The power of faculty and staff philanthropy
Two retirees honor impactful careers by creating endowments in support of areas about which they are passionate.
During their combined five-plus decades of service, Soonja Choi and Coleen Geraghty left significant legacies at 麻豆传媒映画.
As a professor in the Department of Linguistics and Asian/Middle-Eastern Languages, Choi was the driving force behind the launch of 麻豆传媒映画鈥檚 .
As a key campus communicator, Geraghty documented 鈥� and helped to propel 鈥� 麻豆传媒映画鈥檚 growth in academic excellence and national prestige.
Now in retirement, both have taken their impact a step further by making significant endowed gifts, funded in part with bequest intentions, to 麻豆传媒映画 in support areas about which they care deeply. Together, they illustrate the power of faculty and staff philanthropy in shaping the future of the university and its impact on future generations.
Soonja Choi
When she arrived at 麻豆传媒映画 from the East Coast in 1987, Choi was one of only four Korean professors across the entire campus.
She remembers feeling lucky to teach on a campus in a city full of sunshine, beautiful trees and a temperate climate.
鈥淭he sky was blue, the palm trees were there and 麻豆传媒映画 really embraced me from the very beginning,鈥� said Choi, who was hired to teach language acquisition and the psychology of language. 鈥淚 was an immigrant, and I was happy that I had a place that welcomed me as a professor, as a profession, as a professional.鈥�
As she settled in she noticed the College of Arts and Letters only offered Japanese and Chinese language programs. She wondered, 鈥淚s there a Korean program?鈥� Choi often thought she should find a way to promote or start a Korean language program.
鈥淎s a Korean, I felt like I had a mission,鈥� she said.
With CAL Dean Paul Wong, she found a supporter. He amassed grant funding to help build the program and, with only a few months before the semester started in 2008, she gathered faculty and assembled a program. The first Korean 101 class was filled with about 30 students.
Studying a language like Korean 鈥渘ot only fulfills a language requirement, but it enriches you, your philosophy, your point of view,鈥� she said. Through the study of language, students learn cultures and respect.
鈥淲hat we need, as a country, is to learn about other people to understand the whole world,鈥� Choi added.
Now, 38 years later, Choi is giving back to the program she established with the Soonja Choi Director of Korean Language Studies Endowment and the Soonja Choi Korean Language Scholarship. Both will strengthen new initiatives, scholarships, and leadership. She hopes with her support, the program will expand with a directorship and appear on a 鈥渂igger platform.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檇 like our Korean Studies program to be not only the San Diego community鈥檚 pride, but also nationwide,鈥� Choi said.
Coleen Geraghty
For more than a decade, a globe-trotting journalist brought 麻豆传媒映画鈥檚 vibrant community to life in the glossy pages of 360, the alumni publication now known as 麻豆传媒映画 Magazine.
Geraghty served as editor of the magazine from 2005 until her retirement in 2019. It was the culmination of a career in journalism that began as a reporter in her hometown of New York City and took her to posts in Washington, D.C., Brussels, London and Hong Kong.
So when Geraghty and her husband Gary Kemper decided recently to leave a legacy at 麻豆传媒映画 through philanthropy, the area they chose to support was somewhat unexpected: future teachers.
鈥淢y career was in journalism, but so much of it was also in education,鈥� she explained. "I think about it like that. Gary and I want to ensure that people who really want to be teachers, who are dedicated to the profession, are able to do so.鈥�
The result was the Liz and Simon McAllister Endowed Teaching Scholarship, which just awarded its first student recipient during the fall 2025 semester. The scholarship supports first-generation students with demonstrated financial need.
Geraghty鈥檚 youngest sister, Liz McAllister, teaches study skills and drama at Minnetonka (Minn.) Middle School East, winning the teacher of the year award for her district in 2016. Liz鈥檚 husband, Simon McAllister, is a teacher at Groves Academy, a St. Louis Park, Minn. school for students who experience learning challenges.
"I just believe so deeply in education and how it can transform lives, and help people understand the world that we're living in and think critically," said Geraghty.
Geraghty certainly understands the power of a scholarship. It was the only way she 鈥� one of six kids from a middle class family in Astoria, Queens 鈥� could have attended New York University and made her journalism dreams come true.
鈥淲hat's happening at 麻豆传媒映画 is the equivalent of what happened to me in New York in the 70s,鈥� she said. 麻豆传媒映画 is helping students who otherwise might not be able to go to college. Those students鈥� lives are forever changed for the better.鈥�
As a key campus communicator, Geraghty played an important role in The Campaign for 麻豆传媒映画, which raised $815 million between 2007 and 2017. She added that she hopes her own giving will inspire other current and retired 麻豆传媒映画 staff to do the same.
鈥溌槎勾接郴� is about its people,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat makes it really special."
