How three L.A. students turned working as caddies into life-changing scholarships

Los Angeles Times

6 days ago

Saint Monica Prep students Macayla Story, Johnnie García and Nicolás Vallejo received life-changing scholarships thanks to golf.
Story vividly remembers the moment she received the acceptance letter. She was in Palm Springs when her mother called to tell her that a large envelope had arrived. The envelope contained a letter informing her she would be receiving the $125,000 Chick Evans Scholarship, a program supported by the Western Golf Assn. that will allow her to attend a university without having to worry about housing costs or tuition for four years.
'When I came back, I opened it with her by my side. I showed her the letter and she started crying. It was an incredible moment,' Story told L.A. Times en Español.
Story traveled to Chicago to work as a caddie for two months at Skokie Country Club, and Garcia and Vallejo did the program locally with Los Angeles Country Club. All they were guaranteed was pay for their work and a chance to apply for the lucrative scholarships.
The three students went through an interview process along with other applicants in February. The scholarship winners were announced in April. They were recognized by the largest privately funded scholarship program in the country. The scholarships are awarded to student caddies who demonstrate academic excellence, financial need, dedication on the golf course and exemplary character.
Raised by a single mother, Story always knew that financing college would be a challenge. The scholarship represents not only an academic opportunity, but also a huge relief for her family.
Story's entry into the world of golf was, as she puts it, 'by accident.' She knew nothing about the sport when she enrolled in the summer program.
'I was very shy; I didn't know if I was going to make friends or what I was supposed to do as a caddie,' she recalls. But over time, she not only adjusted, but grew personally and professionally. 'As a teenager in Los Angeles, it's very easy to get lost in cellphone screens all summer. But being in the field helped me socialize, be outdoors, talk to adults. It made me grow up.'
Los Angeles Country Club, which hosted the 2023 U.S. Open, hosted Garcia and Vallejo. They became the club's first scholarship recipients in its first year participating in the scholarship program.
The caddie experience also began with uncertainty for Garcia, but it soon became a challenge that he took seriously.
'At first, I didn't know anything about golf. I just wanted to do well because I understood that there was a real possibility of going to college without my family having to go into debt,' said Garcia, 18.
During three summers, Garcia worked five days a week, accumulating more than 100 rounds as a caddie, one of the conditions for applying for the Evans Scholarship. 'It was heavy, but I learned to be responsible, to be on time, to have initiative. You learn to read people, to understand what they need without them saying it.'
Garcia, whose father is Mexican and mother is from Belize, comes from a family that has worked hard to provide him with opportunities.
'My mom works with foster kids. She helps assign cases to them. She basically helps them find a suitable home for them, because I know what a family means to me and I know she loves what she does. And my dad basically works with FedEx. He drives to Burbank every day for the whole time there, just working,' Garcia said proudly.
Vallejo also dedicated three summers to the caddie program, getting up early, enduring the heat and carrying heavy bags, always with a fixed idea in mind.
'I knew the scholarship existed, but not that I was going to get it. I just focused on doing my best,' recalled Vallejo, who is a second-generation student of Mexican descent.
'My mom was a homemaker and my dad worked in a grocery store. We didn't have much, but they were always there,' Vallejo recounted. 'They always worked hard enough to send me to private school, to give me a good education and for me to have everything I wanted, everything I could have. So I would say our financial situation could be a lot worse. ... This money is going to help a lot in the long run.'
Saint Monica Prep Principal James Spellman celebrates the scholarships as a sign that the school's educational model is working.
'These students represent the best of our community: resilience, hard work and real aspirations to excel. Many of our students are from families facing economic hardship, but with the right support, they achieve great things,' Spellman said.
Spellman notes that the school has had a close relationship with the Caddie Academy for many years, dating back to when the program decided to expand into the Los Angeles area.
'At first, for many parents, golf was an unknown world. But when they saw that their children could earn a summer income and have access to a scholarship like this, they were convinced,' he said. 'Beyond the money, the students acquire skills that will serve them all their lives: responsibility, leadership, communication skills. It's a well-rounded education.'
The Chick Evans Scholarship has been awarded to more than 12,000 caddies since its inception. There are more than 1,190 scholarship students at 24 universities across the country. For three Angelenos, the journey began with a backpack on their shoulders, walking in the sun, carrying other people's golf clubs. Now they can consider attending colleges that would have otherwise been out of reach.
'Originally the student had to go to Chicago for the summer and the beauty of that is they work and make $3,000 to $4,000 as caddies, and they come back with it to help their families,' Spellman said. 'These students here, all three of them are very similar, but they're very different. And they're great ambassadors, not only for the school, but for the program because they're athletic, they're outgoing, they have good grades. They weren't golfers before, so they really took advantage of the opportunity and stuck with it. They did well in the classroom and that was a big part of it too.'
This article first appeared in Spanish via L.A. Times en Español.