Colleen Rose Chow Memorial Scholarship

It was 1974, and a beautiful, professionally dressed young woman was on her way to her job with the Internal Revenue Service in Southern California. In addition to her beauty and intellect, she was equipped with a business administration degree from California Lutheran College. Of Chinese heritage, she grew up in Toluca Lake with three younger brothers in a family that was both highly regarded and very involved with their local American Lutheran Church. The young woman’s name was Colleen Rose Chow ’72.

On that fateful morning Colleen stepped off the curb toward her office across the street. It is not clear whether she was in the crosswalk when she was struck by an oncoming car. The driver did not stop, and in an instant Colleen’s incredibly bright future was extinguished. But her legacy was not.

Dr. Mark Mathews, president of CLC, responded immediately to the situation. He identified with this recent graduate because his own doctorate had been in business administration. In discussion with Colleen’s parents, Clement and Barbara Joe Chow, the decision was made to establish a scholarship fund to receive the memorial gifts that would arrive following her death. And arrive they did, from the family’s circle of friends and neighbors, from the college community and from the church.

Colleen’s father was associated with Prudential Life Insurance Company, a company with an exceptional matching gift program. In very little time, the scholarship fund reached the level required for endowment. Colleen’s parents attached one stipulation to the scholarship agreement with CLU: the fund was to function as a scholarship endowment for 50 years, after which time the principal may be used in any manner the institution wished. That 50-year period will expire in 2024.

In establishing guidelines for the Colleen Rose Chow Memorial Scholarship, her parents chose to designate her scholarship for a strong upper-division business major who needs financial assistance in order to complete his/her education. That description seems to match what Colleen might have wanted for the scholarship bearing her name.