by Jeff Day

ELMSFORD, N.Y. (January 30, 2012) - Rohini Rudra of Syosset, N.Y. is always up for a challenge. In addition to carrying a 4.0 Grade Point Average while taking advance placement and college-level courses, the senior at Syosset High School is heavily involved in activities both in and out of school, including The First Tee of Metropolitan New York (TFTMNY). Rohini is an Eagle-Level certified participant at TFTMNY’s Eisenhower Park facility in Nassau County, where she has partaken in programming since 2007. In December, Rohini was recognized nationally as a First Tee Scholar for exhibiting exceptional academic achievements, leadership skills, character development and involvement in the community. The honor was something that both Rohini’s parents and First Tee at Nassau County program director Mike Wade were instrumental in encouraging her to apply for.

In addition, Rohini works under Wade’s supervision as an MGA Foundation GOLFWORKS intern at Eisenhower Park and is a member of the National Honor Society, as well as a mentor to her peers at both school and The First Tee. The 17-year-old has also been elected as president of Syosset High’s Mural Club and vice president of the National Art Society.  She even volunteers her free time in support of golf, including a post as the standard bearer for the final pairing of the 95th Met Open Championship held at Bethpage State Park’s Black Course in 2010.

Asked how she is able to successfully manage her time despite being involved in such a variety of pursuits, Rohini states that, “I make sure I get eight hours of sleep each night. That means I have 16 hours to try to finish everything that I can. From there, I think hour-by-hour each day.”

Rohini makes sure to golf into those precious hours, a sport she’s been playing for six years. “I love golf,” she exclaims. “I love competition and I always have fun on the course.” A talented golfer herself, Rohini carries a 7.3 Handicap Index and is the captain of Syosset High's girls' varsity golf team. She has earned All-County and All-State honors and posted an undefeated match-play record in each of the last three seasons. She was also a 2011 recipient of the Women’s Metropolitan Golf Association’s prestigious Junior Girls’ Fellowship. In addition to her GOLFWORKS internship, Rohini spends her summers playing competitive golf in the Met Area and takes lessons from Wade at Eisenhower Park as well as from Mill River Country Club assistant professional Anthony Aruto.

Rohini’s responsibilities as a GOLFWORKS  intern include educating kids on The First Tee’s Nine Core Values—Honesty, Integrity, Sportsmanship, Respect, Confidence, Responsibility, Perseverance, Courtesy and Judgment—which are crucial principles to both golf and life. “It was a great opportunity for me to spend my summer teaching kids The First Tee’s golf and life skills,” she said. “Seeing their expressions and happiness when they hit a golf ball in the air for the first time was my favorite part, but it was just nice to see that I’ve taught them how to do something and that they’re excited to do it.”

In addition to golf, Rohini is also an art enthusiast and volunteers her time at the Walt Whitman Birthplace Museum in Huntington Station, N.Y. In each of the last two years, the museum donated its space for one week in support of an art sale and exhibition that Rohini curated for Syosset High’s Mural Club. The effort raised funds for Rohini’s passions - golf and art - with proceeds benefitting both TFTMNY and the Birthplace Museum itself.

“I hope to be an art critic one day,” Rohini said. “There is a lot of talent in my high school and some of my friends are really good artists, but I am not an artist at all, even though I’ve tried to be! I got all my friends to donate their artwork and we had a silent auction. I planned the event and we had a live string quartet and jazz band play, hors d'oeuvres, and poetry in spoken words, so it was actually a pretty big art event and people came and bought all sorts of artwork.”

The sales were a great success and raised more than $14,000, which will further impress the colleges and universities that Rohini is applying to. While Rohini doesn’t know what college she will attend this fall, the standout student does know that she wants to play intercollegiate golf.

“I’m contacting a bunch of college coaches and some are very eager to hear from me and want me to play on their team,” she said. “My first choice was Brown [University], but I got deferred. I want to go to an Ivy League school, so Yale is my top choice, but I’m applying to a bunch of places.”

As a First Tee scholar, Rohini is eligible for certain scholarships at certain schools, including New York University in Manhattan. “That would be a great school for me with all the museums in the city,” Rohini said. While her sights are set on Yale, she knows that whichever school she decides to go to will offer a tremendous education and experience. It’s almost a certainty that Rohini will continue her strong work in the classroom, on the golf course and in the community, but don’t be surprised if she becomes involved in even more clubs and organizations; Rohini has time management down to a science and has the proven ability to excel at anything she does.