Quartet joins more than 15 other Friars, now enrolled at universities around the country, who are fellow recipients of the golf-related, four-year full scholarship.
The Western Golf Association (WGA) and its Evans Scholars Foundation have released the names of four Fenwick High School seniors (in alphabetical order) who will receive the Chick Evans Caddie Scholarship for the 2021-25 school years:
Jason Cruz (left) of Chicago/Chicago Academy Elementary School (Sunset Ridge Country Club, Northfield) – Marquette University (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
Cristian Garcia (right) of Chicago/George Rogers Clark Elementary School (Briarwood Country Club, Deerfield) – University of Illinois (Urbana/ Champaign)
Rafal Sieklucki (left) of Chicago/St. Constance (Ridgemoor Country Club, Harwood Heights) – Miami University (Oxford, Ohio)
Alessandra Zuleta (below) of Cicero, IL/Saint Frances of Rome School(Glen View Club, Golf, IL) – Northwestern University (Evanston, Illinois), probable
The four soon-to-be graduates will join more than 15 other former Fenwick students presently enrolled in universities as Evans Scholars, including six from the Class of 2020. (Recent alumnus Gabriel Ruggie ’20, of River Forest, IL/St. Luke Parish School and Oak Park Country Club, was awarded the scholarship after completing his first semester of studies at the University of Wisconsin – Madison.) Each award covers full tuition and housing for four years. An additional 256 Evans Scholarships are being awarded to other Class of ’21 caddies from around the United States.
“The Evans Scholarship Program has provided a truly exceptional opportunity to our students over the years,” said Emily Anderson, one of two college counselors at Fenwick. “Again this year, the selection committee has granted full scholarships to these four seniors. We are proud and grateful.”
Legendary amateur golfer Charles “Chick” Evans (left, 1890-1979) aspired to send deserving caddies to college. Sponsoring country clubs can nominate a young man or woman possessing “a strong caddie record, excellent grades, outstanding character and demonstrated financial need,” according to the WGA.
Evans Scholarship Facts
Since they were first awarded to NU students in 1930, more than 11,000 young men and women have been awarded Evans Scholarships to some of the nation’s top universities. Presently, 965 students receive the award. On campus, they live together in a Scholarship House owned by the WGA’s Evans Scholars Foundation. Four additional statistics:
- The average value of an Evans Scholarship is $100,000
- The college graduation rate for Evans Scholars is 95%
- Evans Scholars’ collective, cumulative GPA is 3.3
- The program’s scholarship costs exceed $20 million annually
