The History Department is thrilled to announce the winner of the annual Siobhan O’Neill Memorial Scholarship: Brianna-Isabella Aispuro.
The scholarship was established in 2019 by Pat O'Neill (Rachel Carson College '74, Philosophy), in memory of her sister Siobhan O'Neill. After studying history at UC Santa Cruz, Siobhan was offered a job at the City of Santa Cruz, and city government became her career. She was also a devotee of Santa Cruz area artists. In tribute to her life and interests, the scholarship supports History majors with interests in art or government. O’Neill’s family hopes that each person who is granted this scholarship is inspired and can imagine and create the life they have envisioned.
Brianna-Isabella Aispuro is currently majoring in History and minoring in the History of Art and Visual Culture. After graduating from UC Santa Cruz in 2024, she plans to pursue a Master’s in Museum Studies, with a goal of working in curation or archival duties. “I want to combine the skills I will learn from this major with the visual analysis skills I build in the HAVC minor to build a well-rounded array of skills for my future professional work,” says Aispuro. “My hope after graduation is that with my interest in the visual aspects of history, I can contribute to the accurate telling of cultural narratives that have been erased from the history books.”
Aispuro’s interests and goals exemplify the purpose of the O’Neill Scholarship. In her own words, “I strongly believe that historians have a moral responsibility to tell the truthful and detailed history of people[s] who suffered so much at the hands of erased history. During my stay at UC Santa Cruz . . . I hope to build hard skills in academic and historical writing that enable me to contribute to arguments and discussions that provide new perspectives.”
Congratulations to Brianna-Isabella on her many accomplishments! The History Department wishes her nothing but the best in her future endeavors beyond UC Santa Cruz.