The Katherine Delmar Burke School Distinguished Alumna Award is given each year to an alumna who embodies the values at the heart of the school’s mission to educate, encourage, and empower girls. The recipient exemplifies a life of learning, service to community, individuality, and the ability to make a difference in the world.
Distinguished Alumna: Eileen Gu ’17
Eileen Gu is an exceptional talent in the world of freestyle skiing and a trailblazer for aspiring athletes. With a dual American and Chinese heritage, she has bridged cultures and broken barriers through her performances on the slopes and beyond.
At the age of eight, Eileen Gu began skiing and quickly developed a passion for freestyle skiing. She rose to prominence on the international stage in the 2020-2021 season when she claimed her first World Cup victory in a halfpipe event in Calgary, Canada. Her meteoric success continued as she dominated the freestyle skiing circuit, accumulating several World Cup titles and a gold medal at the 2021 FIS Freestyle Ski World Championships in Aspen, Colorado. Eileen's groundbreaking performances at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing solidified her status as a global sensation. She won three medals, including two golds in the halfpipe and big air events, and a silver in slopestyle, making her the first freestyle skier to achieve such a feat in a single Olympic Game.
Apart from her athletic achievements, Eileen is an outspoken advocate for cultural exchange and understanding. With a modeling career that has seen her grace the covers of prestigious magazines, she has become a symbol of diversity and breaking barriers. In addition to competing in freestyle events around the world and serving as a spokesperson for international brands, Eileen is currently enrolled as an undergraduate student at Stanford University.
Distinguished Alumnae Award Recipients
2023 Eileen Gu ’17
2022 Lisa McKnight ’82
2021 Shafia Zaloom '85
2020 Blair Rosenblatt Shane '85
2019 Ebony Frelix Beckwith '91
2018 Mary Shen O'Carroll '90
2017 Zoe Duskin '97
2016 Robin Hauser '78e
2015 Erica Howson Fortescue '89
2014 Lareina Yee '87
2013 Nancy Bibbero Cherney '70
2012 Pauline Moffit Watts '66
2011 Rachel Skiffer '88
2010 Vendela Vida '85
2009 Jean Afterman ’75
2008 Ann Blumlein Lazarus ’67
2007 Dr. Mary Maillard Piel ’73
2006 Mary Lowrey Gregory ’71
2005 Dr. Bella Shen Garnett ’89
2004 Nancy Hellman Bechtle ’55
2003 Heather Martinez Zona ’81
2002 Elisa "Bambi" Escamilla Schwartz ’56
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Burke's mission is to educate, encourage and empower girls. Our school combines academic excellence with an appreciation for childhood so that students thrive as learners, develop a strong sense of self, contribute to community, and fulfill their potential, now and throughout life.
Burke's admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.