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Carol Trosclair and Dr. Brian Campbell joined Discover Lafayette to discuss the David Trosclair Memorial Scholarship in Kinesiology at UL – Lafayette.
Carol is well-known in the oil business and has been a Petroleum Landman for over 30 years. One of the most active women in our community, she is passionate and filled with the love of God and others. As you will hear in this interview, she is absolutely the best salesperson you’ll ever encounter! “She could sell holy water to the devil himself,” according to her close friend, Dr. Brian Campbell.
Dr. Brian Campbell serves as the coordinator of Exercise Science in the School of Kinesiology at UL – Lafayette. He is the faculty advisor to the Kinesiology Professionals Association. He met David Trosclair while teaching him, and recounted his admiration for this talented, modest young man who scored perfect scores in his classes. “David loved kinesiology because it involved a specialized experience in biomechanics and orthopedics and allowed him to help people maintain and recover mobility and provide exercise prescriptions.
After the tragic death of Carol’s son when he was a Senior, David Trosclair, in 2010, Carol and Brian established the David Trosclair memorial scholarship in Kinesiology to acknowledge his academic achievements. There are over 1200 kinesiology students at UL-Lafayette yet very few scholarships are offered to the students. As Carol recounts, “what an honor, but there was no money! We had to raise it to fund it.”
David Trosclair tragically died in 2010. His mother, Carol Trosclair, and his kinesiology professor, Dr. Brian Campbell have worked to fund a scholarship in his name so that his legacy will continue.
In the first year of fundraising, Carol wanted to hold a car wash and enlisted the kinesiology students to assist. She realized she would never be able to get the students up at 9 am on a Saturday to wash cars. Plus, you never clear much money working a traditional car wash. So she went down to Todd’s Car Wash and spoke with the owner, Todd Lemaire, asking him to partner for one day to raise funds for the scholarship. Lemaire generously countered and offered the whole month of September to allow $10 ticket holders to access his $25 car wash.
Carol was told by UL that if she raised $10,000 it would establish an endowed scholarship, if she raised $50,000 there would be a plaque placed in Martin Hall. They raised $11,990 the first year by preselling tickets. Todd Lemaire did not ask for any reimbursement for his expenses the first year, and still has not to this date on any of the annual fundraising efforts.
Kermit Duhon, of The Travel Machine, saw press coverage on the memorial scholarship. He called Carol and gave $150 to purchase tickets for his employees to get the premium car wash at Todd’s Car Wash. With a bit of encouragement and salesmanship from Carol, they eventually “Sir, we don’t just have a handout, we have four hands out. There are 1200 students in kinesiology with very few scholarship options. Won’t you please sponsor a customer-designed vacation for two designed by Travel Machine?” Kermit agreed and his travel agency has partnered with this popular fundraising drive annually.
To date, over $600,000 has been raised in endowed and non-endowed scholarship monies to honor David Trosclair’s memory. The Vacationing for Scholarships has been a huge success, all due to community support for this meaningful cause, Carol’s passionate fundraising efforts, and generous supporters such as Kermit Duhon and the Travel Machine, Todd Lemaire and Todd’s Car Wash, Tropical Smoothie, Roly Poly, Great Harvest Bread Company, Reve Cofee, and Judice Inn!
Carol Trosclair, Moon Griffon and Kermit Duhon promoting the David Trosclair Memorial Scholarship Fundraising effort in 2021.
It’s that time of year to buy your $10 raffle tickets to win a trip of your choice and $500 spending money to go along with it! Now in October 2021, a ticket will allow you to obtain free coffee or tea and chocolate chip pumpkin bread at Reve Coffee or a flatbread of your choice at any Tropical Smoothie Cafe; in November you can select a free 6″ sandwich of your choice at Roly Poly or loaf of bread at Great Harvest Bread Company.
Although David Trosclair did not live to fulfill his dreams, his legacy lives on through other students who are pursuing their own dreams. The scholarship inspires students to work hard. “The more we raise, the more we can give the students. That’s why I’m back at it this year, we gave all the non-endowed funds away last year.”
Brittany Gosserand with Carol Trosclair in 2016 being honored as the David Trosclair Scholar.
The David Trosclair Scholarship is given to two deserving students each year, based upon their GPA as well as community service, research activities, that best reflects a model of their club should be.
There are also non-endowed scholarships awarded; the amount each student receives depends on how much is raised overall each year. As Dr. Campbell said, “the money raised today goes to these students today. They don’t have to wait 40 years to see the results of their efforts go to students who weren’t even born when they were in college.” Kinesiology students have to sell the raffle tickets to qualify for a scholarship, “to have skin in the game.”
“There is not one student we won’t help. We want those students to succeed. We want the students to go out, get graduate degrees. It is all about rising tides.”
Carol Trosclair also looks at the kinesiology students as family, encouraging them to “just call me if you need anything.” And she means it and wants kids to call her if they can’t afford something that they need. Carol along with a few friends recently bought a dress for one of the top students so that she could be presentable for the awards banquet, along with jewelry and an appointment at the hair salon.
David Trosclair would have turned 35 on Monday, September 27, 2021. He and his mom, Carol, were very close and she says they had open lines of communication. Carol still has a note David left her saying, “I love you, Mom.” They had a wonderful relationship. She is blessed to still have her daughter, whom she also cherishes.
Brian and Carol are best friends “in life and in death.’ Their story is one of caring and compassion.
For more information on how to purchase tickets, please contact Carol Trosclair at (337)255-8155 or look her up on Facebook and private message her. She will hand-deliver tickets to you. She also has an office at 1106 Coolidge Blvd. in the Oil Center. You can also purchase tickets at Travel Machine at 102 Westmark Blvd. or PostNet at 5520 Johnston St. (Bailey’s Shopping Center.)
In closing, we also want to thank Dr. Brian Campbell for his service to nonprofit fundraising through his organization, Impact Acadiana. He specializes in auctioning sports memorabilia and counsels nonprofits on effective ways of fundraising. For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/RealImpactAcadiana/.
