Two Louisiana students — one a future architect and Rhodes Scholar hopeful, the other a mother of four studying nursing — have been named winners of The Storage Center’s 2025 Space to Succeed Scholarship, a national award given to just three students each year.
Frank Clavelle III of Lafayette and Brittanie Reynaud of Eunice each received $5,000 to support their studies and community work. Both were recognized not only for their academic success but also for their deep commitment to service.
“This scholarship has reinforced my sense of purpose and affirmed that I am on the right path,” Clavelle said. “Having the support of those who believe in me and encourage my aspirations is both humbling and motivating, and it inspires me to keep striving toward my goals.”
Clavelle, a Presidential Student Ambassador and architecture student at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, already has built a record of service. He mentors youth through Big Brothers Big Sisters of Acadiana, helps build homes with Habitat for Humanity and advocates for diversity as vice president of the National Organization of Minority Architecture Students.
He has studied abroad in Paris and Seoul, spoken at Sorbonne University in France and currently interns with a civil and human rights organization. His ultimate ambition: to become one of UL Lafayette’s first Rhodes Scholars.
From an early age, Clavelle said he felt called to serve. That calling intensified after being chosen for the Reginald F. Lewis Scholars Program, which instilled in him the principle that “to whom much is given, much is required.”
“I have always believed that we must embody the light we want to see in the world,” he said. “If my efforts could inspire even a small change, others would join in as well.”
His approach to leadership, he added, was shaped by both wrestling — “it taught me that the mind has the power to push us beyond perceived limits” — and by his Louisiana upbringing, where resilience and community are prized values.
“My family and community have always stood by me through every challenge, reinforcing the importance of hard work and resilience,” he said.
Looking ahead, Clavelle sees himself giving back to Louisiana, serving the same community that shaped him.
“I hope to be in a position where I can contribute even more, helping to build a future defined by innovation and opportunity,” he said.
For Reynaud, the scholarship recognizes a different kind of strength. A full-time nursing student at LSU Eunice and a mother of four, she balances coursework, parenting and volunteerism with determination.
“I first heard about this scholarship through a local news channel,” she said. “Being chosen as a winner came as a shock, but also a blessing. It’s truly an honor to be recognized for something like this, for something that I just enjoy doing.”
Her volunteer work spans hospitals, nursing homes and animal shelters. She has supported the sonography program at LSUE, helped lead hospital training sessions, organized events at a nursing home and joined fundraising efforts for local shelters and businesses.
“I look at serving the community like I look at nursing,” Reynaud said. “I’m there to be with, to help and to do for. Inside and outside of the hospital.”
The demands of motherhood and nursing school, however, have tested her limits.
“Motherhood is hard, nursing school is hard, work is hard, and finding time to still volunteer in between all of that is hard,” she said. “I quickly realized I couldn’t be the mother, friend, co-worker, etc., without filling my own cup.”
She now prioritizes rest, church and hobbies like reading and cooking, while also leaning on her “village” of friends and family.
Her roots in south Louisiana, she said, shaped her approach to resilience and service.
“When a flood or hurricane happens, your neighbors are the first to step up,” she said. “Not many people get to see what a strong community can do to lift each other up.”
Both scholarship winners offered advice to students seeking to serve their communities.
Clavelle urged peers to “believe in themselves, no matter how ambitious their vision or how long the road may seem,” while Reynaud encouraged simple, local acts of kindness — from visiting a nursing home to mowing a neighbor’s lawn.
For Reynaud, her children remain her motivation.
“I want my children to know that you can do anything you want to with prayer, hard work and dedication,” she said.
She hopes to become a nurse practitioner one day, providing free health education and screenings in her community. Clavelle, meanwhile, hopes to stand among Rhodes Scholars and continue inspiring Louisiana students.
