Recently I was speaking with a friend about the cost of college–as the father of a high school junior this seems to be a subject that occupies more and more of my time of late. Most parents today are facing a bigger challenge than ever before in funding their children’s college education. For the lucky few who are parents of gifted athletes or exceptional students, the burden is lightened by scholarship opportunities or in some cases eliminated all together with a “full ride” scholarship. I am not sure where the term “full ride” originated, but it offers an interesting contrast with what I believe is the world’s greatest scholarship program–the Evans Scholarship. In my view the Evans Scholarship is the best scholarship available for many reasons, but most importantly because it is NOT a “full ride” scholarship. Let me explain.
Every year roughly 240 Evans Scholarships are awarded to financially deserving young men and women who worked as a caddie for a minimum of two summers. In addition to academic excellence, financial need and outstanding leadership traits, Evans Scholars are caddies. There are countless scholarships available to students with good grades and financial need–some are even “full rides.” But how many scholarships require applicants to have walked the fairways of a golf course on a regular and consistent basis? Caddying is absolutely fundamental to the program’s success and is the first “step” in the “full walk” offered through the Evans Scholarship.
Caddying is more than a summer job–it is a series of four-hour internships. What other summer job gives young people an opportunity to rub elbows with influential and successful people in a friendly and intimate setting? Caddying doesn’t talk about “life skills” it instills them. What better way to teach responsibility and hard work than a job?! But not just any job–a job that requires a young person to get up early, walk hilly terrain with a heavy bag on their shoulder, and do it all with a smile and a positive attitude. Because of caddying, an Evans Scholar has already “walked the walk” before they even apply!
This year it is anticipated that a record number of caddies will apply for the Evans Scholarship (applications are due each year by September 30th). Roughly 25% of these applicants will be selected as finalists and will go on to receive the Evans Scholarship. For these lucky caddies, this does not mean their work is complete.
The Evans Scholarship covers the full costs of tuition and fees for each student, and provides them with a place to live. However, this “walk” is truly unique in another way. While there are many generous foundations and universities which provide financial support to cover tuition, room and board, the Evans Scholarship is more comprehensive than any of those other scholarships in that Evans Scholars are provided a “Living Experience”. All Evans Scholars on each of our 14 campuses benefit from not only financial support, but also communal support in all living together as a group who then benefit from academic counseling, alumni mentoring and peer socialization. To my knowledge, there is no other scholarship which provides this type of an all-encompassing support system.
Here in Colorado all Evans Scholars live in the Eisenhower Chapter House at 1029 Broadway in Boulder. Evans Scholars are responsible for their books, sharing in the operating costs of the Chapter House and for their meals. Most Evans Scholars take meal jobs (commonly called “hashing jobs”) at neighboring sororities or fraternities. These hashing jobs generally do not pay, but provide three square meals a day. The point is that unlike a “full ride” scholarship, the Evans Scholarship requires its recipients to continue to work hard throughout college by earning their meals rather receiving them in a buffet line or food court.
As for housing, the Evans Scholars are provided a place to live but it is up to them to maintain their chapter house. Maintaining the house is much more than keeping the place clean. It is learning to live with a wide array of different people and learning to respect different cultures. It is coming together to participate in intramural sports, engaging with the community through philanthropic projects and taking on leadership roles by serving on the executive board that govern house activities.
It goes without saying that all Evans Scholars are required to maintain the high academic standards that earned them the Evans Scholarship. The average Evans Scholar has a GPA well over 3.0 and many Evans Scholars are among the leaders on their respective campuses when it comes to outside of the classroom excellence.
The totality of the Evans Scholarship experience is certainly “full” but it is no “ride.” The work that Evans Scholars do to earn the scholarship continues throughout their years in college. Since its inception in 1930 nearly 10,000 caddies have received the Evans Scholarship (over 400 at the University of Colorado, Boulder). I am proud to be one of those 10,000 alumni and like most of my peers my “walk” didn’t end at graduation. I take great pride in being a Par Club member and giving back to the program so that others can walk in my footsteps, just as I walked in the footsteps of those before me.
To all those golfers who support the Evans Scholarship, thank you for opening this door and allowing so many of us to walk through.
