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Ahmad Raoul

1x

Nominee

1x

Finalist

Bio

Hello, my name is Ahmad Raoul, and I am a senior at Winston-Salem State University majoring in Business Administration with a concentration in Management Information Systems. Alongside my academic pursuits, I have a strong passion for golf and continue to aspire to play professional golf post-graduation. While that remains a goal, I also plan to enter the golf industry after graduating, combining my business, technology, and athletic background to make an impact in the sport. In the future, I aspire to be a professional golfer, an entrepreneur, and a leader who uses innovation and strategy to create meaningful change. My long-term career interests lie at the intersection of business, technology, and golf, potentially working with major companies within the golf or broader sports industry. My lifelong goal is to help end poverty and homelessness both locally and globally. I am deeply motivated to build homeless shelters in my city that provide dignity, stability, and access to resources that many individuals lack. Over time, I hope to expand this mission nationally and eventually worldwide, creating sustainable solutions that empower individuals and communities to thrive.

Education

Winston-Salem State University

Bachelor's degree program
2022 - 2026
  • Majors:
    • Business Administration, Management and Operations
  • Minors:
    • Management Information Systems and Services

Mount Carmel High School

High School
2018 - 2022

Miscellaneous

  • Desired degree level:

    Bachelor's degree program

  • Graduate schools of interest:

  • Transfer schools of interest:

  • Majors of interest:

    • Computer Science
    • Business Administration, Management and Operations
  • Not planning to go to medical school
  • Career

    • Dream career field:

      Professional Athlete

    • Dream career goals:

      PGA Tour Golfer

    • Clinic Organizer, PGA Jr. League Assistant Coach, and Club Repair

      Illinois PGA Golfworks Internship
      2022 – 20231 year
    • Caddie Manager

      Jackson Park Golf Association
      2025 – 2025
    • Golf Operations, Marketing, & Management Intern

      Troon Golf
      2025 – 2025
    • Golf Ball Fitting Intern

      Acushnet Titleist
      2024 – 2024
    • Caddy

      Beverly Country Club
      2020 – Present6 years

    Sports

    Golf

    Varsity
    2010 – Present16 years

    Awards

    • Tony Lawless Athlete Award (Player of the Year 2021)
    • All-Conference Award (2021)
    • Mount Carmel Varsity Rookie of the Year (2018)
    • Mount Carmel Varsity Most Valuable Player (2019-2021)
    • Mount Carmel Varsity Low Gross Award (2019-2021)
    • 2022-23 Black College Golf Coaches Association (BCGCA) All-Freshman Team

    Public services

    • Volunteering

      Walter and Nettie George Speedy Foundation — Leader/Coach
      2020 – 2020
    • Volunteering

      Mount Carmel High School — Leader
      2022 – 2022
    • Volunteering

      Mount Carmel High School — Participant
      2020 – 2021
    • Volunteering

      Mount Carmel High School — Participant
      2019 – 2020
    • Volunteering

      Feed My Starving Children — Volunteer
      2018 – 2020
    • Volunteering

      Chicago Public Schools Student Science Fair — Volunteer
      2016 – 2018
    • Volunteering

