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Open Doors Open Possibilities

Two undergraduate nursing students in the simulation lab learn patient care using a high-fidelity manikin.
The Helen F. Shishino Centennial Scholars Undergraduate Scholarship will make a UCLA education — and so much more — possible for nursing’s next generation.

A UCLA education is transformative. That fact drove a record-breaking 102,000 prospective freshmen and more than 22,000 transfer students to apply for 2017–2018.

Helping Students Succeed

UCLA’s capacity for changing lives is also the impetus behind prioritizing student support, promoted over the past year with the UCLA Chancellor’s Centennial Scholars Match for undergraduate scholarships. Inspired to respond, donors are opening doors for students to step onto campus and into their educational and professional journeys.

One anonymous donor used the match to grow her gift honoring a UCLA School of Nursing alumna who knows how influential a scholarship can be.

Pioneering a Professional Path

As a child, Helen Shishino ’55, MS ’60 was interned with other Japanese Americans during World War II. In high school, she read the Sue Barton novels chronicling the career of a nurse, catching her interest. Shishino considered several routes: Her best friend entered a hospital training program; her brothers’ military service suggested an army nurse; and a counselor recommended medical school.

Instead Shishino received a scholarship that enabled her to attend UCLA, where she earned one of 12 spots in the second nursing class and eventually her master’s degree. Professionally, she spent decades making a difference, from establishing policies at a new hospital to serving diverse communities at local health centers to helping children as a school nurse. And financial support made it all possible: “I wouldn’t have been able to attend college or become a nurse without the scholarship,” she says.

For those following in Shishino’s footsteps, her influence goes beyond her inspiring story. Now the Helen F. Shishino Centennial Scholars Undergraduate Scholarship will make a UCLA education — and so much more — possible for nursing’s next generation.

To learn more, contact

Amy Drizhal310-794-2358

Published September 2017

Eleven nursing students pose on the front steps of a building.

UCLA School of Nursing’s Class of 1955 included Helen Shishino (front row, far left).

Two nurses pore over results on a computer screen.

The scholarship honoring Shishino will help others pursue a nursing education and the chance to make a difference.

More Stories: Equity, diversity and inclusion, Students, Health & behavior, Students & campus, School of Nursing