Koehn and Lee earn Cather honors

Marilyn Koehn of Santa Rosa, Calif., and Michelle Lee, University of Nebraska-Lincoln senior from Lincoln, are the recipients of the Cather Circle Alumna of the Year and Collegian of the Year awards. The awards were announced at the spring meeting of Cather Circle, March 26 in Lincoln, and will be presented May 8 at the All-University Celebration and Salute to Alumni Achievement at the Nebraska Champions Club.

Dr. Koehn was one of the original members of Cather Circle, founded in 1999 by the Nebraska Alumni Association as a mentoring network for alumnae and women students at UNL. She served on the executive committee and helped broaden the group's goal of mentoring collegiate members as well as alumnae. As a member of the circle's recognition committee, she was the inspiration behind the awards program; and as a member of the program committee, she organized programs, led workshops, served on panels and explored campus sites for Cather activities. A dermatologist, Koehn was in the forefront of the wave of women entering medical school in the 1960s. She earned a BFA degree from the University of Nebraska in 1960 and an M.D. from the University of Nebraska Medical Center in 1968. She and her husband, Robert, are part owners of Mount Eden vineyards.

Lee is a three-year member of Cather Circle and a 2008 recipient of a Cather Circle Internship Scholarship, which she used to intern with Sen. Chuck Hagel in Washington, D.C. Lee also has interned at Nebraska Appleseed for Law in the Public Interest and has worked as a program assistant for the University Honors Program, a resident assistant, a tutor for the Athletic Department, and a high school speech/debate judge. She has been a Campus Campaign Coordinator for Teach for America and has served in leadership roles for Panhellenic Executive Council, Honors Program Peer Mentor Leaders and ASUN Student Government. She has also taken part in two international service projects.

Reservations for the All-University Celebration and Salute to Alumni Achievement may be made by calling the Nebraska Alumni Association, (888) 353-1874 or (402) 472-4217. The cost is $35 per person and the deadline for registrations is May 1.