Deborah Chacon Memorial Scholarship

No one knows just what caused Debbie Chacon to pull out in her red Datsun onto Balcom Canyon Road in front of a semi tractor pulling a dump trailer on that bright sunny day in September 1987. And no one will ever know. Perhaps the sunshine blinded her from seeing how close the tractor was. Or perhaps it was her eagerness to return to campus for her sophomore year. Maybe her car was too loaded for her to see clearly or she thought the tractor was going so slowly that she had time to get in front of it. Whatever the cause, Debbie Chacon lost her life that day, and her lifelong dream of becoming a teacher died with her. She was just 18.

As tragic as her death was, Deborah Chacon’s legacy is positive. An honors graduate of Royal High School in Simi Valley, she came to CLU full of energy and excitement. She knew what she wanted—a good education that would shape her into a quality teacher. Debbie made and kept friends easily and had a great experience living in a dorm her freshman year. She could hardly wait to return as a sophomore. And so, after the Labor Day weekend she headed back to the CLU campus.

Debbie was dearly loved by her family and many friends for her positive attitude, happiness and perseverance. After her death her family immediately established a scholarship fund at CLU for the memorial gifts that came pouring in. The family determined that the recipient of the Deborah Chacon Memorial Scholarship should be similar to Debbie—a female student (whenever possible) pursuing an education major and who, most importantly, is living in a dorm on campus.

The story does not end here. More than 15 years after this tragedy, Debbie’s stepmother became a CLU student, earning her teaching credential in 2006 and fulfilling Debbie’s dream of teaching at the elementary level.