(KGTV) — A San Marcos High School senior has earned a life-changing opportunity through an unlikely path: caddying at a public golf course.
Loren Guerra, one of the top caddies at Goat Hill Park Golf Course in Oceanside, recently received the Evans Scholarship — a national program that provides full-ride college scholarships to young caddies.
"I was just walking up to the front door, and I noticed this big envelope, and I opened it up, and I was really shocked to see the Evans scholarship flag, and then the letter that said I had been accepted to become an Evans scholar," Guerra told ABC 10News.
The 18-year-old is part of the Goat Hill Caddie and Leadership Academy, a program that has grown significantly over the past eight years at the par-65 public course located just steps from Interstate 5.
"The game of golf creates a great classroom for us to teach these kid,s maybe stuff they're not learning in school," said Will Kropp of the Goat Hill Caddie and Leadership Academy.
Caddies earn $50 per round plus tips, but the job comes with physical challenges on the hilly course layout.
"Those hills always get you. Uphill, downhill. It's quite brutal, but quite fun," Guerra said.
Beyond the physical demands, the program teaches valuable life skills.
"What caddying teaches them is just incredible. The etiquette, being on time, learning how to deal with all types of different people," Kropp said.
For Guerra, the experience has been about more than just golf.
"My favorite thing about caddying is meeting new people, learning more about how other people play golf, and all about what jobs they do and how their career is outside of golf," Guerra said.
Guerra follows in the footsteps of Ada and Annabelle Lee, who became the first Evans Scholars from Goat Hill Park and are now attending the University of Washington.
The scholarship recipient plans to pursue a career in medicine.
"For the future, I hope to major in biology and hopefully become a doctor," Guerra said.
Kropp has watched Guerra's transformation over the years.
"To see the pictures from Loren when he first got here, a shy, young, 13-year-old, to what he is now, is incredible," Kropp said.
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