Endowed Scholarships

Long-time USC philanthropist and Swim With Mike Foundation friend Herb Nootbaar generously established an endowment fund for our Physically Challenged Athletes Scholarship Fund. Herb’s endowment will greatly strengthen the future of the Swim With Mike Foundation as the funds are invested in perpetuity and only annual interest is spent from the account.

The Marilyn Mikos Endowed Scholarship will guarantee one of our scholarships in perpetuity and will ensure that her family will continue to support the Physically Challenged Athletes Fund for years to come.

The Mayer-Leahy Scholarship Endowment was established by a gift of $250,000. All income generated from this endowment funds a Swim With Mike Foundation Scholarship for a deserving physically challenged recipient pursuing an undergraduate, graduate, or professional degree.

Long-time Swim With Mike Foundation friend Patsy Dewey and her family endowed a scholarship to support physically challenged athletes in perpetuity. Patsy is well-known as a generous benefactor at USC for her support of the USC Athletics program and USC Libraries.

Swim With Mike Foundation scholarship alumni Amir Ekbatani (USC MBA '16) generously established an endowed scholarship intended to help other physically challenged athletes as he was helped by the Physically Challenged Athletes Scholarship Fund. This gracious act of paying it forward will ensure that this scholarship will endure in perpetuity and that one of the Swim With Mike Foundation's highly qualified scholarship recipients will be awarded this honor on an annual basis. In 2024 the scholarship was reimagined and is given to a Paralympian who attends USC or UCLA.

The David Van Wagener Family and Friends Endowed Scholarship has been created by Vandy and Betty Van Wagener in honor of their son, David, a Swim With Mike Foundation scholarship recipient who received his doctorate from the University of Texas in 2011 and his Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Bucknell University in 2006. He has been working as a chemical engineer since then. His current role is Energy Systems Engineer at the Gas Technology Institute where he develops differential gas protocols to certify natural gas production low-methane emissions.The generous Van Wagener Endowed Scholarship gift will provide scholarships to physically challenged student-athletes to further their educational endeavors in higher learning institutions, and continues the long-time Swim With Mike Foundation dedication of Betty and Vandy.

In recognition of Bruce receiving the Swim With Mike Foundation Claire Snow Service Award in 2018, the Furniss family established The Furniss Family and Friends Endowed Scholarship. The Furniss brothers: Bruce (USC '79), Chip (USC '73), Steve (USC '76), and Craig (USC '81) well exceeded their goal of providing scholarship funding for physically challenged student athletes. Bruce continues to serve the Swim With Mike Foundation as Chair of the Planned Giving Committee and as a member of the Scholarship Council.

This endowment was established in the memory of Jennifer Walsh who was a recipient of Swim With Mike in 1993. In 1994 Jennifer lost her battle with Osteosarcoma, an aggressive bone cancer. Jennifer’s family began this endowment in 1994 and each year contributors have the opportunity to donate to the Walsh Endowment.

Swim With Mike Foundation alumni scholarship recipient Daryl Holmlund's family has generously established an endowed scholarship to honor Daryl who graduated with a Master of Arts in Teaching from USC. This compassionate family affair was initiated with a gift from Daryl's grandmother, Margaret Johnson. She was readily joined by the rest of her family: her four children and their spouses, and 16 great-grandchildren. The Holmlund-Johnson-Ebner family has been part of the Swim With Mike Family since Daryl became a USC Rossier School of Education student in 2010. Daryl now teaches at Long Beach Poly High School and actively supports the foundation as a member of the Swim With Mike Foundation Board of Directors.

This endowment was established in 2011 when Karin Larson generously contributed $500,000. At the time, her gift was the largest single donation in the history of the Physically Challenged Athletes Scholarship Fund. This gift established an endowment for the Swim With Mike Foundation Executive Director position in perpetuity.

Mara was a co-founder of the Swim With Mike Physically Challenged Athletes Scholarship fund in 1981 and has organized every Swim With Mike event held at USC for over 40 years. In addition to her loyal volunteer work, she has now created an endowed scholarship which will be awarded to a deserving, qualified student in perpetuity. Mara continues to serve the Swim With Mike Foundation as the event coordinator for the annual celebration and as a member of the Scholarship Council.

The scholarship was established in honor of Shawna Hunter by her family including sister Mara Hunter Redden, brother John Hunter, and beloved husband Brad Hunt. The Swim With Mike Foundation held a special place in Shawna’s heart and she truly supported the mission and life-changing impact that the Physically Challenged Athletes Scholarship Fund has provided to so many deserving young students. Shawna's spirit of giving lives on through this endowed scholarship.

Swim With Mike Foundation recipient alumni Nate Higgins (MS, Human Resources/Labor Relations, Capella University '13 and MBA, USC '15) represents the foundation in the Pacific Northwest. He is currently a real estate investor and works for the Small Business Administration. Nate recently helped a friend of his, Lee Sukraw, sell his farm in the Klamath Falls Area of Southern Oregon. Upon the closing of the real estate transaction, Lee chose to endow a Swim With Mike Foundation scholarship. The Sukraw Endowment Fund was created and will support a Swim With Mike endowed scholarship recipient in perpetuity.

This endowed scholarship was established in 2013 when Yvonne Bogdanovich generously contributed $250,000 to guarantee a Swim With Mike Foundation scholarship in perpetuity. Yvonne’s generous gift will go far in ensuring that her family will continue to support physically challenged athletes for generations to come.

Kerri and Fred Uytengsu have established the Uytengsu Family Endowment Fund. This generous gift will provide scholarships to physically challenged student athletes to further their educational endeavors in higher learning institutions in perpetuity. Fred has been involved with the Swim With Mike Foundation since the first event, Swim For Mike, was held in 1981. In 2014, Fred donated $8 million to help renovate the McDonald's Olympic Swim Stadium, now named the Uytengsu Aquatics Center at USC. The Uytengsu Aquatics Center hosts the annual Swim With Mike event held every April. Fred continues to serve the Swim With Mike Foundation as a member of the Scholarship Council and as Liaison to USC.

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Will and Linda Gassett made a generous gift of $100,000 to establish the Swim With Mike Foundation Operating Endowment. The income from this endowment is used for the operations of the foundation.

The Rosemary Kraemer Raitt Foundation Trustees Cheryl Hammond and John Kraemer have made three generous gifts to the Swim With Mike Physically Challenged Athletes Scholarship Fund by establishing three endowed scholarships which will provide funds in perpetuity to three of our highly qualified scholarship recipients. Each year, we will have three Rosemary Kraemer Raitt scholars representing the Foundation.