If overcoming adversity is a character-enhancing experience, the newest Eisenhower-Evans Scholars have a strong foundation upon which to build.
Eleven high school seniors from Colorado recently earned the honor of receiving Eisenhower-Evans Caddie Scholarships to the University of Colorado beginning in the fall semester. But for some, the road to this success took many sharp curves along the way.
Two recipients have seen a parent pass away and four others also come from single-parent homes. One new Scholar has watched a parent battle cancer twice. Another lives apart from his mother and sisters. One was born outside the U.S. and two others are first-generation Americans.
But these hurdles didn’t keep this group from earning a full-tuition and housing scholarship that is estimated to be worth $50,000 if renewed for four years.
Here are the new Eisenhower-Evans Scholars, and the clubs at which they caddie: Duncan Brandt of Holyoke (Ballyneal Golf & Hunt Club), Patrick Ellsworth of Denver (Cherry Hills Country Club), Daniel Frazier of Fountain (Broadmoor Golf Club), Alyssa Gertje of Highlands Ranch (pictured, from Green Gables CC), Ingrid Gomez of Carbondale (Roaring Fork Club), Omar Lopez of Carbondale (Roaring Fork Club), Brad Porter of Greenwood Village (Cherry Hills CC), Joseph Putnik of Golden (Lakewood CC), Lotem Sella of Highlands Ranch (Cherry Hills CC), Adam Valeruz of Lakewood (Lakewood CC), and Charlotte Wagner of Aurora (Saddle Rock GC).
The CGA and CWGA co-sponsor the Eisenhower-Evans Scholarship along with the Illinois-based Western Golf Association. Colorado donors, through Par Club contributions and CGA and CWGA bag-tag sales, provide almost all of the year-to-year scholarship costs at CU, contributing nearly $390,000 to the Eisenhower-Evans program in 2009.
Three of the 11 scholarship winners caddie at Cherry Hills, while two each come from Lakewood CC and Roaring Fork Club in Basalt. Three females are among the recipients, including Wagner, who is the first winner of the Eisenhower-Evans Scholarship from Saddle Rock.
Overall, the group includes five National Honor Society members, and the cumulative high school grade point average for the incoming class is 3.7.
The 11 scholarship winners were chosen out of a group of 28 applicants from Colorado. With just two Scholars completing their final year of E.E. eligibility in 2010, the fall will mark the first time since 2002 that more than 40 Scholars will live in the Eisenhower-Evans house. And, depending on attrition, it could be the first time since 1996 that there will be at least 40 active Scholars from Colorado (six at the house come from other states).
Two of the new Scholars have siblings currently living in the E.E. house: Gertje’s brother Conner is a junior, and Putnik’s brother Jason is a senior who has served as president of the Evans Scholars National Committee.
The incoming Scholars’ extracurricular activities run the gamut, from Bavarian folk dancing (Gertje) to making longboards (Valeruz) to being a ball boy for the Denver Nuggets (Putnik). One is an Eagle Scout (Brandt), one an amateur movie director (Sella) and two took the initiative to print up business cards to drum up caddie loops (Frazier and Wagner).
There are four requirements to be eligible for the scholarship: excellent caddie record for a minimum of two years, strong academic achievement, financial need, and outstanding character and integrity. Those selected generally make the most of their good fortune as 90 percent of incoming Evans Scholars nationally go on to graduate.
The Evans Scholarship is one of the largest privately-funded scholarships in the country. It was established in 1930 by Charles “Chick” Evans, a former caddie who won a U.S. Open and two U.S. Amateurs. Over the years, almost 9,000 people have graduated from the program, including 388 from CU.
