Daire To Make Him Known Scholarship

Scholarship Criteria: This is an annually funded scholarship. Eligible student recipients must be full-time students pursuing an Intercultural Studies major.

Scholarship Story:

More than 30 years after graduating from the University of Northwestern – St. Paul, Eithne (Daire) Shimasaki (Class of 1994) continues to find new ways to invest in the place that helped shape her life.

In April 2026, Eithne attended a campus event that brought scholarship donors and student recipients together over a meal. As she listened to stories of generosity and impact, she learned something she hadn’t known before: donors can create annually funded scholarships that immediately support students each year. The idea resonated with her right away. Before the event was over, Eithne sought out a member of Northwestern’s Advancement team to learn how she could establish a scholarship of her own. A few months later, she turned that vision into reality.

Timed to coincide with her birthday in July, Eithne created the Daire To Make Him Known Scholarship, an annually funded scholarship that supports full-time students pursuing a major in Intercultural Studies. The first recipient will receive support during the 2026-27 academic year.

For Eithne, the decision was deeply personal. “While I was a UNW student myself, someone else invested in me,” she said. Now, she wants to do the same for future generations.

Eithne understands firsthand how a Northwestern education can influence the direction of a person’s life. The generosity she experienced as a student helped prepare her for opportunities she never could have anticipated. Years later, that experience remains a powerful reminder of how God works through the faithfulness of others.

Rather than viewing her new scholarship as simply financial assistance, Eithne sees it as an opportunity to partner in a much larger mission. She explained that her desire is “to partner with UNW to equip students to influence the world we live in for God’s glory.” That vision shaped both the purpose and criteria of her scholarship.

By supporting Intercultural Studies students, Eithne hopes to encourage young men and women who feel called to serve beyond the boundaries of their own culture. Whether God leads them across the globe or to communities closer to home, she wants students to be prepared to build relationships, share Christ’s love, and make a lasting impact.

The scholarship’s name reflects the purpose behind it. While the scholarship carries Eithne’s maiden name, it also serves as a reminder of the mission she hopes to support. Reflecting on the scholarship support she received as a student, Eithne said, “God used it to take me out of my culture, not as a tourist or consumer, but as an ambassador.” That perspective continues to shape how she views ministry and Christian service today.

Eithne believes some of the most meaningful opportunities to share Christ happen when people are willing to step beyond what is familiar. It requires humility, curiosity, and a willingness to learn from others while remaining grounded in biblical truth. Her hope is that the scholarship will help students prepare for exactly that kind of calling.

“The Daire To Make Him Known Scholarship reinvests God-given gifts into the life of a UNW student with a heart to break down barriers and step beyond cultural boundaries,” she said.

For prospective students considering Intercultural Studies, Eithne’s story serves as a reminder that a willingness to follow God’s leading can open doors to unexpected opportunities. Sometimes that begins with a classroom experience, a conversation with a professor, a study abroad opportunity, or a calling that develops over time.

Eithne’s connection to Northwestern has remained strong through the years, and that connection deepened when her son, Haru, graduated from UNW in 2020.

Now, through the Daire To Make Him Known Scholarship, her influence will continue in a new way. Each year, the scholarship will help equip an Intercultural Studies student to pursue a Northwestern education and prepare for a life of service.

More importantly, it represents the continuation of a cycle that began decades ago when someone invested in Eithne. Today, she is creating opportunities for another student to follow God’s calling. Her prayer is that the scholarship’s impact will extend far beyond a student’s years on campus. “May it be used to prepare this student, upheld in prayer, to make an impact for Him, relationship by relationship.”

Eithne knows that changing the world rarely happens all at once. More often, it happens through faithful people serving wherever God calls them, one conversation and one relationship at a time. “We take the Light with us,” she said, “His Glory in jars of clay.” For the students who will be supported through the Daire To Make Him Known Scholarship, that light will be carried forward for years to come.

The following is the full quote that Eithne wrote outlining the purpose of this annually funded scholarship:

“To partner with UNW to equip students to influence the world we live in for God’s glory. While I was a UNW student myself, someone else invested in me. God used it to take me out of my culture, not as a tourist or consumer, but as an ambassador. The Daire To Make Him Known Scholarship re-invests God-given gifts into the life of a UNW student with a heart to break down barriers and step beyond cultural boundaries. May it be used to prepare this student, upheld in prayer, to make an impact for Him, relationship by relationship. We take the Light with us, His Glory in jars of clay.”