My name is Kennedi Lee, originally from Mansfield, Texas, I am a rising senior at North Carolina A&T State University and a member of the women’s golf team. Outside of being a collegiate golfer, on campus I am a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). As a member of SAAC, we give back by volunteering in the Greensboro community, supporting other sports, and serving as a representative for our sport to address needs and concerns from student-athletes. I have served as the representative for the women’s golf team on my campus since my sophomore year. I believe leadership and teamwork in my team and amongst all athletic teams at my university is important which is why I value being a SAAC representative. I am a mass communications student with a concentration in mass media production. I have always had an interest in storytelling and production, especially with photography and videography. My decision to pursue my education studying mass communication at a historically black university has been one of the most rewarding decisions I have ever made in my life. I have been blessed with the opportunity to meet and network with so many amazing black students and alums, it has allowed me to gain so much knowledge and insight in my collegiate career. My goal after graduation is to work in broadcasting or media production within the golf industry. African-Americans makeup only nine percent of the golf industry while women only makeup eight percent. There are very few African-Americans who makeup the workspace, let alone African-American women. Just how I have been able to be a representation of African-American women golfers on the collegiate level, I hope to do the same in the golf workspace. While in college, I have given back to my community through service, especially in golf. When I am home for the summer or winter break, I volunteer for the Mansfield Mission Center where they provide resources and necessities to those in need or underprivileged families and individuals in my community. I volunteer in the thrift store where I help organize, sort, and set clothing out in the store. I also volunteer for my junior golf coach where she teaches women of color how to play golf. I help set up and teach the sessions to extend the game to women of color as well as serving as an example as an African-American woman playing a sport dominated by white males on the collegiate level. I have also given back to the Greensboro community during my internship with The First Tee of Central Carolina, a non-profit organization devoted to growing the game to youth. We led summer golf camps and clinics teaching junior golfers of all ages and levels how to play and expanding their skills within the game. Interns were also a part of Campus Greensboro, an organization dedicated to helping college students prepare for their professional careers. Through Campus Greensboro we volunteered through different parts of Greensboro cleaning the community during the summer. Serving my community is important. I plan to continue giving back especially to the next generation of golfers of color, and be a resource for them. Being a recipient of The Hulede Collegiate Golf scholarship would help me reach my academic and athletic goals by relieving the financial barriers that exist. College expenses, including tuition, fees, gas, and other costs can add quickly and become substantial. Being awarded this scholarship would alleviate some of the financial burdens associated with pursuing a higher education as an out-of-state student. This would allow me to focus on my studies and athletics with a peace of mind without worrying about any possible financial strain. I also realize that being a recipient of this scholarship is a commitment to this scholarship foundation by being a representative of The Hulede Collegiate Golf scholarship’s missions and values. In the ways that this scholarship can impact me, I hope to impact the foundation and continue to inspire future generations of golfers to promote diversity and representation in golf. Nevertheless, I sincerely hope that I have been able to share a narrative of myself that shows I am a committed student-athlete on and off the course. I am thankful for the opportunity to apply to the Hulede Collegiate Golf Scholarship and appreciate any consideration of being a recipient.

I believe I should be considered for the Samuel D. Hartley Memorial Scholarship because I am a hard-working student-athlete who is determined and has a passion for the game of golf. I picked up the sport when I was 11 years old and at the time, I didn't think it would be something I would continue to do for the course of my life. I grew to love the sport because of the challenges you face. Playing a course to me was like a puzzle that I couldn't wait to solve. After the outbreak of COVID-19, I gained a passion for golf like never before. After being in lockdown for 2 months and not being able to swing a club, I was determined to come back to golf better than I was. The following school year was my senior year of high school and I earned the opportunity to play golf at the division one level. I am very grateful for where the game of golf has taken me throughout my life. Not only has it given me the opportunity to play on the collegiate level, it has allowed me to pursue my education at a higher level, and internship opportunities in the golf industry. I was a part of the inaugural class of Pathways Interns, an internship program for the U.S. Open. The experience was amazing and I learned a lot about what it took to pursue a career within the golf industry at a major golf association such as the USGA. The people I have had the pleasure to meet and the opportunities that have been presented to me through this sport are invaluable. Being a recipient of the Samuel D. Hartley Memorial Scholarship would help me reach my academic and professional goals by relieving the existing financial barriers. I am a member of the women’s golf team at North Carolina A&T State University. While I am grateful to be able to play competitive golf at the collegiate level, it was not easy to get into this position. I originally did not start my collegiate career at North Carolina A&T State University. During my freshman year, I attended Texas Southern University in Houston, Texas. Home for me is Dallas, which was about a 4-hour drive from campus. While I enjoyed my freshman year, I sought an opportunity at North Carolina A&T for my academics and athletics that I could not get where I was. Taking this opportunity meant sacrificing the scholarship offer I had at Texas Southern that covered all of my expenses, and turning my 4-hour drive to campus into a 3-hour plane ride. I was willing to take this leap of faith for a better opportunity for me academically and athletically at the expense of what was convenient for me financially and geographically. Being awarded this scholarship would alleviate the financial challenges I face as an out-of-state student with the costs of tuition, transportation, and living. I would utilize the funds of this scholarship towards my tuition expenses to support my studies and focus on my academics. I also realize that being a recipient of this scholarship is a commitment to Samuel D. Hartley and his legacy, being a representative of his missions and values. In the ways that this scholarship can impact me, I hope to impact my community by demonstrating as a leader and a student-athlete.

It wasn’t until after the outbreak of COVID-19 is when I really fell in love with the game. When COVID-19 hit and we were put in lockdown, I had anxiety about how I was going to get back into the game. The virus just so conveniently broke in the middle of my junior year in high school, the prime season of my junior golf career. I led myself to believe that whenever this so-called “lockdown” ended, I would never return to be the golfer that I was because too much time had passed since I touched a club and had been able to practice on a golf course. I thought it was easier to quit so that’s what I did, but not for long. My parents convinced me to give golf one more chance, and for me that felt like 17 more chances. However, I’m glad I gave golf “one” more chance because that summer is when I caught the golf bug. I got so addicted to the game and the desire to get better, I was on the golf course all day every day. Eventually, my hard work paid off, and I was able to sign to Division 1 golf during my senior year of high school and prove my doubts wrong. Now I still carry that passion for the game because there is nothing quite like it. The feeling of bombing a drive, hitting your iron solid, or draining a birdie putt is something that can't be beaten. Although golf is a tough game, that’s exactly the reason why I love it. A good shot won’t happen all the time and making putts can be difficult, but I love the process to become great at all those things it’s even more rewarding to see them come to fruition. Being a female in a game that’s predominantly played by men is not always the easiest to deal with. Everybody’s experience is different, but I have had some of my own. I was having a lesson one day with my swing instructor and he was adjusting the loft of my driver so I was able to get the most out of my club. I hit some shots and I ended up putting on a stripe show on the range and hitting it further than I was before. I was hitting bombs after bombs and then the head golf pro of the golf course made a comment saying that I was hitting it like a girl. On the outside, I laughed it off, but on the inside it made me feel worse about my ability to hit the ball far. After my lesson, my instructor pulled me to the side and told me to ignore the comment and of how proud he was of me. Although he didn’t explicitly stand up for me, he made it very clear that he was not happy about the comment and that it made him just as angry. Comments like these are no strangers to me. Being doubted for my abilities and how far I can hit it because I’m a girl is something I face all the time. But I was raised to be tough and take things to the chin. Whether they can see it or not, I know my worth. That’s something invaluable that this game has taught me not just in golf, but in life.