Remembering Jakelynn Ammons: How a Nursing student’s passion for helping others lives on through philanthropy

Jakelynn Ammons will always be remembered as a bright light in the lives of those who knew her. The Alexandria native and University of Louisiana at Lafayette nursing student passed away unexpectedly on January 27, 2018, in her hometown. Jakelynn was described as “an avid lover of life who enjoyed making people laugh and feel important. She always tried to find the positive in everything and everyone.”

In her 18 years, Jakelynn developed an affinity for helping others. “She was a natural nurturer,” her mother, Melissa Socia, and grandmother, Ann Harrell, said. “She took her career choice [as a nurse anesthetist] very seriously.”

Together, her mother and grandmother created two endowed funds: the Jakelynn A. Ammons Memorial Endowed Scholarship in Nursing and the Jakelynn Ammons Student Life Center Endowed Fund.

Socia said that creating the scholarship and naming the Student Life Center in memory of Jakelynn helped create something good out of a tragedy. “We had a vision of what her life would be like, and we knew with her hard work, determination and our financial backing, the sky was the limit,” shared Socia.

“When her life was cut short, we did not want to lose track of our vision. We asked ourselves what she would do if she were here. The answer was helping others. So, we decided to do exactly that. We want to help others reach their goals of being a nurse with our financial assistance. We decided to pour into other students’ futures and watch them grow.”

The Jakelynn A. Ammons Memorial Endowed Scholarship in Nursing helps middle-income students who are enrolled full-time pursue a nursing degree. Fourteen students have received the scholarship since its creation in 2021.

In addition to student scholarships, the pair is donating generously toward the Jakelynn Ammons Student Life Center Endowed Fund. This contribution supports programming, renovations and facility enhancements for the new Jakelynn Ammons Student Life Center, which will be housed in Moncus Hall on UL Lafayette’s new Nursing and Health Sciences Campus.

The center will house student support services, including advising, offices and meeting spaces for student organizations, scholarship and financial aid support, student engagement opportunities and resources for prospective and current students.

“This gift is truly transformative. It will materially change the programming we offer nursing and health sciences students, providing them the recourses, support and programs they need to succeed in and out of the classroom,” said Rebecca Doucet, associate vice president for development. “It’s the perfect example of the power of philanthropy, not just for UL Lafayette and its students, but for her family by permanently honoring Jakelynn.”