Jewell Strickland Jewell is a senior in high-school and enjoys singing, acting, and of course playing golf in her free time. She has been a participant in The First Tee of Metropolitan New York for almost 7 years and soon she will be heading to NYU where she hopes to major in Pre-Law and advance to receive her JD. Jewells interest in learning was evident early on at The First Tee as she gravitated to education programs including the SAT tutoring as well as opportunities to learn more about women’s issues. Jewell would like to be a civil rights attorney. She wants to receive her degree both for herself and for her family. “It would give me great pride to be the first family member on my mother’s side to graduate from college.” One of Jewells biggest role models is her First Tee tutor Cherae Boyce. Cherae has acted as both a mentor and tutor. “She encourages me to strive to be the best that I can be”.
Caren Yim Caren joined The First Tee of Metropolitan New York at age 12 and will graduate from Bard High School for Early College this Spring. Caren never imagined how big of an impact The First Tee would have on her life. “Golf is just a small part of what The First Tee does.” She credits the numerous resources The First Tee offered during her college process for securing a place at her dream school, NYU Shanghai. Caren also wants to give back to her community by specifically helping the homeless population in New York City. “I have gained life-long friends and mentors at The First Tee who I am confident will continue to support me in my future endeavors. One day I hope to come back to The First Tee and be a mentor to other kids just like my mentors have been to me.”
Matthew Chan Matthew joined The First Tee at Fairchild Wheeler in the seventh gradewhere he spent his time both as a participant and a volunteer. He reached the Ace level of certification and was also the two time winner of the Eagle/Ace Season Cup. He was also selected as a First Tee Scholar of the Class of 2014 and was invited to compete in the Northeast Regional Challenge hosted by The First Tee of Philadelphia in 2012. It was at The First Tee where Matt first discovered his passion for the game of golf where he spent almost every day during the summer at Fairchild Wheeler. Fortunately, all of his practice and dedication earned him a spot on New York University’s golf team. Matt is also a member of the National Honor Society and Future Business Leaders of America. He will pursue his passion for business at the Leonard N. Stern School of Business and is very grateful for all of the opportunities that The First Tee has created for him.
Rachel Floeder Rachel began as a golf student at The First Tee of St. Paul in the summer of 2005 and earned progressive certifications, including eagle certification, over many summers with The First Tee. Rachel now mentors and coaches young golf students and volunteers with the Special Needs Junior Program. Rachel has worked with the ESPN “Chip, Putt and Drive” Contest, chaperoned young players to the PGA Champions Tour 3M Championships, and was a St. Paul First Tee Junior Course Reporter at the 2010 and 2011 3M Championships, posting entries to her own blog at pgatour.com. This past year, she participated in The First Tee Future Leader Forum in Orlando, Florida and was designated as a First Tee Scholar. Christopher Johnson He became involved with The First Tee of Metropolitan New York at Mosholu Golf Course approximately six years ago. At the age of seven he began to love the sport of golf and worked his way in The First Tee Program, from Par to Ace level. He quickly embraced the core values, which now have become part of his life and recently, he was selected as a First Tee Scholar of the Class of 2012. New York University has extended a warm welcome to Chris, as he will be attending their School of Arts and Sciences in the fall as a Pre-Med Biology major.
Kristen Red-Horse (CAS '08) As a participant at The First Tee of Greater Sacramento in California, Kristen attended Life Skills and Leadership Acad- emies in 2002 and 2003, winning both the Earl Woods "Playing Through Determination Award" as well as the Dr. William J. Powell Leadership Award. She has addressed attendees at The First Tee 5th and 10th Annual Meetings, as well as members of Congress at the 2004 Congressional Breakfast. A member of the Scholars Class of 2004, Kristen attended New York University on a First Tee Rudin Family Scholarship, graduating with a degree in Broadcast Journalism and Politics in 2008. She currently works for ABC News at their headquarters in New York City. Kristen is engaged and will marry this year.
Kelly Leung (Stern '09) Kelly Leung joined The First Tee in 2002. Besides being a member of The First Tee, she was also a summer volunteer throughout high school. Her academic and leadership skills allowed her to become both a The First Tee scholar and a Lew Rudin Scholar. She graduated from New York University's Leonard Stern School of Business with a double major in Fi- nance and Marketing. In 2007, Kelly and her sister, Patricia, established The Leung Family and Friends Scholarship for The First Tee of Metropolitan New York. Kelly is now President of The First Tee Alumni Association and a Committee member of The First Tee Young Benefactors.
Amanda Bailey (CAS '09) Amanda Bailey graduated from NYU in 2009 with a Bachelor's degree of the Arts in Mathematics and a concentration in Pre-Medicine. She recently graduated from Hofstra University with a Master's degree in Community Health. In her spare time, Amanda enjoys honing her golf skills, playing the piano and singing with her mother's gospel group. In the near future, she plans to work in a community setting that will allow her to utilize her healthcare experience and strong com- munication skills to better community health issues. Amanda also intends to use her educational background to do intensive health outreach, promotion, and advocacy, as well as provide education to the community where she will work in order to serve as a liaison between community members and healthcare services.
Kimberly Anglin (CAS '10) Kimberly Anglin graduated from New York University's College of Arts and Sciences in 2010 with a BA in Journalism and Economics. She is currently the Digital Content editor at ExL Pharma, one of the top conference planning companies for professionals in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical device and allied healthcare industries. In this role, Kim contributes articles and reviews content for the company blogs and newsletters. She also prepares company and conference press releases, analyzes website metrics (to determine the ROI of social media, blogs and newsletter impact) and provides overall editorial support for marketing materials.
Joanna Lau (Stern '12) Joanna Lau is the recipient of the Lew Rudin/The First Tee scholarship in 2007 and is graduating from New York University Stern School of Business this year with a bachelor's degree in Finance and Statistics and a minor in Music (she plays the Harp and Piano). She is a member of the NYU Golf Team and sits on the Executive Committee of the Finance Society at Stern. Joanna's career goal is to become a trader and will be beginning her career in the field. During her free time, she enjoys cooking, fashion design and travelling the world.
Sumit Khetan (CAS '13) Sumit Khetan joined The First Tee at Eisenhower Park in the sixth grade and has been a dedicated member of The First Tee both as a participant and volunteer. During his time in the program, he reached the Eagle level of certification and attended the annual Life Skills Academy at Kansas State University as well as the Future Leaders Forum at Disney World. Sumit is currently a sophomore in NYU's College of Arts and Science. He is majoring in Economics with a minor in Business Stud- ies from the Leonard N. Stern School of Business. He is interning on 5th Avenue at Merrill Lynch and plans to continue this position for the summer.