Pelican Care Corner Earns Nunez Third Consecutive LACUSPA Outstanding Program Award

For the third year in a row, Nunez Community College has been recognized with the Outstanding Program or Practice of the Year Award for 2-year institutions from the Louisiana Association of College & University Student Personnel Administrators (LACUSPA).

This year’s award celebrates the Pelican Care Corner (PCC), an essential needs hub for free food, clothing, and more, which officially opened its doors in March 2026. Last year, Nunez earned the same award for its annual Trunk or Treat event, which returns to the Chalmette campus this year on Oct. 29. In 2024, Nunez won for Pelican Prep, a free, semester-long program that allows completers to skip a corequisite math or English course, saving students both time and money.

The Pelican Care Corner has been a labor of love for Nunez’s Student Success Center, first combining the college’s Pelican Pantry and Career Closet—which provides free, lightly used professional attire for job interviews and office work—into one convenient location. The PCC houses industrial refrigerators to offer fresh and cold foods when available. Up next, plans are underway to add an Edible Garden that will grow and distribute fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs on the Nunez campus.

The Edible Garden will also promote nutritional education, provide a volunteer opportunity to Nunez students, and support mental and physical health via gardening. Blackberry, blueberry and fig trees already occupy planters in a courtyard just a few steps from the PCC in the AST Building. A wide variety of seeds are already in-hand awaiting the proper planting season to be added to the garden.

“The Pelican Care Corner is a manifestation of Nunez's first and foremost core value as an institution: being Student-Centered. This award from LACUSPA recognizing the Pelican Care Corner as the Outstanding Program of the Year is validation of a truly collaborative effort from across the Nunez community to launch this innovative and much-needed essential needs hub,” said Dr. Gordon Maples, a Success Coach in Nunez’s Student Success Center and primary steward of the PCC. “However, the greatest reward of the Pelican Care Corner is that many members of the Nunez flock are now better fed, better prepared, and hurdling barriers in their academic and professional lives.”

The criteria put forth by LACUSPA for the Program of the Year Award states that “nominated programs should showcase core beliefs, financial stewardship, inclusivity, response to current events or trends, collaboration, and overall impact on campus.” The Pelican Care Corner meets each standard by providing a one-stop campus resource that offers free benefits to Nunez students, faculty and staff.

But the Pelican Care Corner is not limited to one, static room. During the Spring 2026 semester, Nunez’s Success Team shared the spirit and literal inventory of the PCC in off-site events such as Tie Day, which provided instruction from Success Coaches to students on how to tie a necktie, and provided each student a free tie of their choice to keep.

For the fall semester, the PCC distributed hundreds of hurricane preparedness bags to students passing the Success Center in the AST lobby. These drawstring backpacks came pre-packed with shelf-stable foods, water, a can opener and utensils.

“The Pelican Care Corner reflects our commitment to meeting students where they are and supporting the whole person,” said Dr. Tina Tinney, Nunez Chancellor, at the essential needs hub’s March ribbon-cutting. “By bringing food access, basic necessities, and professional clothing together in one welcoming space, we are removing barriers and helping our students focus on what matters most—their well-being, education and future.”

The Pelican Care Corner continues to accept all manner of donations from the community, including food, professional attire, and miscellaneous items, which will all be made available to students at no cost.