Three new Platt Evans Scholars were announced recently. Pictured with (left) Jonathan Warner, J. Wood Platt Chairman, and (right) Frank Polizzi, Aronimink Golf Club member and Evans Director, are recipients Jared Smith of Llanerch Country Club; Stephen Arechabala of Merion Golf Club and Ryan Schmidt of Saucon Valley Country Club. The three Platt Evans Scholars will attend Penn State University (Main Campus) in the fall.

Philadelphia-area caddies earn full college scholarships

  Caddying taught Jared Smith of Havertown, Pa., many valuable life lessons – such as how to make small talk with successful adults and how to quickly adapt to new situations. But the biggest reward stemming from his summer job at Llanerch Country Club in Havertown was a full housing and tuition scholarship to college.

  With three siblings and a parent facing health challenges, Jared knew paying for college was an uncertainty. So for the past few years, he worked hard as a caddie on the golf course and as a student in the classroom to get his own shot at earning the gift of a lifetime – the prestigious Evans Scholarship.

  Jared, along with two other caddies, were recently named recipients of the Platt Evans Scholarship, a full, four-year housing and tuition college grant awarded to golf caddies. The result of a partnership between the Evans Scholars Foundation and the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s J. Wood Platt Caddie Scholarship Trust, Platt Evans Scholars are chosen based on demonstrating a strong caddie record, excellent academics, demonstrated financial need and outstanding character. The scholarship is valued at more than $80,000 over four years.

  The group was selected for the scholarship following a Feb. 24 selection meeting at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square. Aronimink will host the 2018 BMW Championship, a FedExCup playoff event whose sole proceeds benefit the Evans Scholars Foundation.

  The Philadelphia selection meeting was among more than a dozen meetings the Western Golf Association is holding across the country through the end of March, awarding 250 new scholarships in the process.

  The other two recipients include Ryan Schmidt of Bethlehem, who caddies at Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, and Stephen Arechabala of King of Prussia, who caddies at Merion Golf Club in Haverford. All three will begin college this fall as Platt Evans Scholars at Penn State University.

  “The Platt Evans Scholarship is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me to achieve all my dreams,” says Jared, a student at Haverford High School. “It has impacted my family tremendously, as my older brother, Christian, is also a Platt Evans Scholar. We both could not be more grateful to have earned this life-changing scholarship.”

  “Based on their excellence in the classroom and their service to their schools and communities, there is little doubt that these three caddies have earned this life-changing opportunity,” said John Kaczkowski, WGA President and CEO. “Each caddie has his or her own incredible story of hard work and strength in the face of adversity, and these truly extraordinary young people are more than deserving of this scholarship.”

  “This partnership with The Evans Scholars Foundation is fabulous, and I compliment our trustees for approving the initiative," said J. Wood Platt Caddie Scholarship Trust Chairman Jonathan P. Warner. "To have caddies like Christian, Jared, Ryan and Stephen involved strengthens our mission of making a difference in the educational lives of young men and women involved in golf.”

ABOUT THE EVANS SCHOLARS FOUNDATION
  The WGA, headquartered in Golf, Illinois, has supported the Chick Evans Scholarship Program through the Evans Scholars Foundation since 1930. One of golf’s favorite charities, it is among the nation’s largest privately funded, full tuition and housing scholarship programs. Since 1930 when the Program was founded by famed Chicago amateur golfer Charles “Chick” Evans, Jr., more than 10,000 caddies have graduated as Evans Scholars.

  At a time when college costs are escalating and a record number of caddies are applying for the Scholarship, Program leaders are aiming to send 1,000 caddies to college annually by 2020. Currently, there are 870 caddies enrolled at 18 universities across the nation as Evans Scholars. To help reach their goal, leaders are working to expand the program from coast to coast and looking to partner with schools on the East Coast.

  Evans Scholarship funds come mostly from contributions by more than 27,600 golfers across the country, who are members of the WGA Par Club. Evans Scholars Alumni donate more than $8 million annually, and all proceeds from the BMW Championship, the third of four PGA TOUR Playoff events in the PGA TOUR’s FedExCup competition, are donated to the Evans Scholars Foundation. Visit www.wgaesf.org for more information.

ABOUT THE J. WOOD PLATT CADDIE SCHOLARSHIP TRUST
  The J. Wood Platt Caddie Scholarship Trust provides annual scholarship grants of up to $10,000. Currently there are 187 Platt Caddie-Scholars. In the 2014-15 academic year, the Trust awarded more than $1 million, thanks to the generosity of golfers from greater Philadelphia.

  The J. Wood Platt Caddie Scholarship Trust, founded in 1958, receives contributions from more than 4,000 golfers and businesses each year. The Trust has awarded college scholarships to in excess of 3,300 deserving golf caddies and is the official charity of the Golf Association of Philadelphia, founded in 1897. Visit www.plattcaddiescholarship.org for more information.