LRA Education Foundation Announces 2019 Class of LRAEF Scholars

​The Louisiana Restaurant Association Education Foundation (LRAEF) Board of Directors, through its Scholarship Fund, will award $52,500 in scholarships to 24 individuals. These LRAEF Scholars will be honored at the event, “Serving the Future—Celebrating Careers in Hospitality,” March 21, 2019, at Generations Hall in New Orleans.
 
The LRAEF Scholarship Fund was created in 2009 to provide financial support for individuals interested in furthering their education to support a career in the culinary, hospitality, or related industries. Since its inception, the Scholarship Fund has awarded nearly $500,000 to deserving students.
 
The LRAEF’s most prestigious award, the Jim Funk Scholarship, is named for the former LRA President & CEO who guided the creation of the LRAEF during his 30 years with the organization. This year’s scholar of the Jim Funk Scholarship is Dustin Rockwell. Rockwell graduated from Slidell High School in 1998 and now attends Nicholls State University where he majors in culinary arts. He is a second year recipient of an LRAEF Scholarship award.
 
Rockwell returned to school to achieve a better understanding of how to operate a successful café. He hopes to travel to Institut Paul Bocuse in France for his senior internship to broaden his horizons and pick up new skills.
 
The LRAEF ProStart® Scholarship is presented to students who have or will receive the National ProStart Certificate of Achievement. This year’s scholars are:

• Khloe Chen, graduating senior at Hammond High Magnet School, will attend Southeastern Louisiana University.
• Jerl “Cade” Kershenstine, graduating senior at Hammond High Magnet School, will attend Nicholls State University.
• Kaitlyn MacNamara, graduating senior at Sulphur High School, will attend McNeese State University.
• Anna Candler, graduating senior at Sulphur High School, will attend SOWELA Technical Community College.
• Kacey Kile, graduating senior at West Feliciana High School, will attend Nicholls State University.
• Trenton Oliphant, graduating senior at Hammond High Magnet School, will attend Johnson & Wales University.
• Brock Nichols, graduate of Sulphur High School, attending Nicholls State University. (second year recipient)
• Elizabeth Alphonso, graduating senior at Chalmette High School, will attend Nunez Community College.
• August Alexander, graduating senior at Chalmette High School, will attend Nunez Community College.
• Andrew Cambre, graduate of Hammond High Magnet School, attending Nicholls State University.

 
The LRA Board Fund Scholarship is presented to students who intend to pursue a career in the restaurant, foodservice, tourism or hospitality industry. This Fund is supported through a generous annual donation by the LRA Board of Directors. This year’s scholars are:

• Sara Baiamonte, graduate of Hammond High Magnet, attending Nicholls State University. (second year recipient)
• Blane Coley, graduate of West Feliciana High School, attending Nicholls State University (second year recipient)
• Claire LeBlanc, graduate of Fontainebleau High School, attending Nicholls State University. (third year recipient)
• Jason Stant, graduate of Brother Martin High School, attending University of Louisiana at Lafayette. (second year recipient)
• Jenna Duryea, graduate of Lakeshore High School, attending Nicholls State University. (third year recipient)
• Janesa Buras, graduate of Fontainebleau High School, attending Nicholls State University. (second year recipient)
• Taylor Mattox, graduate of West Feliciana High School, attending Nicholls State University. (second year recipient)
• Elizabeth Cummins, graduate of Glenbrook School, attending Northwestern State University. (second year recipient)
• Mary Poirier, graduate of Archbishop Chapelle High School, attending University of Louisiana at Lafayette (fourth year recipient)
• Misty White, graduate of Louisiana Community and Technical College System, attending Louisiana Culinary Institute. White graduated high school in 2003 and went off to have a career in both real estate and the oil and gas industry. She came back to school to obtain her Associate in Occupational Science in Culinary Arts and hopes to return to her hometown of Independence, Louisiana after graduation to support her family and the foodservice industry. 
• Kiersten Wegmann, graduate of Chalmette High School, attending Nicholls State University (fourth year recipient)
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The LRA Cenla Chapter Scholarship is provided to students residing in central Louisiana who are pursuing a career in the culinary or hospitality industry. It was established in 2015 with a generous contribution from the LRA Cenla Chapter. This year’s scholar is:

• Taylor Mason, graduate of Anacoco High School, attending Nicholls State University. (second year recipient)

 
The Louisiana Seafood Scholarship was established through a generous gift from the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board. This is awarded to qualified applicants who show an interest in cultivating, protecting and promoting Louisiana seafood. This year’s scholar is:

• Carl Eric Hokanson, graduate of Denver High School, attending University of New Orleans.
  
  

“Recognizing these students for their hard work and dedication is the most rewarding part of my role as Chair of the LRA Education Foundation,” said Rocky Weigand, 2019 LRAEF Chair and Division Director Gulf States-La/Ms for Coca-Cola Bottling Company-United. “These scholarships will help these recipients become leaders and innovators in the restaurant and hospitality industry.”
 
The LRAEF will also honor its ProStart Educator of Excellence, Elena Hodges of Chalmette High School in Chalmette. Hodges will also be recognized in May, along with her counterparts from across the country, at the National Restaurant Association’s Educator of Excellence Awards in Chicago, for her exemplary dedication to the ProStart program.
 
The LRAEF wishes to recognize the financial support of our Annual Partners: Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers, Auto Chlor System, Acme Oyster House, National Restaurant Association Education Foundation, Louisiana Restaurant Association, Louisiana Hospitality Foundation, Baton Rouge Epicurean Society, Performance Food Group, Emeril Lagasse Foundation, Fore!Kids Foundation, TABASCO®, PJ's Coffee, B&G Food Enterprises and Sysco.