Paying for college is a big issue students and their families face today. Applying for scholarships, financial aid, work study, and loans are the minds of many seniors around the country.

However, Regina student, Kathryn Cressy ’16 will not have to face this financial challenge any longer. Cressy recently learned that she is one of the lucky recipients of the Chick Evans Caddie Scholarship. She has spent the last four years on the golf course assisting golfers at the  Bryn Mawr Country Club throughout their rounds of golf in order to achieve this honor.

Charles E. “Chick” Evans Jr. was a renowned golfer at an early age. At one point, he was the nation’s top amateur golfer, and in 1916, he won both the U.S Open and U.S. Amateur Open. His passion for funding education for others was spurred from his past experiences. Evans, who started caddying when he was 8 years old, attended Northwestern University for a year, but had to drop out of school because he could not finance his education.

Evans noticed that many caddies had similar financial struggles and were also not able to attend college as a result. In 1929, Evans asked the Western Golf Association (WGA)  if he could use his winnings from championships to fund educations for deserving caddies. This action would help caddies in difficult financial positions and allow Evans to maintain an ‘amateur’ title in competitions. Evans did not want to become professional because he felt like it took away from the game of golf.

In 1930, the WGA began the Chick Evans Scholarship Foundation which provided worthy caddies with  full-tuition and full room and board scholarship renewable for four years. The WGA awarded its first two scholarships to caddies Harold Fink and Jim McGinnis. They would attend Northwestern University, the same school where Chick Evans had studied. The first Evans Scholarship House, an on-campus house where all of the scholars would live together, was established at Northwestern University in 1940. It is this style of group living that also makes the program unique.

“You get to live in a house with sophomores, juniors, and seniors. You are able to go to them for advice on classes, or extra help throughout the school year,” Cressy says.

Currently, the Evans Scholarship Foundation funds over 900 worthy caddies to attend fourteen universities across the country. Although Chick Evans passed away in 1979, the WGA continues his dream by funding scholarships through different professional golf championships such as the BMW Championship.

This fall, 260 new scholars will be attending college with this scholarship. Cressy will be attending the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, her top choice university. Of the fourteen universities that have a Chick Evans Program, University of Illinois has the largest chapter with over 120 scholars currently living in the house.

“I am so excited to have the opportunity to attend my top choice school with such an amazing scholarship. I am really honored and blessed to be able to call myself an Evans Scholar,” said Cressy. “I have worked really hard for this. I have caddied for four years, and had over 250 loops,” she continued.

The process for attaining this scholarship is not an easy one. Cressy had to apply in the fall and later she had to interview with a panel of the Evans Scholarship Committee.

“Most scholarships are awarded during the applicant’s senior year in high school. Applications are reviewed by the Scholarship Committee and candidates compete for the limited number of scholarships awarded annually. The Scholarship Committee interviews finalists and the final selection rests with the Committee,” she says. “The application process was really long. I started at the beginning of the school year, and submitted my application in October. I didn’t find out if I had an interview until March.”

According to the Western Golf Association Evans Scholars Foundation, the Chick Evans Scholarship Committee evaluates applicants based on “grades, outstanding character, a strong caddie record, and demonstrated financial need.”

The nerve wracking months waiting for a decision paid off after Cressy was asked to be interviewed with the Scholarship Committee.

She says, “I was really happy but also nervous. I had a mock interview with one of my aunt’s friends who is on the board of the scholarship committee, Dr. Joe Schmidt. It made me feel better that I knew what they might ask me, but when it was time for the interview, I got really nervous. If you think about it, it is a $200,000 interview!”

After her interview, the scholarship committee notified her rather quickly of their decision.

“It was exactly one week later that I got my package from them. Before my interview, I had to list the universities that I applied to that have scholarship chapters. I could have up to four universities, and I had to rank them in order of preference. I put University of Illinois as my first choice, but I was nervous that there weren’t anymore spots because my interview was really late. But, I opened my letter and was so happy to see that the committee decided on University of Illinois,” she said.

Even though she was awarded the scholarship a month ago, this great opportunity still has not sunk in for her.

“I still cannot believe it,” Cressy says. “I keep rereading my acceptance letter just to make sure it is real. I went down to Champaign for ‘New Scholar Day’ and met everyone in the house, and it still feels so unreal. I just can’t believe that I have finally achieved this goal after four long years.” she explained.

Through the next four years, Cressy will be saving around $110,000 on her college education.

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