FEBRUARY 2024

CalHOPE Courage Award Winners

The monthly CalHOPE award honors student-athletes at California colleges and universities who have overcome the stress, anxiety, and mental trauma associated with personal hardships and adversity. Here’s a closer look at the inspiring personal stories of the latest CalHOPE Courage Award honorees.

Julia Betti

Sonoma State University
| Soccer

Julia Betti, Sonoma State University, Soccer

Julia Betti’s journey involves tragedy and triumph. At age 11, her world was forever changed when her 14-year-old sister, Jenna, tragically lost her life when she was struck by a train near the family’s home in Martinez, California.

Losing her role model and best friend was devastating for Julia, a young girl with big dreams. With the support of her parents, she learned it was OK to feel the emotions of her loss, talk about it, and let herself grieve. Now ten years later, Julia is a strong and successful woman.

A year after her sister’s death, Julia was encouraged by her parents to see a grief counselor. She did and learned valuable life skills, including journaling and communicating when facing challenges. Despite her loss, she’s never gotten to the point of feeling alone in life.

“I’m so grateful I learned these lessons at such a young age because it led me to a place now where I feel strong enough to deal with other adverse situations in life,” explains Julia. “I learned that speaking about your feelings isn’t a sign of weakness, but a sign of wisdom, as only the strong seek help.”

Her sisTer’s dream of playing college soccer became Julia’s. Following a decorated career at Alhambra High School, where she earned All-League Honorable Mention twice and the team Offensive MVP in her senior season, Julia chose to attend Sonoma State. In addition to the great curriculum and competitive soccer program, Julia felt the coaching staff there would create the ideal environment for her to succeed.

Though her freshman season was cancelled due to the pandemic, Julia has been a valued member of the soccer team for the past three seasons. She started 57 games, scored three goals, and added four assists while playing nearly 78 minutes per game. She was recognized as All- California Collegiate Athletic Association Honorable Mention in both 2022 and 2023.

Cole Kitchen

Santa Clara University
| Baseball

Cole Kitchen, Santa Clara University, Baseball

Cole Kitchen faced a heartbreaking setback just before the start of the 2023 season. His younger brother, Cade, was hospitalized from an accidental drug overdose involving fentanyl.

Cole returned home to be with his family, but a short time later, Cade passed away. Cole was devastated, but this wasn’t his first experience with death. Five years earlier, Cole’s friend Jesse Esphorst (JE), a travel baseball teammate at the Garciaparra Baseball Group (GBG) was killed in a car accident. Since that day, Cole has written JE10 on his cap and GBG has JE10 embroidered on all player hats as a tribute to Jesse.

To help with the emotional pain of his brother’s death, Cole leaned on his family and the Santa Clara University sports psychology services. Other teammates, athletic department members, and friends shared their experiences with losing a sibling, helping Cole heal.

“I’m lucky to be surrounded by such a great support network at Santa Clara. Although time heals, this tragedy will never leave us,” said Cole.  “My family has tried to be very vocal to educate others about the circumstances that led to this tragedy. Last December, my father joined a Los Angeles police officer to give a presentation at my former high school on the dangers of fentanyl. We hope sharing our story can prevent other families from suffering.”

Despite the emotional turmoil, Cole found solace and purpose on the baseball field.

Channeling his grief into focus and with a pin affixed to his hat in honor of Cade, he emerged as the staff pitching ace, leading the Broncos to their first West Coast Conference (WCC) Tournament title and first NCAA Tournament appearance in 26 years. The senior righthander led the team with 16 starts and 81.3 innings pitched and was second with 68 strikeouts.

Cole’s excellence extends beyond the baseball field. He earned WCC All-Academic honorable mention honors, graduating last spring with a 3.5 GPA and a degree in bioengineering. He’s currently enrolled in the master’s degree program as he completes his final year of baseball eligibility.

About the CalHOPE Courage Award

Presented since February 2022, the CalHOPE Courage Award, recognizes two student-athletes at California colleges and universities monthly for overcoming the stress, anxiety, and mental trauma associated with personal hardships and adversity.

At the end of the school year, two of the student-athletes recognized during the year will be selected as annual CalHOPE Courage Award winners and a donation will be made in each of their names toward mental health services.

It is presented by the College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA), in association with The Associated Press (AP); CalHOPE, DHCS’ crisis counseling and support resource; and the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Mental Wellbeing.