Katie Schumacher-Cawley gained national and international attention in 2025 when she won the Jimmy V Award for courage and determination at the ESPY Awards show.
The Mother McAuley graduate from the Class of 1997 is receiving an award on March 12 that won’t be quite as big, but she loves it all the same.
Schumacher-Cawley will be honored with the Catherine McAuley Leadership Award during her alma mater’s Celebration gala at the Union League Club in Chicago,
“I’m totally humbled and it’s amazing,” she said of the award. “It’s really cool even though there are so many deserving people for this award. I’m so grateful. It’s really nice.”
Schumacher-Cawley was a standout student and athlete who was a top volleyball and basketball player at the school, which is why the award means so much to her.
“I received an amazing education, but I also made lifelong friends,” she said. “Going to a school like that gives you confidence and that’s something that I will always take with me.
“I have a lot of family members who went there and to be a part of that community and family forever is really special.”
She played basketball and volleyball at Penn State and became the Nittany Lions’ head coach in 2022.
In 2024, she experienced the highs and lows of what life can bring. She became the first female head coach in NCAA Division I history to win a national championship all while battling breast cancer.
Though Schumacher-Cawley had bad days while going through chemotherapy treatment, she never took a leave from the program.
“I never wanted to miss practice,” she said. “I’m not one to sit on the couch. I would rather be active. I enjoy what I’m doing and being around my staff and players.
“I never once wanted to take a leave or anything like that. Watching the team compete was when I felt my best.”
Schumacher-Cawley finished up the chemotherapy in February 2025 but continued to receive treatments.
During an interview with Southwest Regional Publishing on March 4, she was driving home from visiting her doctors in Philadelphia and the worst seems to be over.
“I’m feeling good,” Schumacher-Cawley said. “I had my final surgery in February. I’m done with all my treatments, and I’ll have a scan in March and hopefully that will be the end of all of this craziness.
“It’s been quite the journey, I will say that. I’m definitely on the other side of it now.”