College Scholarship Program

About the Program

At First Tee, we believe that helping young people build strength of character is fundamental to success in life. Our active learning experiences are all about ensuring young people build inner strength, self-confidence and resilience, so when they face new challenges they are equipped to overcome them.

Going beyond our core programs, the enhanced First Tee College Scholarship Program is designed to provide further support, life skill development and mentorship of our alumni through their journey. Higher education continues to be a critical factor in unlocking opportunities for young people to thrive, and First Tee is committed to their success.

First Tee College Scholarship Program supports selected alumni throughout their college career. The need and merit-based program provides scholarships up to $5,000 per year, renewable for up to four years of college admission. The program also provides professional development workshops, access to internships and full-time employment placement post-graduation. One of the key factors of the program is pairing Scholars with a dedicated adult mentor who will help encourage and guide them throughout the four years.

The program is open to graduating high school seniors planning to attend college the following year. Applicants must be active members of First Tee chapters and will be considered based on financial need, academic performance, chapter involvement, volunteerism and other criteria.

2025 Program

Application Opens: January 15, 2025
Application Closes: March 19, 2025

Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible for the First Tee College Scholarship Program, applicants must meet ALL of the following requirements:

Must be classified as a high school senior as of December 31, 2024
Minimum 3.3 GPA on a 4.0 grading scale
Intent to attend a four-year accredited college or university in Fall 2025
If selected, the participant must be able to attend the Pre-College Retreat and the annual Winter Workshop
Registered and active in First Tee headquarters database at the time of application deadline
Involved in chapter activities at the time of application submission
- Participants who have spent a longer amount of time in First Tee programs will receive higher consideration in the selection.
Evidence of responsible volunteerism or citizenship through meaningful involvement in community and/or civic activities

Scholars Class of 2024

Mahek Acharya
First Tee – Greater Chicago
Indiana University
Economics

Maia Alinskas
First Tee – Delaware
University of Delaware
International Relations

Aditi Balakrishna
First Tee – Tri Valley
University of Illinois
Engineering

Sarah Brannigan
First Tee – Metropolitan New York
Georgetown University
Finance

Nicholas Crawford
First Tee – Roanoke Valley
Emory and Henry College
Business

Dimitri Vasilacopulos
First Tee – Utah
Southern Utah University
Biology

Erika Dierke
First Tee – Minnesota
University of Mississippi
Sports Management

Argyle Downes
First Tee – West Virginia
Rutgers University
Business

Tyler Joplin
First Tee – Greater Dallas
Boston College
Accounting

William Liu
First Tee – Greater Seattle
Stanford University
Engineering

Emmy Martinez
First Tee – Greater Dallas
Bentley University
Business Management

Henry Mentzel
First Tee – Greater Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky
University of Kentucky
Neuroscience

Gabriella G. Mercado
First Tee – Orange County
University of San Diego
Accounting

Faith Ndichu
First Tee – Raritan Valley
Lehigh University
Actuarial Science

Joseph Neddo
First Tee – North Florida
University of Central Florida
Hospitality

Kylie Nguyen
First Tee – Greater Seattle
Chapman University
Computer Science

David Nguyen
First Tee – Central Iowa
Grinnell College
Information Sciences

Selam Olsen
First Tee – Connecticut
Trinity College, CT
Sociology

Shae Patel
First Tee – Metropolitan Oklahoma City
University of Oklahoma
Computer Science

Jaylyn Remolona
First Tee – San Francisco
Seattle University
Political Science

Isabella Rubio
First Tee – Florida Gold Coast
University of Florida
Biology

Kailey Shapiro
First Tee – Northern Nevada
Tulane University
Neuroscience

Leah Torres
First Tee – Greater Houston
University of St. Thomas, Houston
Nursing

Nathan Vertes
First Tee – Florida Gold Coast
University of Florida
Biochemistry

Previous Scholars

Scholars Class of 2023

Christian Bonvisuto

First Tee — Connecticut
University of Connecticut

Jerimiah Brown

First Tee — Greater Philadelphia
Catholic University

Enrico Diaz

First Tee — San Francisco
DePaul University

Daryn Dickens

First Tee — Greater Washington, D.C.
Howard University

Ava Heaton

First Tee — Triangle
High Point University

Ana Hunter

First Tee — Memphis
University of Southern California

Mariane Johnson

First Tee — Gulf Coast
Palm Beach Atlantic University

Kyzar Joshi

First Tee — Massachusetts
Hamilton College

Isabelle Junio

First Tee — Phoenix
Arizona State University

Sawyer Klein

First Tee — Colorado Rocky Mountains
University of Arizona

Shamar Knox

First Tee — Greater Sacramento
Sacramento State University

Falyn Lackey

First Tee — Southeastern New Mexico
Western New Mexico State University

BJ Little

First Tee — Metro Atlanta
Georgetown University

Stephen Ma

First Tee — Central Ohio
Washington University, St. Louis

Natalie McKenzie

First Tee — Greater Seattle
Gonzaga University

Maria Ramos

First Tee — Greater Philadelphia
University of Pennsylvania

Saloni Somia

First Tee — Minnesota
Brown University

Meredith Speer

First Tee — Greater Austin
Sam Houston State University

Colin Vineburg

First Tee — Greater Baltimore
Dickinson College

Kailey Watkins

First Tee — Metro Atlanta
Florida A&M University

Madeleine Wocicki

First Tee — Idaho
University of Nebraska at Kearney

Haley Wong

First Tee — Greater Sacramento
University of California Los Angeles

Luke Wood

First Tee — Greater Tyler
Texas A&M University

Marlo Zamora

First Tee — Greater San Antonio
Trinity University

Scholars Class of 2022

Breonna Boyd

First Tee — Tennessee
University of Michigan

Nicholas Canales

First Tee — Greater Houston
University of Nebraska

Antonio DelCastillo

First Tee — Orange County
University of Alabama

Srishti Dhurandhar

First Tee — Metropolitan New York
New York University

Vivian D’Orazi

First Tee — Metropolitan New York
York College of Pennsylvania

Dylan Ebs

First Tee — Greater Austin
George Washington University

Esther Etherington

First Tee — Indiana
Franklin College

Maleyna Gregorio

First Tee — Coachella Valley
University of California Riverside

Raiyan Johnson

First Tee — Savannah
Georgia Institute of Technology

Lea Han

First Tee — Greater Sacramento
Harvard University

Zara Karim

First Tee — Greater Washington, D.C.
George Washington University

Nelia Leong

First Tee — Upstate South Carolina
University of Florida

Myles Manor

First Tee — Greater Washington, D.C.
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University

Abigale Morris

First Tee — Phoenix
Biola University

Hannah Newell

First Tee — Greater Houston
LeTourneau University

Sabrina Poole

First Tee — Greater Seattle
St. Martin’s University

Nancy Rivera

First Tee — Silicon Valley
Middleburg College Vermont

Ahmad Raoul

First Tee — Greater Chicago
Winston-Salem State University

Daniel Sears

First Tee — Massachusetts
Franciscan University of Steubenville

Connor Shooks

First Tee — Benton Harbor
Loyola University Chicago

Kenneth Treece

First Tee — Pine Mountain
University of Alabama

Alexa Vela

First Tee — Greater Houston
Rice University

Jaylon Wilson

First Tee — Metro Atlanta
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University

Iris Xue

First Tee — Greater Washington, D.C.
Columbia University

Jacob Zakaria

First Tee — Central Coast
University of California Berkeley

Scholars Class of 2021

Claire Alford

First Tee — Central Coast
Santa Clara University

Marion Caldwell

First Tee — San Juan County
Dartmouth College

Natalie Cao

First Tee — Greater Houston
University of Pennsylvania

Molly Castle

First Tee — Tennessee
University of Tennessee

Malisone Chanthapanya

First Tee — Fort Worth
Texas Wesleyan University

Quincy Crawford

First Tee — Greater Washington, DC
University of Cincinnati

Rebecca Jones

First Tee — Indiana
Rose Hulman Institute of Technology

Josh Lendach

First Tee — Triangle
Western Carolina University

Meghna Mazumdar

First Tee — Connecticut
Boston College

Benjamin Nganga

First Tee — Tennessee
Indiana University

Kaleb Palm

First Tee — Central Florida
Florida Atlantic University

Borina Sutikto

First Tee — Silicon Valley
Santa Clara University

Scholars Class of 2020

First Name:	Last Name:	Chapter:	Institution
Blake	Brantley	First Tee — Triad (Now known as Central Carolina)	Yale University
Kelly	Low	First Tee — Fort Worth	University of Texas at Dallas
Remi	Shendell	First Tee — Metropolitan New York	Emory University
Ricky	Lam	First Tee — Tri-Valley	Harvard University
Sara	Rintoul	First Tee — Central Florida	University of Florida
Luke	Boldt	First Tee — Coastal Carolinas	East Carolina University
Nicole	Monsalve	First Tee — Miami	Duke University
Denise	Wei	First Tee — San Francisco	University of California, Irvine
Jessica	Jiao	First Tee — Metropolitan New York	Georgetown University