to Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office employees or their immediate family members, and current undergraduate college students are eligible in addition to graduating high school seniors. Both scholarships are awarded as gifts, not loans, to defray the rising costs of tuition and related expenses in higher education. An independent board of review selects the winner of each scholarship.
The Louisiana Sheriffs’ Educational Scholarship Program awards $500 to graduating high school students in parishes where the sheriffs are members of the Louisiana Sheriffs’ Honorary Membership Program. Funding for this scholarship is made possible through the generous support of Lafourche Parish’s Honorary Members. The goal of the program is to provide assistance to worthy Louisiana students in furthering their education and training with resources made available through the program.
The Norman Swanner Foundation is a non-profit organization created in memory of Norman Swanner, a Thibodaux resident who passed away on November 8, 2006. Swanner was a City Councilman at the time of his death. Swanner’s daughter, Jamie Beth Swanner, also passed away on December 24, 2012. The Foundation funds several awards and scholarships for students at Nicholls State University, and several high schools including E.D. White, Thibodaux, Central Lafourche, South Lafourche, and West Jefferson – just to name a few.
