Category: Blog

Marlo Zamora, a participant from First Tee – Greater San Antonio, is one of 24 exceptional high school seniors who will join First Tee’s Scholar program in 2023.  

Marlo has been playing golf for 12 years, and 10 of those have been spent at First Tee – Greater San Antonio.  

“I really love the First Tee program because I feel like it’s one of the only programs out there where the program actually grows with you instead of you outgrowing the program,” said Marlo.  

Marlo credits First Tee for introducing her to some of her lifelong friends, teaching her how to set and accomplish her goals, and establishing many of the values and morals she lives by today.  

One of her biggest goals was to find a college where she could balance academics and sports. Trinity University in San Antonio was the perfect fit for her.  

Marlo loved Trinity, but was hesitant in getting her hopes up about attending there. Like many high school seniors, she was worried about its high academic standards and expensive tuition, she said. On top of that, she was hoping to play collegiate golf.  

After speaking with an alumna of the women’s golf team at Trinity and hearing about her great experience, Marlo’s mother encouraged her to pursue it. 

Shelby DeVore, the head women’s golf coach at Trinity University, watched Marlo play at the Texas Junior Golf Tour’s Swing for the Cure.  

“I ended up shooting lights out good, and right afterwards she ended up offering me the spot [on the team]. It was nice to see my years of hard work in golf pay off,” said Marlo.  

On her signing day in February, all the people she was close with from First Tee – Greater San Antonio surprised her at the signing to celebrate her accomplishments.  

But the surprises didn’t stop there.  

In May, members of the 2023 First Tee Scholar Class were invited to join an online meeting under the impression that they would be completing a final group interview. Instead, they were met by First Tee ambassador and current PGA TOUR player, Austin Smotherman. He surprised all of them with the news that it was not a real interview, and they were all chosen as Scholars.  

“It was the day before my birthday, and it was the best present I could have had. This scholarship means a lot to me because it will help me achieve my academic goals and pursue my dreams of being a computer scientist,” said Marlo.  

Marlo hopes to one day be a cyber-security engineer. Through the First Tee Scholar program, she will be paired with a dedicated adult mentor who will help to encourage and guide her throughout the next four years and beyond. 

“What’s so special about this scholarship is they provide a lot of mentorship, and you can’t really find that with many other scholarships. Being able to talk to someone and ask for advice is something that money can’t buy,” she said.  

The world just turned its attention to Toronto for the PGA TOUR’s RBC Canadian Open. Meanwhile, First Tee – Canada is also taking a moment to reflect in honor of Canadian National Indigenous History Month.  

First Tee – Canada is made up of five chapters: First Tee – British Columbia, First Tee – Premier départ Quebec, First Tee – Atlantic, First Tee – Ontario, and First Tee – Prairies with First Tee – Alberta launching later this year.  

Each chapter has unique and dynamic relationships with local Indigenous communities. 

First Tee – British Columbia opened its first program location, The Musqueam Golf and Learning Academy, on traditional Musqueam First Nation territory in 2021.  

Since then, it has expanded to over 53 program spaces and sold out every session in 2023 thus far. This year, the CPCK Women’s Open will be held at Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club, which is also located on Musqueam traditional territory. During tournament week, First Tee – British Columbia will host a youth clinic nearby to the course at Musqueam Golf and Learning Academy.  

First Tee – British Columbia hopes to continue to strengthen its relationship and bring safe, affordable golf programming to an even wider audience as it begins its 2023 summer programs.  

First Tee – Premier départ Quebec collaborates with the Mohawk community of Kahnawake, the Cree community of Waskaganish, and the First Nation of Mashteuiatsh through golf course, school, and community programming.  

The chapter also works closely with the Club 24 Athletics Foundation, an organization that works to support young Indigenous leaders through sport and education.  

Last year First Tee – Premier départ Quebec hosted programming for 18 Indigenous participants. The team hopes to more than double that number this year.  

Jeremy Proteau, First Tee – Premier départ Quebec Program Manager, credits the success of this partnership to the tight knit community and dedicated volunteers.  

In the Kahnawake First Nations reserve, there are seven golf courses,, and the local volunteers are working to introduce golf to children who have previously only had access to lacrosse and hockey.  

The courses are working in collaboration with First Tee – Premier départ Quebec to provide certain programming at no cost to participants and with entirely Indigenous coaching staffs.  

First Tee – Ontario, First Tee – Prairies, and First Tee – Atlantic are in the beginning stages of building relationships with the Indigenous communities around them but are hoping to launch programming soon, some as soon as this summer.  

Canadian National Indigenous History Month is celebrated each year in June to recognize and honor the rich history, heritage, and diversity of Canada’s Indigenous populations.  

For more information about First Tee – Canada and its communities click here.  

Isabel Matos is a First Tee – North Florida alumna, whose father was born and raised in Puerto Rico before moving to North Florida. It was he who introduced Isabel to First Tee when she was 8 years old. She started in classes and since has interned with the chapter, spoke at events and helped to coach while home from school.  

Isabel participated in five national opportunities with First Tee while in high school including the PURE Insurance Championship and Life Skills and Leadership (now Game Changers Academy). She said that her favorite memory from her time with First Tee was participating in PURE and playing at Pebble Beach with Vijay Singh as well as meeting participants from all over the First Tee network. 

“I’ve made great friends within my chapter, but I’ve also made great friends all across the country from those national opportunities that I still talk to to this day,” said Isabel. 

Isabel recently graduated from Southern Wesleyan University a year early with a degree in communications and media studies. She credits First Tee for helping her find her passion for communications and showing her that was what she wanted to do for her career.  

“[First Tee] also taught me to step out of my comfort zone. When I started with First Tee, I was super shy, and I didn’t like talking to anyone and then a couple years later I was speaking in front of thousands of people for them,” she said.  

“They made me realize what my goals in life are.” 

At Southern Wesleyan, Isabel played golf for a year before suffering from an injury and fell in love with the area. She hopes to return to Greenville, South Carolina, to work in public relations. She said that living in South Carolina for school made her appreciate her Puerto Rican heritage as she was often the only Puerto Rican person around. Her family still visits Puerto Rico every year and she enjoys that it makes her different.  

“I love that I am Puerto Rican…I think that it gives me a unique perspective on life,” said Isabel.  

Isabel’s father, Idan Matos, is the chairman of the Board of Directors at First Tee – North Florida. He got involved with First Tee out of appreciation for everything they had done for Isabel. He joined the board to give back to the program.  

National Caribbean American Heritage Month is celebrated in the United States every June. The intention is to celebrate the rich and diverse population that has been contributing to the well-being of American society since its founding. 

Ethan Selvers believes people should be proud of who they are. It’s what inspired him and a group of classmates to speak with their school’s administration and other classmates after anti-Semitic graffiti was found on campus at his high school last year. 

“We spoke about intolerance with everyone in the class. I shared my family’s unique background, and everyone shared theirs as well. It created a very open dialogue that I think definitely helped prevent future issues from developing,” he explained. 

Ethan volunteers with sixth and seventh graders every Wednesday at his synagogue as they prepare for their bar and bat mitzvahs. “I help teach them prayers and also help them learn about Jewish traditions in a way that makes learning fun,” he said. 

In addition to his commitment to his faith, Ethan is a dedicated golfer. He fell in love with the sport after his dad started taking him to the driving range. Now 15, he’s been golfing for over half his life, and he’s been involved with First Tee – Metropolitan New York for all of that time. 

With his positive attitude and passion for the sport, and with the assistance of his First Tee coaches Peter Aloisio and Bill Castner, Ethan secured a caddy position at historic Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, New Jersey, which will host the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship next month. He also volunteers to coach younger players through the First Tee. “I just love golf and hope to help those kids love it as much as I do,” he said. 

Last summer Ethan was selected to attend two First Tee national participant opportunities: the Game Changers Academy honoring Joe Louis Barrow Jr. and the First Tee Leadership Summit in partnership with PGA TOUR Superstore. 

The Game Changers Academy brought together 72 First Tee participants in Philadelphia. “We sat down and discussed really important topics like equality versus equity, diversity and inclusion. Meeting so many different kids from all over the country was eye opening,” Ethan said. He made the most of the opportunity and was named one of the event’s Most Outstanding Participants. 

The Leadership Summit took place in Montana, where his surroundings were picturesque, Ethan said. “At one of the first meetings we learned: ‘Don’t be afraid to be uncomfortable because being uncomfortable leads to change,’” he said, which are words he has tried to live by.  Besides learning leadership skills, Ethan also said that: “The whole trip was phenomenal. We were able to listen to Michael Vick discuss his life experiences, we participated in many incredible activities, and the whole experience really exemplified how working in a group is a great way to foster change.” 

In addition to Ethan’s involvement at First Tee and his synagogue, he’s also a captain of the junior varsity Ultimate Frisbee team at his high school. He is also a dedicated student and loves math and science, which he plans to study at college.  

Learn more about First Tee’s participant opportunities.