GLENVIEW – Eighty-three students from the Chicago area have been awarded the Evans Scholarship – a full housing and tuition college grant offered to golf caddies – after selection meeting interviews held across the area, including at Skokie Country Club in Glencoe, in November and December.
They are among the first group of awarded recipients.
The following scholarship recipients are from Lake County:
• Mateo Rafael Barba of Antioch (Antioch Community High School)
• Holden Boone of Cary (Cary-Grove Community High School)
• Caleb Bicket of Gurnee (Warren Township High School)
• Sherman Flores of Gurnee (Warren Township High School)
• James Riemer of Gurnee (Warren Township High School)
• Allan Lavrov of Lake Zurich (Lake Zurich High School)
• Nicholas Selimos of Mundelein (Mundelein High School)
• Josue Sandoval of Vernon Hills (Vernon Hills High School)
• Yeleyni Ortega of Waukegan (Cristo Rey St. Martin College Prep)
• Alan Aguilar of Wheeling (Wheeling High School)
• Ashlyn Bean of Round Lake (Grayslake Central High School)
• Philippe Gonzalez of Round Lake (Carmel Catholic High School)
Each caddie has a unique story that reflects the scholarship’s four selection criteria: a strong caddie record, excellent academics, demonstrated financial need and outstanding character.
They will begin college in fall 2025 as Evans Scholars with awarded universities to be finalized in March. The Evans Scholarship is valued at more than $125,000 over four years.
The Western Golf Association, headquartered in Glenview, oversees the Evans Scholars Program, one of golf’s favorite charities and the nation’s largest scholarship program for caddies.
Currently, a record 1,190 caddies are enrolled at 24 universities across the country as Evans Scholars. More than 12,285 caddies have graduated as Evans Scholars since the program was founded by famed Chicago amateur golfer Charles “Chick” Evans Jr. in 1930.
Evans Scholar selection meeting interviews will continue nationwide through the winter. When the 2024-25 selection meeting process is complete, an estimated 360 caddies from across the country are expected to be awarded the Evans Scholarship.
Evans Scholars have a cumulative grade-point average of 3.3 and a 98% graduation rate. An estimated 40% are first-generation college students and 95% are employed or enrolled in graduate school within six months of graduating.
Funds for the Evans Scholarship come mostly from contributions by more than 36,000 supporters across the country who are members of the Evans Scholars Par Club program. Evans Scholars Alumni donate more than $15 million annually, and all proceeds from the BMW Championship, the penultimate PGA Tour playoff event in the PGA Tour’s FedExCup competition, benefit the Evans Scholars Foundation. In 2025, the BMW championship will be held at Caves Valley Golf Club near Baltimore from Aug. 12-17.
To learn more about the WGA and ESF, visit wgaesf.org.
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Copyright © 2023 Shaw Local News Network
