Daily Weather Report
Powered By:
Joy Gregory and Ezekiel Lambert, caddies at The Broadmoor Golf Club, are two of seven Colorado students who have received the Western Golf Association’s Chick Evans Scholarship, a four-year housing and tuition scholarship for caddies. They will begin attending the University of Colorado Boulder in the fall. Lambert is a senior at the University School in Colorado Springs, and Gregory is a senior at Evangelical Christian Academy.
Joy Gregory and Ezekiel Lambert, caddies at The Broadmoor Golf Club, are two of seven Colorado students who have received the Western Golf Association’s Chick Evans Scholarship, a four-year housing and tuition scholarship for caddies. They will begin attending the University of Colorado Boulder in the fall. Lambert is a senior at the University School in Colorado Springs, and Gregory is a senior at Evangelical Christian Academy.
Joy Gregory and Ezekiel Lambert, caddies at The Broadmoor Golf Club, are two of seven Colorado students who have received the Western Golf Association’s Chick Evans Scholarship, a four-year housing and tuition scholarship for caddies. They will begin attending the University of Colorado Boulder in the fall. Lambert is a senior at the University School in Colorado Springs, and Gregory is a senior at Evangelical Christian Academy.
Since Joy Gregory was 7 years old, she knew she wanted to be a veterinarian. But as the youngest of three children in a single-parent household, she didn’t know how she was going to pay for the requisite education until recently.
Gregory, a senior at Colorado Springs’ Evangelical Christian Academy, is one of seven Colorado students who have received the Western Golf Association’s Chick Evans Scholarship, a four-year housing and tuition scholarship for caddies.
Ezekiel Lambert, a senior at the University School in Colorado Springs, was also awarded the Evans Scholarship this year. Lambert and Gregory, who both work at The Broadmoor Golf Club, will begin attending the University of Colorado Boulder in the fall.
Established in 1930 by the WGA and noted amateur golfer Charles “Chick” Evans Jr., the Evans Scholarship has put more than 12,200 student caddies through college since its inception. Currently, 1,190 Evans scholars are enrolled at 24 colleges and universities across the U.S., including 56 at the University of Colorado, officials said.
Evans selectees each receive a four-year scholarship valued at roughly $125,000.
Gregory, who plans to study biology, began caddying after her freshman year as part of an effort to learn new skills.
“I wanted to have an experience outside my comfort zone,” she said. “The job helped me get more engaging and talking with people.”
For Lambert, the timing of The Broadmoor job could not have been better, he said.
“I was looking for a first job when my mother heard about the opportunity,” Lambert said.
Joy Gregory and Ezekiel Lambert, caddies at The Broadmoor Golf Club, are two of seven Colorado students who have received the Western Golf Association’s Chick Evans Scholarship, a four-year housing and tuition scholarship for caddies. They will begin attending the University of Colorado Boulder in the fall. Lambert is a senior at the University School in Colorado Springs, and Gregory is a senior at Evangelical Christian Academy.
Each caddie is required to meet four selection criteria: a strong record as a caddie, high academic achievement, demonstrated financial need and “outstanding character,” according to the WGA website. In 2023, 920 caddies applied for the Evans scholarship; 340 were accepted.
Lambert considered himself a strong candidate for the scholarship, but he was surprised when he learned of the award, he said.
“I knew some other people who had applied, and I thought they were pretty deserving,” said Lambert, who hopes to become a commercial airline pilot. “So, yeah, I was definitely surprised.”
When Gregory was an infant, her mother divorced her father, so a single-parent home is all she has known. Watching her mother work as many as three jobs to support the family, she realized early that she would need to earn a scholarship to realize her dream. Her older brother earned an educational grant from the Daniels Fund, so she knew it was attainable. Still, when she received the congratulatory letter from the WGA, she went into “the best kind of shock,” she said.
“I just started running around the house,” she recalls. “I hugged my mom, then I called all my friends and family. It was one of the happiest moments of my life.”
About 360 caddies across the U.S. will experience similar moments this year, according to Evans officials.
“Receiving this life-changing scholarship is a testament to this group’s outstanding leadership, academic excellence and commitment on the golf course,” said Todd Gervasini, a WGA director and Colorado state chair. “We hope their success as new Evans Scholars inspires more youth caddies across Colorado to see where the greatest summer job can take them.”
An Evans Scholarship is not a predictor of future academic and professional success, but it’s close. On average, Evans scholars carry a 3.3 grade-point average, 98% of them graduate, and 95% are either employed or enrolled in a graduate program within six months of graduating, officials said.
In just a few months, Gregory and Lambert will head off to CU Boulder, where they will live in designated housing with other Evans scholars and begin pursuing dreams they hadn’t thought possible a few years ago.
“I’m just so grateful for this scholarship. It means everything,” Lambert said. “I’m excited for the future.”
“It’s such a relief for my mom and my family, that my college will be paid for,” Gregory said. “I’m really thankful for this opportunity.”
Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.
We recommend switching to one of the following browsers:
Welcome to the Denver Gazette
Subscribe to stay up to date with all things Colorado.
Streak: 9 days i
Stories you’ve missed since your last login:
Stories you’ve saved for later:
Recommended stories based on your interests:
