ELMSFORD, N.Y. (October 15, 2024) – The MGA Foundation is thrilled to announce the creation of the GOLFWORKS Graduate Scholarship . This new scholarship will advance educational opportunities through need-based college scholarships to students who have displayed exceptional commitment to working in service to golf in the New York Metropolitan Area and will offer an affordable pathway to pursue a career in the game of golf.
Five students make up the first class of recipients—Victoria Carlson, David Goldin-McCarthy, Jack Ra, Amelia Tejada, and Christian Vinas.
“We are proud to expand our MGA Foundation scholarship offerings with the establishment of the GOLFWORKS Graduate Scholarship,” said Johanna Gavin, the director of the MGA Foundation. “This addition to our programming provides a link between our flagship youth internship program to a career in the golf industry. The first class of recipients have demonstrated personal growth and development through their service to golf and some have even declared interest in pursuing a career in the game of golf.”
For students to qualify for the GOLFWORKS Graduate Scholarship, they must demonstrate a financial need, experience working in service to golf at an MGA member club, a commitment to pursue a career in the game of golf, and exceptional academic and leadership qualities.
Meet the GOLFWORKS Graduate Scholars:
Victoria Carlson, a junior at George Washington University, worked in the golf shop at Essex Fells Country Club in Essex Fells, N.J., for four and a half years. She is a member of the varsity rowing team and is majoring in international affairs. On top of her academic and rowing responsibilities, Carlson has worked at the Congressional Country Club on the outside special services team since 2022. The Essex Fells, N.J., native has made the Dean’s List twice and sports a 3.88 GPA.
David Goldin-McCarthy worked as a caddie and in the golf shop at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y., and is in his first year of the PGA Golf Management program at Penn State University. Goldin-McCarthy attended Rye Neck High School, earning a 92.67 GPA, and lettered on the golf and soccer teams. The Mamaroneck native was also active with First Tee – Metropolitan N.Y., attending the First Tee Participant Council in Jacksonville, Fla., and the First Tee Game Changers Academy at Villanova University.
Jack Ra has been a caddie for four years at Eagle Oaks Golf and Country Club in Farmingdale, N.J., and is a freshman at the University of Delaware. Ra graduated from Howell High School and was a member of the National Honor Society and the boys’ basketball and track and field teams. Jack received high academic achievement certificates in the classroom and completed four AP classes and two college-level English classes as a senior.
Amelia Tejada is in her first year at SUNY Maritime in the Bronx, majoring in environmental studies. Tejada worked as a coach and counselor at Mosholu Golf Course through the First Tee – Metropolitan N.Y. The Bronx native graduated from Saint Vincent Ferrer High School in Manhattan, where she founded the marine biology club, was a National Honor Society member, was named a Pinkerton Science Scholar, earned the University of Rochester Georgie Eastman Young Leaders Award in 2023 and the St. John’s University Women in Science Certificate of Recognition in 2022.
Christian Vinas caddied at the Huntington Crescent Club in Huntington, N.Y., in 2022 and 2023 and enrolled at the University of Central Florida this year as part of the class of 2028. Christian intends on pursuing a career in golf course architecture upon graduating from UCF. During high school, Vinas was a member of the National Honor Society, National English, Math, Science, Social Studies, and Tri-M Honor Societies, and the New York State Business and Marketing Honor Society. Vinas was a four-year member of the boys’ golf—captain as a junior and senior—and track and field teams at Smithtown High School West.
The GOLFWORKS Graduate Scholarship is administered by the MGA Foundation, the charitable vehicle to growing the game in the Met Area and supporting the MGA’s mission to champion, invest, and advance the game of golf and its future for the Met Area golf community. This scholarship celebrates GOLFWORKS interns and others who work at clubs and courses throughout New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, and will support young men and women as they look to further their education and explore careers in the golf industry. For more information on the GOLFWORKS Graduate Scholarship, contact Johanna Gavin, Director of the MGA Foundation at jgavin@mgagolf.org
To learn more about how to become a GOLFWORKS intern or how to support the program, contact Lou Cutolo at lcutolo@mgagolf.com .
