PINEVILLE, LA. – Cleco Corporation awarded Andrew Bennett of Slidell a $2,000 scholarship to attend the ADVANCE Program for Young Scholars at Northwestern State University held in June. 

Bennett, who is entering the eleventh grade at Northshore High School, is the son of Gary and Melissa Bennett. During the three-week program, he successfully completed a chemistry course. ADVANCE offers courses that are comparable to one year of high school curriculum or equivalent to one semester of college. This is Bennett’s fourth year to attend the program. 

The ADVANCE program is one of five collaborative efforts with Duke University’s Talent Identification Program and was started in 1989. This is the only Duke collaborative program in Louisiana.

Courses through the program cover a broad range of subjects including algebra, journalism, computer science and more. The program is offered to eighth-through 12th-grade students throughout the nation.

For further information regarding ADVANCE, please call 318-357-4500 or visit http://advance.nsula.edu/.