Nicholls Scholarship to Benefit Indigenous Youth

Through the MJ Sindler Family Fund for Culture and Media, donor Mark J. Sindler contributed $12,000 to create the Viviana Brenner Memorial Award for the Educational Advancement of Louisiana’s Indigenous Coastal Peoples. This endowed scholarship will enable Nicholls State University to recruit promising Indigenous high school students from Louisiana’s coastal communities and provide higher educational opportunities for them.

“My appreciation for Indigenous cultures developed while I was a child growing up in New York City, where I made frequent visits to the Museum of the American Indian. Those experiences led me to study Mesoamerican archaeology at Tulane University in New Orleans before I decided to launch a career as a photojournalist. Later, while working in that capacity for the Louisiana State Museum system, I witnessed first-hand the massive devastation, land loss, and population displacement caused by the succession of major hurricanes that hit the state’s Indigenous coastal communities,” said Sindler. “As a result, I decided to create an endowed scholarship at Nicholls State University to provide new educational opportunities for youth from these areas. I chose Nicholls not only because of its strategic location within reach of the impacted communities but also because of my positive experience in establishing an award at the university last year. For me, Nicholls State University’s endowed scholarship program provides a uniquely cost-effective opportunity to bring about positive change for many generations to come.”

The scholarship honors Viviana Brenner, who was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina. After completing her studies in social psychology, Viviana joined the staff of the Argentine Bureau of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. From 1994 to 2002, Viviana served as a senior program specialist for the agency, developing and leading workshops, seminars and roundtable discussions that promoted UNESCO’s work to foster world peace, tolerance and justice for all. She also coordinated activities for two of UNESCO’s historic initiatives: the 50^th Anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights in 1998 and the International Year for the Culture of Peace in 2000.

When Argentina’s economic crisis forced UNESCO to cease operations there, Viviana began to split her time between New Orleans and her native country, resuming earlier career work as a language teacher and translator. She also became a highly-regarded fiber artist, with exhibitions around the United States and abroad. Until she passed in 2019, Viviana remained a passionate advocate for educational equity and cultural parity.

This scholarship will be awarded to an incoming freshman enrolled full-time at Nicholls who is a member of one of Louisiana’s Indigenous coastal communities. The student must maintain a 3.0 GPA. One $500 scholarship will be awarded per year, with $250 dispersed in the fall and spring semesters. The scholarship award may be increased as the endowment grows, and anyone interested in expanding the fund can click here or contact jeremy.becker@nicholls.edu.

The Nicholls Foundation, an independent 501(c)3 corporation, supports the mission of Nicholls State University by seeking gifts and grants and managing those funds and assets to support Nicholls through endowed chairs, professorships, scholarships and other enhancement efforts. To learn more about donating to Nicholls, visit nichollsfoundation.org.

To learn more about the scholarships at Nicholls State University, visit www.nicholls.edu/financial-aid/scholarships.