CSUN Water Polo's Kate Cornejo Receives CalHOPE Courage Award

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Water Polo's senior Kate Cornejo has been selected as a recipient of the CalHOPE Courage Award for March 2025.

Presented monthly since February 2022, the CalHOPE Courage Award honors student-athletes at California colleges and universities who have overcome stress, anxiety and mental trauma associated with personal hardships and adversity. In addition to the recognition, a donation will be made on behalf of all honorees to support on-campus mental health services.
Kate Cornejo 2025 CalHope Courage Award

Here's a closer look at Cornejo's inspiring story:

Kate's path has been nothing short of extraordinary. After the devastating loss of her father during her freshman year, she faced the difficult decision of taking a step away from school and the sport that she loves. Now, she is back in the pool as a top performer for the Matadors and will be graduating in the spring with a degree in public health. She hopes to become a nurse.

Kate's father battled cancer for more than a year before passing away in March 2022, Kate's freshman year at CSUN. During this extremely strenuous time, she made countless trips from campus to San Diego—more than 100 miles each way—balancing school, water polo, and the need to be by her father's side. After taking a week off after his passing, she returned to the pool for the Matadors and continued to be a prominent member of the team for the remainder of the season. A month later, Kate was faced with the daunting decision of taking a step away from school to be with her family.

After processing her father's passing, she sought help from her counseling center, friends, and, most importantly, her family. Over the past four seasons, she played 85 games contributing to CSUN's success as a nationally ranked program. She also excelled academically, earning Big West All-Academic honors and completing her public health degree in three and a half years. Kate attributes part of her healing to the support she received from the CSUN counseling service, where she met with a counselor once a week for the duration of her sophomore year. This gave her the tools she needed to continue healing on her own.

"I learned to prioritize my mental health which helped me regain my strength during this difficult period of my life," said Kate.

ABOUT CalHOPE
CalHOPE is a multi-level campaign run by DHCS to connect people with vital mental health and wellness resources and information to help them navigate during times of crisis. CalHOPE offers critical behavioral health crisis counseling programs and uses a public health approach that is focused on strength-based strategies for building resiliency and connecting people to the support they need. CalHOPE partners with the California Governor's Advisory Council on Physical Fitness and Mental Well-Being to promote the CalHOPE Courage Award. CalHOPE resources may be accessed by calling the program's warm line at (833) 317-HOPE (4673), accessing the live chatfeature, or visiting www.calhope.org.

College Sports Communicators: The College Sports Communicators is a 3,600-plus member national organization, comprised of the athletic communications, media relations, digital, and creative professionals throughout all levels of collegiate athletics in the United States and Canada. Founded in 1957, the organization is the second oldest management association in intercollegiate athletics. The organization's signature program is the Academic All-America program, honoring thousands of outstanding scholar-athletes annually. To learn more, visit collegesportscommunicators.com.

The Associated Press (AP): The AP is the essential global news network, delivering fast, unbiased news from every corner of the world to all media platforms and formats. Founded in 1846, The AP is the most trusted source of independent news and information. On any given day, more than half the world's population sees news from The AP. For more information, visit www.ap.org.

PAST CSUN CALHOPE COURAGE AWARD RECIPIENTS
Yuliia Zhytelna, Women's Tennis (2023)
Nathan Merren, Men's Volleyball (2023)

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CSUN Water Polo's Kate Cornejo Receives CalHOPE Courage Award

Players Mentioned

Kate Cornejo

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