Eurina Cha, director of the Patricia A. Chin School of Nursing in Cal State LA’s Rongxiang Xu College of Health and Human Services, has received the 2026 National League for Nursing (NLN) Cecelia Lou Vriheas Scholarship Award.
Administered by the NLN Foundation for Nursing Education, the competitive $6,000 national scholarship is presented to a nurse pursuing an advanced degree in nursing education who is the first in their family to pursue higher education and belongs to a historically marginalized or excluded community.
“I am deeply honored and grateful to receive this prestigious national recognition,” Cha said. “As a first-generation immigrant from Korea and the first person in my family to pursue higher education, this award holds special meaning for me. My journey has been shaped by resilience, perseverance, and a passion for serving others.”
Cha is a member of the inaugural Doctor of Nursing Practice cohort at Cal State LA, where she is pursuing her second doctoral degree. Her doctoral project focuses on developing a Structured Leader-to-Leader Mentoring Model designed to strengthen mentorship, succession planning, and workforce sustainability for nurse educators and academic leaders.
Cha’s professional journey includes nearly 30 years of bedside patient-care experience across diverse healthcare settings in several states. For the past 14 years, she has also served as an educator and academic administrator in higher education.
Before joining Cal State LA, she was a founding faculty member who helped develop a new Bachelor of Science in Nursing program and served as the principal leader in developing and launching a Bachelor of Science in Community and Public Health degree program at Chaminade University of Honolulu in Hawaii.
Throughout her academic career, Cha has developed and led numerous nursing education and workforce initiatives within California and across multiple states, including projects funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration. She has also established international collaborations to advance nursing education, global health, and professional development.
Cha serves as the inaugural Luce and Ernst Endowed Nursing Director, a leadership position established through a $1.3 million endowed gift to Cal State LA. In this role, she leads initiatives to advance nursing education, promote health equity, strengthen workforce development, and support first-generation and historically underrepresented students.
The Cecelia Lou Vriheas Scholarship is Cha’s second scholarship from the NLN Foundation for Nursing Education. In 2018, she received the NLN Foundation for Nursing Education Scholarship Award in recognition of her commitment to nursing education and professional development.
“Receiving a second scholarship from the NLN Foundation is especially meaningful,” Cha said. “I am grateful for the foundation’s continued investment in my professional growth and my commitment to nursing education. I hope my journey encourages students and future nurse leaders to persevere, embrace their potential, and use their education to create meaningful change.”
A Los Angeles resident, Cha will be formally recognized with other scholarship recipients at the 2026 NLN Education Summit, scheduled for Sept. 23-25 in Washington, D.C.
The NLN Foundation awarded more than $143,000 in scholarship funding to 23 graduate nursing students nationwide in 2026. The scholarships support nurses pursuing advanced degrees as they prepare for careers in nursing education.
Cha said she looks forward to continuing her work to advance nursing education, mentor future nurse leaders, promote health equity, and develop sustainable leadership models that strengthen the nursing profession.
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California State University, Los Angeles is the premier comprehensive public university in the heart of Los Angeles. Cal State LA is ranked number one in the United States for the upward mobility of its students. Cal State LA is dedicated to engagement, service, and the public good, offering nationally recognized programs in science, the arts, business, criminal justice, engineering, nursing, education, and the humanities. Founded in 1947, the University serves more than 22,000 students and has more than 260,000 distinguished alumni.
