Ruth A. DeBlanc Endowed Scholarship

The Ruth A. DeBlanc Scholarship was established by Michael D. Bakewell of The Woodlands, Texas in memory of his aunt Ruth A. DeBlanc, who served her entire career in social services. Ruth A. DeBlanc’s career as a case worker for the State of Louisiana provided vital services to thousands of people in need of assistance. She was a college educated woman with a long and rewarding career in a time when such things for women were a bit rare. She was very close with her nephew, the donor of this scholarship, and would often go on adventures together. It was on those outings when, unbeknownst to Michael, his aunt Ruth taught him about life and !he joy of helping people.
Mike is a retired electric power generation executive with 34 years of business and leadership experience. He is recognized as an expert in strategic planning, implementation of organizational change initiatives, major capital construction projects, disaster management, labor relations and union negotiations. He has held numerous positions within Entergy Corporation. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Southwestern Louisiana. After this, he attended Sam Houston State in the fall of 2002 and earned his Master of Arts in Sociology in 2006. Mike began giving back to Sam Houston State in 2003 while a student in sociology at SHSU when he saw the need for financial support among his classmates. He anonymously started !he Ruth De Blanc Scholarship. In 2012 he decided to endow the scholarship so that it would assist students in perpetuity.