Former UC Davis softball athlete awarded inaugural $15,000 scholarship
Bella Pahulu, class of 2024, was the first recipient of the Sorarya Foundation Scholarship
By VINCE BASADA — sports@theaggie.org
Student athletes are often tasked with juggling difficult schedules crammed with exercises and practice on top of the normal workload that comes with college life. Planning for the future can sometimes become an afterthought, but a new scholarship hopes to support star athletes and achievers after graduation.
Late last school year, former UC Davis softball athlete Isabella Pahulu became the first recipient of the Soraya Foundation Scholarship, which included a one-time grant of $15,000 to help support her in her post-graduation life.
“No matter what could be going on in your day, you know you’re going to see your teammates every single day,” Pahulu said of her time at Davis. “To have those people there with you throughout all the ups and downs was something that maybe I took for granted a little bit.”
Pahulu was the first Tongan softball player at UC Davis and graduated in 2024 with a degree in human development and a minor in public health science. Since then, she’s worked as a research assistant at the Stanford School of Medicine.
“Bella was a standout amongst standouts,” said Darya Kaboli-Nejad, founder of The Soraya Foundation. “We took a holistic view [of applicants], and she was amazing.”
Pahulu beat out applicants from across the country and was awarded the scholarship on campus in a surprise ceremony in front of her former teammates. She was brought back on the auspices of giving advice to the team, and Kaboli-Nejad flew out to meet her in person.
“It was really, really meaningful to have my coaches get that up with Darya, and it was really meaningful to receive it there at a field that I've spent so much time at, in front of the team as well,” Pahulu said.
The Soraya Foundation, and its corresponding scholarship, are named after Kaboli-Nejad’s mother, Azita Soraya, who helped imbue her with a love for sports. Kaboli-Nejad herself played softball as an undergraduate at the University of Oregon, and says that her experience showed her how difficult it can be to plan for the future while also being committed to one’s sports and studies.
She considered starting a scholarship for athletes still in college, but decided that those post-graduation who were learning to navigate life without the support of a team or an athletics department were underserved. On top of the $15,000, the scholarship provides recipients with a mentor, a year of individual post-athletics life coaching and financial advising and support.
“I want them to know that life does not end here,” Kaboli-Nejad said on building a life after athletics. “Life does not end here.”
Today, Kaboli-Nejad is an associate at the law firm Simpson Thacher and Bartlett. She says she “didn’t pick up a softball bat after I graduated” until joining a rec league a few months ago.
Kaboli-Nejad started the foundation in 2025, and says they are working on expanding the scope of the scholarship to hopefully have multiple recipients in future years. For now, the scholarship is limited to former student-athletes at Division I NCAA-accredited institutions. The application for the next cycle is expected to open in early 2027.
As for Pahulu, she’s recently had another big change in her life. This fall, she started studying at UC Los Angeles to pursue a master’s in health policy and management. She credits her time in athletics with helping her achieve her successes.
“It's a love-hate relationship, but it's definitely incredibly rewarding,” Pahulu said. “People should do things that are hard because you grow so much from it, and that was definitely hard. I'm just excited and very grateful to be able to receive that scholarship.”
More information on the Soraya Foundation can be found on their website, www.thesorayafoundation.org.
Written by: Vince Basada — sports@theaggie.org