Golf scholarship par for the course for hard-working HHS senior – East Oregonian
Published 5:00 pm Monday, October 27, 2025
By MICHAEL KANE | Hermiston Herald
HERMISTON — Colby Lerten keeps a busy schedule. Apart from being in the Honor Society and maintaining a 4.0 GPA, the Hermiston High School senior volunteers extensively in the community helping wherever he can.
Oh, and he plays golf often enough and well enough that he received a scholarship offer to play next fall for Corban University in Salem.
Colby said the game provides him with challenges on the course as well as lessons that serve him well off the course.
“I like the time and dedication it takes to become great,” he said. “There’s a lot of discipline and hard work that goes into it.”
Colby first started playing golf at the ripe old age of 2 with a plastic set of children’s clubs.
“My parents got me into it,” he said.
And his grandparents, Rick and Jeanne Jewett, took him out golfing, as well. He played mostly at the Big River Golf Course in Umatilla.
At the age of 7, he began entering junior tournaments. It wasn’t long before he started winning tournaments, including several Oregon Golf Association junior tournaments. He’s been the No. 1 golfer on his HHS team throughout his high school years.
Colby typically plays three to four times per week, splitting his time between work on the driving range and playing rounds on local courses.
Colby began pursuing golf scholarships during his sophomore year. He would post his scores online, creating an athletic resume for coaches around the country to see.
“The main thing I wanted to do was publicize my name,” he said. “It’s hard in this area to get coaches to actually see you play.”
Part of his routine was to email golf coaches at colleges around the country hoping to get their attention. He sent out around 60 emails and crossed his fingers.
“I didn’t really have any expectations when it came to recruiting,” Colby said.
Then Corban University expressed an interest in him joining the golf team. The Lertens visited the campus in Salem and Colby was sold.
“I loved the campus,” he said. “The student-teacher ratio is 19-1, which means I could develop a good relationship with the teachers. I was pretty convinced after that visit. They set the bar pretty high.”
On Oct. 10, Colby signed his letter of commitment to play golf for Corban. He intends to major in accounting and minor in business.
His dad, Kris, said one of Colby’s strengths is his commitment to hard work.
“It’s not easy,” Kris said. “He works hard at everything he does. We’re very goal-oriented people. Hitting his goals is very important to him. We talk a lot about the future. The things you start now will produce the fruit later in life.”
His mom, Stacey, said Colby is single-minded in his pursuits.
“He’s a full effort kind of guy,” she said. “He doesn’t know any other way. When he was younger, I would ask him if he was tired and needed a break to keep him from burning out. If he had a spare weekend, he was online looking for a tournament to play.”
His dedication to golf led his family to install a golf simulator in their garage so Colby could work on his game at home.
Kris said Colby’s passion for golf has become a family endeavor.
“We spend hours and hours in the car driving all over going to tournaments in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Nevada,” Kris said. “The memories of those car rides are pretty amazing.”
Despite all his time spent playing golf, Colby still manages to fit in a wide variety of activities off the golf course.
His grandmother, Jeanne Jewett, was able to convince Colby to attend a Hermiston Rotary Club meeting when he was in middle school.
“He really enjoyed it,” Jewett said. “He still attends meetings when school isn’t in session.”
In fact, the Rotary board appointed Colby a Rotarian in Training, and it has paid off. His Rotary involvement has included constructing playground equipment and painting a room at Martha’s House, managing the entry gate at the Festival Lights and selling tickets at the Umatilla County Fair.
He’s also volunteered at the annual Veterans Breakfast each November, as well as the Distinguished Service Awards banquets. He has volunteered as an ambassador for the Hermiston Chamber of Commerce. He also has squeezed in enough time to supply books in the Little Libraries around town for the Hermiston Altrusa club.
“He enjoys helping and giving back,” Jewett said. “He has a big heart.”
For Colby, part of the joy is spending time with family.
“I like being able to be out in the community and making memories with my grandma,” he said.
