When Nashville, Tennessee native Camille Bryan ’20 first visited the LMU campus with her father, he remarked that it felt like a “movie set.” After her visit, coupled with the intrigue of LMU’s new International Relations program, Camille had made up her mind: She was coming to LMU — little did she know it would be a life-changing experience.
Bryan attended LMU on a generous merit scholarship and made the most of her four years, meeting amazing friends, and getting involved in the ski club, a sorority, and ASLMU. When she graduated with honors, Louise and John decided to do something truly special — they established a scholarship and asked Camille to determine the criteria.
“My parents always talked about the importance of giving back to the communities, schools, people, and organizations that helped you grow,” said Bryan. “They’re putting a lot of trust in me to decide which student is going to get this funding and be able to go to LMU. When my parents said they wanted to start a scholarship, I figured it should go to students in my major, and encourage people who didn’t have the support that I had.”
When it came time to name the scholarship, Camille had one name in mind: The Bianca Red Arrow Memorial Scholarship.
“Bianca was in my very first International Relations class and we quickly became close friends,” said Bryan. “We would meet outside my dorm and walk over to class every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. She died suddenly at the beginning of our sophomore year. The fact that this scholarship will exist in infinity with Bianca’s name on it was important to me.”
Louise Bryan added, “We never thought much about the name at all, so when Camille came back and told us the name, it showed us a kind of maturity that we always knew was there.”
Although Bryan’s senior year was cut short due to COVID-19, she looks back at her experience with a fondness as well as excitement for the upcoming commencement ceremony.
“This scholarship is such a testament to the friendships that LMU creates; the kind of people that LMU attracts,” said Bryan. “Everyone loved LMU with every atom in their body and talked about how lucky we were to be at LMU, live on the bluff and be in L.A., and get a great education. I made the greatest friendships ever and I’m so grateful to LMU for making that happen.”
“We didn’t know anything about LMU when Camille said this was the college she wanted to look at,” said John Bryan. “It meant a lot that LMU took great care of her, and now she’s helping take care of the school.”
For more information about establishing a scholarship, contact Dan Montoya, Executive Director, Major Gifts, at 310.338.1796. To support LMU scholarships, visit the giving website.