      The First Tee of Greater Chicago — Coach
      2019 – Present

    Future Interests

    Volunteering

    Philanthropy

    Entrepreneurship

    Hulede Collegiate Golf Scholarship
    1. Outside of golf and academics, I invest my time in personal development, fitness, and learning skills that support long-term independence and discipline. One area I am deeply committed to is day trading. I spend a significant amount of time studying market behavior, risk management, and strategy development to build a consistent, repeatable, and profitable trading system. Day trading has taught me patience, emotional control, and accountability—qualities that directly translate to golf and life. In addition, I prioritize strength training and conditioning to support my performance on the course and continue learning about business, technology, and the golf industry to become a more well-rounded and impactful individual. 2. I am currently a senior at Winston-Salem State University, majoring in Business Administration with a concentration in Management Information Systems. I chose this field because it blends business strategy with technology, allowing me to understand how systems, data, and innovation drive organizations forward. This major aligns well with my long-term goals of entering the golf industry and pursuing entrepreneurship, as it equips me with practical skills in decision-making, problem-solving, and operational efficiency that are valuable both on and off the course. 3. Giving back is central to my long-term vision. Beyond addressing homelessness and hunger, I also aspire to help grow and diversify the game of golf. I want to be a visible resource for the next generation of golfers who look like me, ensuring they have the same access—or greater access—to opportunities, mentorship, and exposure than I had growing up in the game. During college and beyond, I plan to give back through mentorship, community engagement, and advocacy within the golf space, using my experiences to help young athletes navigate both the sport and life beyond it. As I advance professionally, my goal is to leverage golf and business as platforms for meaningful and lasting impact. 4. Receiving the HCGS scholarship would be transformative to my collegiate experience. Academically, the financial support would allow me to focus fully on my studies without the added pressure of financial stress. Athletically, it would help support training, competition, and preparation as I continue pursuing my goal of playing professional golf post-graduation. Personally, the mentorship offered through HCGS would be especially beneficial. Having access to mentors who understand the demands of collegiate golf, career transitions, and personal growth would provide guidance, perspective, and accountability as I prepare to enter the golf industry. That mentorship would play a critical role in helping me make informed decisions, grow as a leader, and carry the values of the game into everything I do. 5. One of the most meaningful periods of adversity I faced was navigating uncertainty about my future in golf while balancing academic responsibilities and personal expectations. There were seasons when my performance on the course did not reflect the time, preparation, and discipline I was committing, which created moments of self-doubt and forced me to confront difficult questions about my long-term path in the game. Rather than stepping away or becoming discouraged, I chose to respond with intention. I shifted my focus to what I could control—my preparation, work ethic, mindset, and daily habits. I became more process-oriented, emphasizing consistency, mental toughness, and incremental improvement rather than immediate results. This period also pushed me to develop stronger self-awareness and resilience, helping me understand that progress is not always linear. That experience taught me that adversity does not define my potential, but my response to it does. It reinforced my ability to stay disciplined in uncertainty, trust the process, and remain committed to growth even when outcomes are unclear. Ultimately, it strengthened my confidence, maturity, and belief that the lessons learned through golf extend far beyond the course and prepare me for challenges in life, business, and leadership.
    Black Students in STEM Scholarship
    From a young age, I have always had a passion for STEM and its practical applications. My earliest memories revolve around learning how to understand the basic building blocks of programming as a sixth-grader. As a result of this passion, my parents implored me to join my school’s robotics club. I quickly learned this was one of the best decisions I could have made because I was exposed to Arduinos, breadboards, and other fundamental principles of coding. I originally learned coding through a block method that is easier to dissect for young children. After developing the necessary skills to code, my passion for computers grew exponentially. As I have matriculated through high school, I have gained more opportunities to test my limits with computer science and its relevance to my day-to-day life. In the fall of 2019 as a sophomore, I joined my high school robotics club in order to expand my knowledge and skills within the engineering field. My primary responsibility was to program the robots to complete their tasks and to construct them appropriately based on the competition’s specifications. In order to become a better programmer, I have taken it upon myself to self-study Python. The experience has been challenging, yet rewarding because I have expanded my knowledge base in the fundamentals of coding, thus making it easier to learn new languages. Once I master Python, I will then move on to C++ and JavaScript. In addition to learning those new languages, I built my first desktop computer during the pandemic in 2020. With all of the extra time available to me at home, I made it a point to gain new skills within the Computer Science field prior to enrolling at Winston-Salem State University (WSSU). My desire to pursue a career in the STEM field is quite unique. As a STEM enthusiast and a golfer, there are many intersections between what I love and what I am passionate about. As a golfer, I am always striving to get better. The thirst for more distance, more accuracy, and more data to quantify it all is never-ending. At the same time, the drive to understand complex scientific principles and how they can be applied to my day-to-day life is never-ending too. As a Computer Science major at Winston-Salem State University , I would be able to strategically find a way to integrate both into my overall undergraduate experience. I would leverage my STEM knowledge to create programs that analyze my golf swing, my fitness, and even my sleep in order to determine how I can improve my performance on the golf course. Furthermore, as a golfer I would have a high-performance athlete to test many of my sports-based computer projects on, allowing me a ready-made lab subject to continue my education. My ultimate career goal is to become a professional golfer. Through my undergraduate coursework and my time as a WSSU golfer, I believe I will be able to achieve that goal because of the support and rigors that Winston-Salem will provide me.