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!
Our Honor Roll of "UCLA Class of 1961" Scholars
(To you, our First Six...We are proud of you ! Feel free to get back in touch!)
2007-2008 Madeline G., Class of 2008
2009-2010. David S., Class of 2010
2011-2014 Meena A., Class of 2014
2015-2017 Farah A., Class of 2017
2018-2020 Varina C., Class of 2020
2021-2022 Nicole N., Class of 2022
Congratulations to All of You!
(Future Scholars stories will be posted here as we receive them.)
Our Scholars for the 2022-2023School Year:
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!