Meet Marie Coronel San Diego news reporter and mom extraordinaire

Lisa Pawlak

a journalist, avid Padres fan and mother of three boys.

Born and raised in San Diego’s South Bay, Coronel was the only child of parents who immigrated from the Philippines. Surrounded by extended family, she trained in many forms of dance, performing at Del Mar Fairgrounds and venues all over the country. She especially enjoyed Philippine folk dancing as it provided a connection to her culture—but she knew her career path lay elsewhere.

“I’ve always wanted to be a reporter— even as a little girl,” Coronel explains. “My parents bought me one of those from Cal State Northridge. In college, she had internships doing everything from anchoring news segments at the campus radio station to learning about TV production on the Jimmy Kimmel Live Show. After graduation, Coronel landed a behind-the-scenes job at KTNV in Las Vegas, where she discovered the ins-and-outs of newsgathering. Then, she moved to Maryland for her first onair position, where she met her husband, John, on a story. (Their first encounter was televised!) Finally, she moved back to San Diego to report for the station she grew up watching: ABC 10News.

Now Coronel is mom to Joseph (11), Patrick (9) and Christopher (5). Like many working parents, she possesses strong organizational skills to juggle life’s busy schedule. A typical work day involves getting up at 2 a.m., doing her own hair and make-up, peeking in on her sleeping boys, then heading to the station to meet with her news team. Some days, they leave immediately to cover breaking news.

Coronel typically sneaks in a morning call to her family as they eat breakfast. At the end of her work day, after giving an 11 a.m. live news report, she heads home, has lunch with her live-in mother, and runs errands before the kids get out of school.

“This is where it gets tricky,” Coronel confesses. “All three boys are in afterschool activities and they all play sports. So, I usually have a group text or conversation with my mom and husband about who goes where at what time and who is picking up which kid. After practices, we try to have dinner as a family.”

Weekends are spent at the boys’ baseball, soccer and basketball games. “We always make an effort to get family time in there,” she says. “It might be lunch or dinner after a game. We rotate on who gets to pick the restaurant. If we have a [longer] break, we like taking family walks/hikes or we attend an event [together]. A lot of these ideas come from San Diego Family Magazine!”

The whole family loves to cheer on the Padres, carrying on traditions from Coronel’s own childhood. Her dad, who has since passed, owned a collection of old-school Padres hats that the boys now take turns wearing to games, including those during spring training.

“A memory I will always cherish is the Padres game versus the Dodgers, when the Friars clinched the NLDS,” she says.

“I had already been scheduled to anchor the news that evening, so I had to miss watching the game with my family. To still feel connected to the family I brought one of my dad’s hats to work. As a native San Diegan and lifelong Padres fan, it was so cool to share the news about the Padres win with our viewers. After the newscast, I put my dad’s hat on and took a picture on the anchor desk.”

Balancing a career with family isn’t always easy, but Coronel is grateful for the support of her husband and mom. She says getting up so early interferes with certain activities and it is challenging to take mornings off for school-related events. But she volunteers for a school news program in the afternoons.

“Even though professionally my life can be very busy, I always find those moments with my kids,” she says. Such as helping with homework, chatting over frozen yogurt, and cheering on the boys during games.

What does your ideal Mother’s Day look like?

My ideal Mother’s Day involves being with my kids, my husband and my mom. I absolutely love the homemade cards or cards they pick out and decorate. It makes my eyes watery to see how much effort they put into those. While they are young, it makes me feel good to know they appreciate all that we do for them. ~

Marie Coronel

While Coronel is proof that it’s possible for working moms to find a healthy work-life balance, she does admit to drinking a lot of coffee to keep going. (No judgment here!) We certainly wish her (and her mom) a wonderful Mother’s Day. Hopefully they can both sleep in. v

Lisa Pawlak is a freelance writer living in Encinitas with her family.

Lisa Pawlak