Cornerstone EDITORS Sara Crow Scott M. Madere ART DIRECTOR Elizabeth Scott LSU Junior, Graphic Design PHOTOGRAPHY Scott M. Madere Melissa Argrave Aaron Hogan Betty Karlsson Eddy Perez Tim Rodrigue Rachel Saltzberg Kaveh Sardari/CSIS Millena Williams CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Blair Beter Tia Embaugh Damian Foley Melissa Foley Seth Guidry Kathleen Harrington Samantha Landry Lindsay Newport Raychel Roy PRINTING IPC Printing, LLC
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Pelican Promise Recipient Hannah Ngo Sophomore in Kinesiology
Hannah Ngo’s family story reads like a Hollywood movie script. Her father, Howie Sr., was in the South Vietnamese navy during the Vietnam War and met her mother, Tuyen, in Louisiana after the conflict ended. The Ngos settled in Harvey, La., where Howie got a job working for a defense technology company. And that is when things took a turn for the worse for the Ngo family. Howie seriously injured his back at work, rendering him essentially unemployable. The family of five— now with Howie Jr., Hannah and Huey—lived on the income Tuyen earned working seven days a week at a nail salon. Then, in 2005, Hurricane Katrina spared no thought for the lives it affected as it cut a path of destruction through the Gulf Coast. Finances were a tremendous concern for the Ngo family. But when the time came for Hannah to choose a college, the entire family agreed on her first and only choice: LSU. She said of her decision, “I never wanted to go anywhere else, and this is the only place I applied.” The Pelican Promise scholarship enabled Ngo to move to Baton Rouge and enroll at LSU. Established in fall 2007, the scholarship—equivalent to tuition and the registration fee—is awarded to Louisiana residents who are eligible for a Federal Pell Grant and whose family income is no more than 150 percent of the poverty level.
LSU gave Ngo a helping hand to get where she wanted to go. Now, she is mulling over a change in major so she can be in a better position to help people find their own peace of mind. Hers is a fittingly Hollywood synergy in a story still being written.
LSU Chancellor Mike Martin has identified Pelican Promise as the University’s top academic fundraising priority. www.lsufoundation.org/contribute
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“The greatest products of LSU are its students and graduates. Pelican Promise provides the opportunity for highly capable students that work hard to achieve an education that they would not otherwise be able to receive.” — Harry J. Longwell, donor to Pelican Promise
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Cornerstone | Summer 2011 | LSU Foundation