COLUMBIA, Missouri — The Columbia College Alumni Association recently honored Jennifer Foxworthy, a 2012 graduate of the Columbia College-Whidbey Island campus, with its Jane Froman Courage Award. Introduced in 2014, the Jane Froman Courage Award honors one of Columbia College’s most esteemed alumnae, singer and actress Jane Froman ’26. The award recognizes an alumna or alumnus who has demonstrated perseverance to overcome personal obstacles while continuing to better him or herself personally or professionally. Foxworthy was one of six Columbia College alumni honored in a ceremony held on the college’s main campus in Columbia, Missouri.
After an illustrious career in the U.S. Military and a history of overcoming adversity, Foxworthy, who now resides in Lusby, Maryland, works to inspire others to push beyond the bounds of their own setbacks and lead lives of hope.
For 21 years, she served in the U.S. Navy, becoming the first African American Aircrewman in the enlisted ranks and the first female In Flight Technician. For three separate wars (Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq) she flew on three different platforms (E6-A, P-3 and EP-3) and logged over 3,700 flight hours.
After retiring from the military in 2013, Foxworthy began her second career as a motivational speaker, author and blogger. She is the founder and chief executive officer of Inspirationally Speaking, LLC, as well as the founder of the Unstoppable You Women’s Conference. In 2014, she published a book based on her own experiences titled Tomorrow My Sunshine Will Come: Memoirs of Women Who Survived Domestic Violence.
“If I can reach just one person, then my trials and tribulations were not in vain,” Foxworthy says. “I have embraced those life experiences because they have made me into the human I am today.”
Foxworthy is the recipient of numerous awards, including two Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals and five Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals.