Recently, 16 Indiana student caddies found out they had been awarded the Western Golf Association (WGA) Chick Evans Scholarship, a full four-year housing and tuition scholarship and the nation’s largest privately funded scholarship program.
Locally, two Hamilton County students – Kaiden Miller, Fishers, a student at Cathedral High School, and Meris Shotton, Westfield, a student at Westfield High School – were each selected to receive the scholarship.
For the first time ever, WGA directors, Evans Scholars alumni and other program supporters interviewed each of the nominees during a series of virtual selection meetings due to COVID-19. Each caddie has a unique story to tell, reflecting the scholarship’s four selection criteria: A strong caddie record; excellent academics; demonstrated financial need; and outstanding character.
The full tuition and housing college scholarship is valued at an estimated $120,000 over four years.
The Indiana selection meeting was the eleventh of more than 20 meetings the Evans Scholars Foundation will hold across the country through the spring. Currently, a record 1,045 caddies are enrolled at 19 universities across the nation as Evans Scholars, and more than 11,320 caddies have graduated as Evans Scholars since the program was founded by famed Chicago amateur golfer Charles “Chick” Evans Jr. When the 2020-2021 selection meeting process is completed this spring, an estimated 300 caddies are expected to be awarded the Evans Scholarship.