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McHenry Messenger
MCHS caddy wins “Chick Evans Scholarship”
MCHS senior and McHenry Golf Club caddy Hull wins a life-changing scholarship
Aiden Hull gets called over to caddie his favorite group of golfers at McHenry Golf Club After recently winning the “Chick Evans Scholarship,” he is happy to be of service to members at the course he works at and is looking forward to attending college As he runs down the cartpath to forecaddie his group, he is thankful for the opportunity given to him due to the scholarship and is excited for his next chapter
Aiden Hull, a MCHS senior, was recently announced as a recipient of the “Chick Evans Scholarship ” The scholarship is a full tuition and housing scholarship provided to a specific list of colleges, and rewards high character golf course caddies with financial need to attend college, and is
provided by the Western Golf Association (WGA) Hull, a McHenry Golf Club caddie (Formerly McHenry Country Club), recently committed to the University of Illinois Chicago; and is very grateful for the opportunity given to him through the scholarship “I was super excited,” Hull said “Obviously, it really helps my family and I financially, so I don’t need to worry about student loans anymore, and I can get my education from where I really want and be able to pursue that more
Hull also explained how the selection process for the scholarship winner is a long and somewhat complicated process, but that the Evans Scholarship Board at McHenry Golf Club is important in the guidance process, and is appreciative of the guidance provided
“You have to first get nominated by the country club,” Hull said “That’s mainly through building connections and talking, you have to get good grades, or at least have average grades in high school You also have to want to attend a four year university, after that is a long application process, similar to an essay You then have to get your financial documents in order, and then just answer some basic questions about your personal life and family Then after that, you wait a couple months, and then you are selected for an interview After that interview process, you then submit a bunch of different documents for college selection The [Evans] board guides you through it, piece by piece The process is drawn out by a few months, but overall it’s split up pretty nicely ”
While the process to receive the Evans scholarship is a lot of work and may seem daunting to some students who are potentially interested, there is plenty of support among the McHenry Golf Club staff to help applicants throughout their process to receive the scholarship With help from directors Ron Waytula, Tim Byers, and Joe Schmidt, the process in which caddies prepare for the scholarship becomes easier Additionally, Assistant Golf Professional and Caddiemaster Alek Byers, who is in charge of guiding the caddies at McHenry Golf Club, plays a role in determining potential finalists for the scholarship
“On our side, you know it’s hard right,” Alek Byers said “Obviously there’s a huge financial discretion It’s hard to go out and ask do you make a blank [amount of money] We don’t really do that, but I'd say organically, as the kid joins the program at around 13 to 15, [we] get to learn [about] them, where they go to school, and what their parents do
I think it s kind of by 15, 16 and 17, that Dr Joe and I and the Evans Committee kind of collect [and understand who may be a fit for the scholarship ]”
In addition to maturing into a caddie program, caddies who are going for the scholarship must finally have a good caddie track record and grow connections with members through socialization during loops to be heavily considered Hull explained that the number one way he began to get noticed for the scholarship was through hard work, and recommends getting involved with caddying early at country clubs if they want to get the scholarship
“This scholarship, you obviously really need to be involved with caddying, so go to the country clubs,” Hull said “Caddying is a great job in general, it makes a lot of money You get to build a lot of connections there I would also say you need to be a pretty social person, because you do have to go for interviews and make connections with the board members and directors, and also be well known within a country club ”
According to the WGA, more than 130 students who have earned the scholarship from Illinois are set to begin college this fall at their universities, with a record 1,190 caddies enrolled at 24 universities nationwide The scholarship is still currently growing around the midwest, with past scholars retaining a 3 3 GPA and a 98 percent graduation rate The scholarship is a great opportunity for country club caddies With many country clubs opening within the next weeks, hundreds of caddies across the midwest will begin working towards this life changing opportunity
Rules for DOGE change under Musk
Since Trump took office, the Department of Government Efficiency has worked to cut federal spending, but not everyone in government is on board
Aika Villa Page Designer
As Trump's administration continues, Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency continues to have more access to private government information
The United States Digital Service (USDS) was renamed to DOGE, and changed its purpose to now create budget cuts for the United States These budget cuts are due to wasting money and other issues as well
Although DOGE is making budget cuts they are not an official part of the government branches
According to Musk, DOGE’s mission is to save taxpayers money and also create these budget cuts to also reduce U S national debt
“DOGE has been in place since President Trump has come into office in January,” said Jonathan Niemic, a social science teacher at MCHS “DOGE has been tasked with eliminating wasteful spending, fraud and other kind of government entities that are involved in misuse of taxpayer money ” According to USA Today, around 200 people who work for DOGE and the process of application is accessible to people when checking out their website
This means that some people who may not be fully qualified could potentially get
hired to work for DOGE, which can sometimes cause inefficient budget cuts
“I think we all have wasteful spending in our lives,” says Niemic “I think every American can safely say that we spend money on things that maybe are not the best, so the government is trying to clean up some of its bankrolls to make sure that the taxpayers money is going towards what it's supposed to go towards ”
“There are certain programs within the federal government that do run the risk of fraud and excess when it comes to spending,” says Niemic “I do not believe that we should touch any of the current social safety nets such as Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security ”
Although some of these budget cuts can be useful, there are other things that DOGE shouldn't cut as well This year
DOGE wants to cut one trillion dollars worth of money
Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency have an ambitious goal of cutting one trillion in federal spending by the end of the fiscal year in Sept according to NPR News
But DOGE's moves so far to cancel contracts, send leases and push federal agencies to reduce their workforces barely make a dent in the government's overall balance sheet even if you take DOGE's savings claims at face value, says NPR
Senior
to
specific list of colleges | Photo by: Berenice Santiago Hunter Blake Sports Editor