William Chryar
Chryar, a member of The First Tee of South Los Angeles and senior at Mira Costa High School, plans to attend the Arizona State University to earn a degree in business or economics. He played in his first golf tournament at the age of seven when he became involved in the Western States Golf Association. He is now a mentor for younger golfers at The First Tee of South Los Angeles and says, “Mentoring the younger generation is the best way I can think to give back to the community all that it has given me.” His ultimate dream would be to become a professional golfer and play on the PGA tour, but until that happens, he plans to pursue a degree in business so he “can earn an honest living in society.”
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Raven Clewis
Clewis is a senior at Cabrillo High School and will be attending Santa Monica College. She had to change schools for her senior year, but has “enjoyed the more rigorous classes at Cabrillo.” She intends to transfer to UCLA after two years to purse her degree in marketing and music. Clewis was introduced to golf when she was ten years old by The First Tee of South Los Angeles and says that golf has “helped keep me off of the streets and focused more on school.” Clewis was also recently a junior report at the Northern Trust Open, where she kept a daily blog about the tournament. Her personal goal is to “become a musician and major in business marketing to become a humanitarian, so that I can help millions around the world.”
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Justin King
King is completing his associates degree at Mount San Jacinto College and will be attending the Professional Golfers Career College this fall to pursue his dream of becoming a golf professional. He has been honing his skills as an instructor for over two years as a volunteer with his former junior golf program, Grandfathers for Golf. His golf career started with Grandfathers for Golf in middle school and he continues to “love the game of golf during the birdies and the double bogies.” Justin’s favorite subject in school is history and he has a passion for the ancient world and military tactics. Justin hopes to “influence the next generation to feel the same amount of love for the game” that he has.
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Wesley Levanduski
Levanduski is a senior at Paso Robles High School and he will attend the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs next year to participate in the Professional Golf Management program. His goal is to one day be a head professional. In addition to his achievement of Eagle Level at The First Tee of the Central Coast, he is also an Eagle Scout and his community project was to collect, sort, and create junior golf sets for other youth in the program. In addition, he was able to garner additional community support to create plaques with each of The First Tee’s core values for their golf course. Levanduski also excels as a student and he is graduating high school with a 3.7 GPA.
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Desiree Dominguez
Dominguez, a graduating senior from Western High School in Anaheim, was introduced to golf though the Tiger Woods Learning Center her freshman year of high school. She is the captain of the varsity golf team and feels that golf has taught her many things including patience, self improvement, manners, and discipline. She says, “I think golf has made me a better person because it has made me try harder in school. If I don’t’ get good grades, then I cannot play golf.” Her academic goals include attending Fullerton College and then transferring to a Cal State school to pursue a career in Criminal Justice or Social Work. Her academic goal is to attend college and major in Criminal Justice to “help provide for her family.”
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Alma Gutierrez
Gutierrez, an employee at the Tiger Woods Learning Center and senior at Western High School, will be attending California State University at Fullerton in the fall. She plans to major in Political Science and minor in Communications and performing art with the goal of one day attending Whittier Law School. Gutierrez, who played golf for Western says, “I enjoy golf because it’s a great sport and it relieves stress.” About her job at Tiger Woods Learning Center, she says, “I am a role model to the students and that makes me feel good because some of those children do not have roles models they can look up to.” Alma is part of the TWLC Leadership Team and tutors for their students.
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Ryan Herd
Herd, a student at Kennedy High School in Buena Park and member of the Tiger Woods Learning Center, plans to attend Cypress College to major in history with a focus in U.S. History. He is a member of his high school golf team and he says, “Sports have always been a way for me to feel like a vital part of society. Along with the game of golf, the Tiger Woods Learning Center has taught me how to take all my potential for the game and use it in good ways. They taught me what it is like to give one hundred percent all the time and not just some of the time.” Ryan is considering a career as teacher and “wants to touch kids with knowledge the same way that most of my teachers have touched me.”
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Thao Le
Le, a junior at the University of California at Los Angeles, was introduced to golf through Pro Kids Golf Academy in San Diego when she became an intern at their golf course and the Learning Center. She found that golf networking has opened many doors for her including an internship with Qualcomm, Inc. for the last two summers. She is a sociology major who has a passion for making an impact in the community. She says, “My goal is to graduate and then come back to my neighborhood (City Heights) and hopefully influence kids who were just like me who grew up in a community where others doubt your abilities and question your intelligence. I want to be a mentor and encourage other kids to want more out of life the way Pro Kids has helped me. “
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Kenneth Punyasavatsut
Punyasavatsut, a senior at John F. Kennedy High School, will be attending the University of California at Irvine. A member of the Tiger Woods Learning Center since 2007, he now volunteers as a supervisor for the junior golf program while also competing on his high school golf team. In addition, he has donated his time to the IRS’ VITA program to assist low income families in preparing their tax returns. A strong student, Punyasavatsut looks forward to college and plans to “save the lives of individuals and promote the knowledge he has learned to all youth.”
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Roberto Rosas
Rosas, a senior at Francis Park High School in San Diego, will be heading to Columbia University in the fall where he plans to earn a business degree. He was introduced to golf though Pro Kids Golf Academy in San Diego and says, “Becoming a part of the Pro Kids community was truly an amazing experience. Members looked far beyond racial difference and economic backgrounds because we were all tightly connected by a passion for golf.” He was the captain of his varsity golf team at Parker, will be the first to go to college in his family, taught himself English in middle school, and has a 4.22 GPA. He says, “My educational goal is to grasp a complete understanding of business and economics so I can enter the workforce after a four year college and then enter graduate school after having some experience in the field of business. “ He also hopes to provide support for his family through his education.
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Reuben Torres
Torres is graduating from the California Academy of Mathematics and Science and will attend school at the University of California at Davis in the fall. Thanks to a class at Long Beach City College and further career exploration at his high school, he knows he wants to major in landscape architecture and “utilize the land to build energy efficient buildings.” As an avid golfer, Torres was able to qualify for The First Tee Walmart Open and played at Pebble Beach Golf Course, during which he shot better than his Championship Tour player partner. A multisport athlete, Torres also competed on the tennis, cross country, and basketball teams, but he will pursue golf full-time in college. In addition, he logged over 500 hours in high school as a volunteer for his junior golf program and other local community organizations.
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