WSMA Foundation Awards First Future Physician Scholarship to Washington Medical Student
The WSMA Foundation for Health Care Improvement is pleased to announce the first recipient of its WSMA Future Physician Scholarship, a four-year scholarship to a student from an underrepresented background to attend the Washington State University Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine-a gift of education made possible by the generous donations of many in the physician community.
Isabela Lydston, from Fall City, Washington, was selected from the scholarship applicant group after meeting the scholarship eligibility criteria, among them either having a high level of financial need or overcoming adversity and being a first-generation medical student who plans to practice in Washington state.
Isabela’s interest in medicine was originally inspired by her mother, a physician assistant in emergency medicine. As a health scholar volunteer at a local medical center, she was often the only Spanish speaker on the floor and frequently stepped in to translate between patients and staff. Through this experience, she realized that language and representation can be powerful instruments in advancing more equitable and trusting care.
Isabela went on to earn her certified nursing assistant license and work in a skilled nursing facility before she decided to further improve her understanding of the health care system by pursuing a graduate degree in public health. During her studies, she developed a passion for exploring health outcomes through the lens of the social and structural contexts that shape them and launched a research project examining how environmental stressors, such as financial burden, predict mental health symptom burden in health care workers.
About the Future Physician Scholarship and the Scholarship and Diversity Advancement Fund
The Future Physician Scholarship is funded by the WSMA Foundation’s Scholarship and Diversity Advancement Endowment, launched in 2023. In 2025, after reaching a fundraising goal of $1.5 million, the foundation’s board of directors voted to award its first-ever four-year Future Physician Scholarship-$40,000 per year, totaling $160,000-to a class of 2030 medical student at the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine.
Ultimately, the endowment seeks to fund a four-year scholarship at all three Washington state medical schools and a mentorship program for the students.
To learn more about the Scholarship and Diversity Advancement Fund and the Future Physician Scholarship and to donate, visit foundation.wsma.org/donate-scholarship/.