Scholar: Ariel Dankner
Year Awarded: 2020
Working towards degree: Bachelor of Science in Nursing
About Scholarship Recipient: Ariel comes from a family of immigrants. Her grandparents escaped persecution in Iraq to begin a new life in Israel. Ariel’s father and Canadian mother left war-torn Israel and immigrated to the United States in search of a better future for their children. She draws strength and inspiration from these generations before her.
Ariel was born and raised in Los Angeles. She received her bachelor’s degree in communication from the University of California Santa Barbara and has since committed almost all her free time to community service. This volunteering has reinforced a desire in her to start clubs aimed at social justice that bring people together.
The Nursing Scholarship is providing Ariel with needed relief at a time of financial hardship in her family. She said that although generations before her did not receive a post-secondary education, they do recognize the value of knowledge and set out to ensure she and her siblings learned to think well and belong to something greater than themselves to make a positive difference in the world. In the future, Ariel would like to continue bringing compassion and excellence to her profession, while demonstrating the highest ethics and commitment to her work. She is also determined to pay it forward. After graduation, she hopes to work in the intensive care unit and eventually pursue a master’s in nursing degree.
Scholar: Nathan Davis
Year Awarded: 2020
Working towards degree: Bachelor of Science in Nursing
About Scholarship Recipient: Nathan grew up in Van Nuys, California. After graduating high school, he attended Saint Joseph’s College in Indiana where he received a scholarship to play baseball. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in physical education and moved back to California where got his Emergency Medical Technician’s license and decided to pursue a career in the medical field. He worked in an ambulance for three years and then worked in the emergency department at Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica for the last five years. Working in a hospital next to incredible nurses is what pushed him to pursue a career in nursing. He then chose CSUN’s program because of the accelerated nature and great program reputation.
Since starting the program, Nathan has had to cut back on his hours working at the hospital. Therefore, receiving this scholarship has been a significant help in removing financial burden. He is extremely grateful to have been selected for this scholarship.
After Nathan graduates, he plans to become a nurse in the emergency department for the hospital he is working at through their New Grad program. After working for a few years, he then would like to go back to school to become a Nurse Practitioner. He is grateful to CSUN and the nursing department for giving him the chance to make his dream of becoming a nurse a reality.
S
cholar: Nhan Nguyen
Year Awarded: 2020
Working towards degree: Bachelor of Science in Nursing
About Scholarship Recipient: Nhan was born and raised in Reseda, California and still resides in the city near Northridge Hospital. He is of Southern Vietnamese and Chinese (Cantonese) decent. He received his undergraduate degree in communication studies from CSUN. When he decided to go to nursing school, CSUN was his first choice because of the program’s great reputation and accelerated option. Receiving the Nursing Scholarship was a financial relief and blessing to Nhan. He is extremely grateful to Mr. Sipma and his generosity to the nursing program and students. In the future, Nhan would like to be an ER nurse for a few years before working as a travel nurse. During that time, he plans to also practice his growing skills in illustration/animation and become fluent in Spanish.
Scholar: Puyeh Panahi
Year Awarded: 2020
Working towards degree: Bachelor of Science in Nursing
About Scholarship Recipient: Puyeh was born in Copenhagen, Denmark where her parents had sought refuge after leaving Iran. At four years old, she and her family began a new journey when they moved to California.
Prior to deciding on a future career in healthcare, Puyeh had planned to apply to law school. However, after working in a law firm she realized her passion was elsewhere. She said walking away from law was difficult, but she reminded herself that it was not failure, rather a detour to a better suited destination. She is now in her fourth semester of the accelerated nursing program at CSUN.
Receiving the scholarship means less of a financial burden for Puyeh and it has afforded her the opportunity to volunteer her time helping individuals in low socioeconomic areas. She can now invest that time in volunteering herself which in turn will be re-invested into her community.
Scholar: Chaya Perlman
Year Awarded: 2020
Working towards degree: Bachelor of Science in Nursing
Scholar: Jessica Poff
Year Awarded: 2020
Working towards degree: Bachelor of Science in Nursing
Scholar: Mitzy Sanchez-Hernandez
Year Awarded: 2020
Working towards degree: Bachelor of Science in Nursing
Scholar: Samuel Sherry
Year Awarded: 2020
Working towards degree: Bachelor of Science in Nursing
Scholar: Monica Tamayo Villa
Year Awarded: 2020
Working towards degree: Bachelor of Science in Nursing
About Scholarship Recipient: Monica is a first-generation college student; both of her parents were born and raised in Michoacán, Mexico. She grew up in Moorpark, California and has two younger siblings that both look up to her.
Monica completed her degree in health sciences and had known she wanted to attend CSUN’s nursing program when she was working towards her general education at Moorpark Community College. She was thankful to be accepted to CSUN’s competitive accelerated program.
The Nursing Scholarship is a financial relief to Monica who is supporting her own tuition through loans while she completes the rigorous nursing program that leaves little time to work outside of schooling. The scholarship has allowed her some peace of mind to focus on her studies. In the future, she hopes to grow in the nursing field by obtaining a master’s degree in nursing leadership. During her clinicals, she has enjoyed working in the different specialties that nursing has to offer, so she does not have a specific area of focus thus far. However, she does hope to help those with a Spanish language barrier in whichever area of expertise she pursues.
About the scholarship: The Nursing Scholarship is made possible due to a generous contribution from friend of the university, Dale Sipma. Mr. Sipma sees the importance of nurses and therefore donated scholarships to students studying in the Nursing program at CSUN.
