The Coronado Junior Woman’s Club (CJWC) awarded their 2024 Marilyn Foster Scholarships to Coronado High School’s recently graduated seniors Chloe Von Koehe, Susanna Pate and Lucia Kenny.
Started 15 years ago, the Marilyn Foster Scholarship honors the legacy of former CJWC member Marilyn Foster. Known for her steadfast dedication to serving the Coronado community, Foster was most recognized for her involvement as a military spouse, her award-winning gardening and her contributions to the CJWC.
Scholarship to go toward college studies
The CJWC is a local nonprofit aimed at giving back to organizations and groups that support women and children. Their mission is to unite women to enhance the spirit of Coronado through civic, philanthropic and educational services.
Their Marilyn Foster Scholarship awards $2000 to graduating high school women each year to go toward their college studies.
“We look for recipients who are good representatives of young women from the Coronado community who are going to go out and continue to give back through the degree they’re pursuing and their future plans,” said CJWC President Cory Stege.
This year’s recipients
Von Koehe, Pate and Kenny stood out as those young women for the 2024 scholarship.
During Von Koehe’s time at CHS, she was involved in varsity sideline cheer, varsity competition cheer, the National Honor Society, Days for Girls and Leo Club. She will be attending San Diego City College next fall to pursue a career as a long-term care nurse. Inspired by her grandmother, Von Koehe hopes to ease the nursing home job crisis, advocate for patients, improve daily living through personalized and compassionate care and maintain open communication with the families of her patients.
Pate will be attending Cornell University where she will be studying biological life sciences, with plans to go on to medical school to become an orthopedic surgeon. While at CHS, she was the vice president of the associated student body, a member of the National Honor Society, Islander Advisory, an Islander Sports Foundation student representative and the captain of the varsity softball and varsity basketball team.
Her various injuries she endured as an athlete inspired her to pursue research in the medical field.
“I hope to contribute to Coronado and the general San Diego community by helping student athletes get back on their feet and doing what they love after injuries, just as the surgeons helped me return to softball,” said Pate.
Kenny will be attending the University of Utah in the fall. A member of the waterpolo and softball teams, Student to Student club, the National Honor Society and the associated student body, Kenny’s story of finding sports as a stabilizing factor throughout her multiple moves as a military child stood out to the women of CJWC. Her hope is to inspire other women in the future to find similar outlets.
“While I plan to use the college experience to refine my career path, I want to teach others the importance of adapting and overcoming life’s events just as I have done time and again,” said Kenny.
Invested into future generations of women
The funds for the three $2000 scholarships were raised from fundraising events throughout the year, such as Taste of Coronado and Double Served, as well as from private donors.
The CJWC plans to continue the Marilyn Foster Scholarship, giving back to the future generations of women in Coronado.
“It’s really rewarding to see how we can support young women working toward their goals,” said Stege. “We hope to continue to pass on year after year to these women because that’s what Marilyn Foster would want.”
