The Allen and Jeannette Guillory Thomason Foundation Contributed $250K for Endowed Scholarship Benefitting Education & Nursing Students

The Allen and Jeanette Guillory Thomason Foundation contributed $250,000 to create an endowed scholarship to benefit education and nursing majors at Nicholls State University. Recipients must be enrolled full-time as a sophomore, junior or senior at Nicholls with at least a 2.0 GPA and show a financial need. The scholarship will honor the memory of Herbert Allen Thomason, known as Allen Thomason.

Allen’s wife, Jeanette Guillory Thomason, said, “This scholarship has profound meaning to me since neither my late husband nor myself were able to attend college when we were younger. I hope that by establishing these scholarships, I am able to honor my late husband and the life and many businesses we built together over the course of our lives. I am a firm believer in education and trying to better oneself. Hopefully, this scholarship can make an outstanding impact in society by creating future leaders in our communities.”

Allen served in the U.S. Army during the Korean Conflict in 1951, completing a combat tour in Korea. After returning, he began working in the construction industry in Central Texas, going on to found his own construction business. Over the next 60 years, he went on to found and operate dozens of businesses in a wide range of industries, including everything from highway and heavy construction, residential real estate construction, land development, ladies clothing apparel, engineering firms, construction materials, auto dealerships, heavy equipment auctions, crop dusting and spraying, farming, real estate investment and more. In his most recent venture, he was a founding partner of DSLD Homes, remaining active until his passing.

Allen was known as an animal lover with many pets, including Sam, an African lion that he raised in his house with his family and went on to retire as Southeastern Louisiana University’s mascot, Roomie the lion; Suzie, an Indian Stump Tailed baboon; a tiger that went on to become the Exxon tiger in your tank campaign; a wolf and numerous deer, fox, squirrels, cats and dogs.

Up to 4 scholarships of $3,000 may be awarded per year, with $1,500 dispersed each fall and spring semester and 2 scholarships dedicated towards education majors and 2 scholarships dedicated towards nursing majors. Additionally, $500 will be set aside into the Allen and Jeanette Guillory Thomason Foundation Student Education/Nursing Travel Account to assist students with travel expenses related to student teaching or internships at schools or hospitals in the region.

This award may be increased as the endowment grows. To learn more about donating to Nicholls, visit nichollsfoundation.org. To apply for scholarships at Nicholls State, visit nicholls.edu/financial-aid/scholarships.