Southeastern NEWS

                                                       Southeastern Louisiana University
                                           Public Information Office
                                           publicinfo@selu.edu
                                           SLU 880, Hammond, LA 70402
                                           504/549-2341/fax 504-549-2061
    Date: 5/26/98                                 
      Contact:                           Christina Chapple   115

Editors: Photo accompanies release -- Please note local interest
SCHOLARSHIP HONORS DAVID "WOLFIE" PHILIPPE
     HAMMOND, LA -- For several years David "Wolfie" Philippe of Gonzales was a big
part of the Southeastern Louisiana University scene. As he raced around campus in his
motorized wheelchair, his frail physical condition was in direct contradiction to his strong self-
confidence and his will to live life to the fullest.
     "Once when asked about his degree program, Wolfie responded that he was in social
welfare and that after graduation his goal was to help others less fortunate than himself,"
remembers Jackie Dale Thomas. "Some, viewing only his physical condition, might have
questioned his ability to meet this goal. To those of us who knew him, there was no doubt that
given the chance, Wolfie would meet and exceed this goal."
     Thomas, Southeastern's director of Leadership Development/Student Activities, is the
advisor for Gamma Beta Phi Honor Society, a dynamic campus service organization. Philippe
was "a treasured member" of Gamma Beta Phi, said Thomas. 
     When Philippe died in 1993, his family and friends, with Gamma Beta Phi's help,
established a scholarhsip in his memory. The scholarship is designed primarily for physically-
impaired students. Donations to the scholarship can be made to the Southeastern Development
Foundation, 504-549-2239.
     "A line in Wolfie's epitaph reads, 'He never walked, and yet he left giant footprints in the
lives of all who knew him,'" said Thomas.
     Wolfie's father, Dr. Doyle Philippe; stepmother, Johnnie Lynn, and his daughter, Kaylee,
now a third grader at Oak Grove Primary, proudly present the Philippe Scholarship at
Southeastern's annual Student Affairs honors convocation.
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                                  This press release is available on the World Wide Web at
www.selu.edu/NewsEvents/PublicInfoOffice/newsp98.htm