By: John Manos

Eastchester, N.Y. (July 23, 2012) – Now in its 18th year, the MGA Foundation’s GOLFWORKS student internship programwill provide more than 225 young adults with meaningful summer employment this summer at about 80 Met Area golf clubs. The success of the GOLFWORKS program can be attributed to the willingness of MGA member clubs to hire deserving area teenagers, like Lake Isle Country Club in Eastchester, N.Y., which has incorporated GOLFWORKS interns into their junior programming since 2007. Supervised by Director of Instruction Kevin Chin, Lake Isle is currently employing seven GOLFWORKS interns that assist Chin with setup, instruction and supervision of Lake Isle’s Junior Golf Camps.

 “GOLFWORKS has been an asset to our club,” says Chin.  “The program provides a great opportunity for the interns as well as for me, as I have a chance to mentor and inspire kids.”

Mentor and inspire is exactly what Chin does, as the MGA Foundation met three of Lake Isle’s interns who were all in complete awe of their supervisor and what he has been teaching them. Chin has instilled values that have not only translated into success in the golf games of Lake Isle’s interns, but into future success in school and life.

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Richard DiPasquale, 17, of Eastchester, N.Y., has known Chin for four years through golf lessons and was recruited to work as a GOLFWORKS intern by Chin. When DiPasquale was younger, he was attending the very same camp he now works at.  

“I looked up to the older kids and thought it would be really cool if I could ever get the same job,” says DiPasquale, now a third-year GOLFWORKS intern and a leader in Lake Isle’s junior programming. He’s learning to be responsible and manage his time while working around a game he truly loves.

“Golf in general teaches you about manners, etiquette, and respect,” says DiPasquale, a recent graduate of Eastchester High School who has had a chance to improve his game through his GOLFWORKS internship and will try and walk-on the golf team at Manhattan College this fall. “Even though I’m studying engineering, I’m hoping it can translate into something golf-related, like R&D for club manufacturing.”

Sam Moise-Silverman of New Rochelle, N.Y. is a first-year intern at Lake Isle. He claims that GOLFWORKS has changed him as a person and made him view things in a completely different way. The 15-year old attributes the program in helping him become more self-assured both on and off of the golf course.

“Golf has helped me a lot with my confidence,” says Moise-Silverman, who will be a freshman at the Harvey School this fall. “Working in golf I realized I could do more things – things I never thought possible, like starting and being the captain on Harvey’s golf team.”

By working as a GOLFWORKS program, Moise-Silverman is around younger kids, and he understands the importance of setting examples as a role model for them. “It’s really important to be organized when I come into work,” he says.  “All these younger kids look up to me, I have to be able to make a safe, responsible decisions while making sure they learn the game correctly.”

Also working at Lake Isle is one of Chin’s star pupils, Paul Manfriedi, 17, of Eastchester, who is junior at Eastchester High School and a first-year GOLFWORKS intern who aspires to play golf in college and turn professional one day.

“Two of the biggest things I’ve taken away from working in the golf industry are patience and satisfaction,” says Manfriedi. “And believe me, working with young kids has taught me to have a lot more patience than I thought I ever had! But when you teach somebody and you see them bomb the ball, it is a good feeling to know that I helped them to do that.”

All of Lake Isle’s interns have been able to work on their golf games and Chin, their supervisor, is always there to give tips and feedback. GOLFWORKS is truly welcomed at Lake Isle Country Club and has been a match for both the club and the deserving young interns, who all love being there, including second-year intern John Battaglia of Scarsdale, N.Y., first-year intern Morgan Goodman of Eastchester, N.Y., second-year intern Ryan Kushman of New Rochelle, N.Y., and third-year intern Peter Marioni Jr. of Eastchester, all of whom were not scheduled to work when the MGA Foundation visited the club.