The Class of 1961 Scholarship

                             Our Gift That Keeps on Giving

Editor’s Note:

This , like all of our pages, is a “living document.”.   It hints at the work of “a Committee” of our Classmates who,  from   2001 through 2006, brought  us all on board with this Scholarship.  Those might have been our “Finest Alumni Hours”!   We have found  shards; clues of meetings which  sound like  a lot of fun;  you all asked us to step up, and we did !    We invite any of you who were at those meetings, and wrapped up this gift, to share your story.  Please see “An Invitation to Share” below.

Through these  past couple of years, several  have talked about the mystery of the bond our Class  formed during  our earliest days in Westwood. 

Evidence of that bond in action was never more clear than in the years between our Fortieth and Forty-fifth reunions.  The Alumni Association  introduced the idea of each Class working  to create an Endowment, which would sponsor “scholars"  each year.  

We were told that $100,000 would provide such a legacy;  we ('The Committee")  went to work.      

The first rumblings about a “Class of 1961” Scholarship surfaced with our Fortieth Class  Reunion in 2001.  

Our Class had jumped into the fray, and  was leading the contest to create a Legacy Fund, which could sponsor  “Scholars” long after we had moved on.  

We heard at  our 40th ( poolside, on Sunday morning, at a Brunch at The Ulenes' home),  that our

 Committee and our Class  were off to a great start. 

Our  goal of  $100,000 Dollars?  We could do that!  

That  team met, and planned, and wrote letters.  Five years passed..........

By our Forty-fifth reunion,  The Alumni Association announced that we had been among the first to meet our  goal,  and  "the Class of 1961 Scholarship"  was a reality.  

Our first Scholar, Madeline G., joined us with her Family attending  our 2006 dinner.

Now our  Scholarship has assisted eight students in defraying their costs through Medical School.  (Several were recipients  through multiple years.) 

(We were  reminded , back in the day,  that the average student in 2006 graduated with $80,000 in debt. Chump change for today's students!).

We recently were contacted by Alison Wong, who is  the Associate Director of Development, Medical Education and Scholarship Programs.   She had been in contact with Rol Summit, and had announced  our  two “Scholars” ; this academic year’s recipients of the Class of 1961 Scholarship.   Benjamin L. and May K. are our Scholars  this year.   Alison has promised annual updates as new Scholars join our ranks.. 

Alison’s words to us:

The Class of ’61 is one of nine graduating classes that has a named scholarship to support our current medical students in perpetuity. This is an amazing accomplishment and my team is trying to make a better effort to disseminate the scholarship information so that our generous alumni can see the meaningful impact of philanthropy and the next generation of Bruin MDs.

Bottom line?   We are continuing to  help launch the careers of fellow Bruin Physicians.

We can feel really  good about doing that!   Thanks to all of you on "The Committee"! 

                                       An Invitation to Share:

We invite any of you, our Classmates,  to offer additions, corrections or clarification to this story.

We  invite any of our “Class of 1961 Scholars”  to share any part of your  story  with us.   

We welcome you all into our extended "Class of '61" Family!

And we welcome Stacy P. as our Scholar for the 2023-2024 academic year!    

Glad we have been able to  make your journey a little bit easier!

June 4th, 2025...The UCLA School of Medicine, Class of 1961, welcomes our  Class of 1961 Scholar for 2024-2025!    

Yanaga, we trust that our gift will  allow you , this coming year, to continue your amazing journey with a little less stress in funding this Chapter of it..  

Some of us are hoping to make it to the Reunion on October 4th.  Maybe we'll be able to meet you over that weekend!