DETROIT – Of the more than 100 applicants in Michigan, 23 Evans Scholarships were awarded this year in the state of Michigan. Three recipients were from Cass Tech High School.
When Jared Ingram, Auriel Gill and Ainslie Woodward started caddying back in their freshman years, they admitted they didn’t know too much about golf. They only knew that their new gig paid pretty well. All three said those funds went a long way in helping out in their single mother households.
"My mom asked me, she didn’t want to, but she asked me one time to help out, and ever since then, I would do it," Gill said.
"Our parents usually don’t like us paying for things, but sometimes, you have to say, 'Hey mom take this,'" Woodward said.
Soon they learned, they could get much more out of it, like a full ride to college with room and board, through the Evans Scholarship.
"When college is paid for, you just get to focus on school more," Woodward said.
It's not easy to get an Evans Scholarship. Applicants must have a strong caddy record, excellent grades, financial need and outstanding character.
Recently, all three seniors got the good news.
Ingram was on the basketball court.
"I got a call from Ainslie, and he said to check my email," Ingram said. "When I did and it said, 'Congratulations,' I just dropped the ball and nearly my phone and took off running."
Gill and Woodward are going to the University of Michigan, and Ingram will attend Michigan State University. They will have to keep up their grades -- 3.2 is the national average for Evans Scholars -- but there's no need to worry. They all have lofty goals.
I want to be a dentist, so I will be a biology major," Woodward said.
"I want to go into marketing," Gill said.
"I will be an accounting major and hope to get my MBA," Ingram said. "My long-term goal is to become a venture capitalist."
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