Prayers answered with an Evans Scholarship for caddies

By Gene Wojciechowski
ESPN.com

You don't know Kawthar Rkein. Neither did I until the 17-year-old caddie walked into a packed ballroom, stepped behind a wooden podium and, as her legs shook uncontrollably, began a 12-minute interview session that one way or another would literally change her life.

Not much was at stake. Only an academic scholarship to such high-priced universities as Northwestern, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin or, in Rkein's case, Marquette. Maybe that's why Sandra Rkein, a single mom who supports her two daughters and her own mother on a cleaning woman's wages, has been praying to St. Jude so much.

St. Jude -- patron saint of the hopeless.

So on the morning of Dec. 11, Kawthar Rkein, her knees knocking, stood in front of more than 100 Evans Scholars selection committee members at a suburban Chicago country club and told her story. She talked about the three ethnic youth clubs she joined at high school, just so she could meet different kinds of people ... about the money she saved from caddying that she used to pay for school books ... about the honors courses she loved ... about her lifelong dream to go to college. Nobody had time to ask her about her work as a soup kitchen volunteer.

Rkein's tiny but confident voice only cracked once -- when she talked about her mom.

"My mom," she said, taking a deep breath, "is amazing."

So was Rkein and the other 19 finalists who took turns speaking to that selection committee earlier this month on a bitterly cold day at River Forest Country Club in Elmhurst, Ill.
Think about it: You're what, 17, and you're summoned to a room full of adults, many of them wearing the green blazers of the Western Golf Association, which oversees the largest privately funded college scholarship program in the country? There's a waiting area and then, when it's your turn, a WGA rep leads you through a pair of glass doors, to the front of the ballroom, where you shake hands with the WGA big hitters. Then you're directed to the podium, where 100 committee members -- all allowed to ask pointed questions about your academic record, caddying experiences, life aspirations, etc. -- are assembled in front of you. These are the people who will vote yes or no on your scholarship after you leave the room.

Nerve-wracking? One finalist's face turned a splotchy red by the end of the interview. Another finalist kept wringing her hands every eight seconds. Another finalist could have used a beach towel to soak up the forehead flop sweat.

Nearly 600 caddies nationwide applied to the Evans Scholars program this year. It's a breeze: All you need is club sponsorship, a sparkling academic record, a history of community service and/or meaningful extracurricular activities, leadership skills and serious financial need (parents' tax returns are required). Gandhi would have had a hard time winning one of these things.

The finalists appear in front of the state selection committees, like this one. And they tell their stories.

Read more compelling stories...click here

Until I see you on the first tee,

Scott