As he approached the podium, Daniel Meredith peered into an audience of over 80 people. Although the group knew almost everything about him, few had ever seen him in person.
Following a brief introduction, the panel began firing questions at Meredith; questioning him on all aspects of his life. The eight minutes Meredith had with the crowd would determine whether or not he would be receiving their support during his collegiate endeavors this fall.
“The weirdest question I got?” pondered Meredith, “probably the guy that asked if I’ve ever dunked in a basketball game. That one kind of caught me off guard.”
Without hesitation, Meredith responded calmly to each inquiry and exited the evening with a positive frame of mind.
“I felt good afterwards” said Meredith. “I was nervous as hell coming in, but everything worked out nicely.”
That day, January 7th, was the final step in the Evans Scholars Scholarship evaluation process. A panel of 30 questioners and over 30 other viewers assembled in order to verify that Meredith deserved to be a recipient of the prestigious award.
Founded in 1929, the Evans Scholars Foundation is a program designed to give deserving golf caddies the opportunity to pursue a college education that otherwise would be difficult for them to acquire.
To be eligible, the person must be a high school senior and a caddy who has been in good standing for at least two years. The student must also exhibit academic excellence and financial need.
Meredith met all of these requirements and began the application process in August 2008.
The process began with a letter of recommendation from the President of the Birmingham Country Club, Steve Svuch and from Meredith’s school counselor, Walt Romano. As with any scholarship there was a basic information and essay portion that needed to be submitted in order to be considered.
On December 28th the Evans Scholars Foundation released this year’s finalists and Meredith was among those considered for the award.
“I was very proud to be considered for such a scholarship,” said Meredith.
Soon afterwards, Meredith and all the other finalists were required to travel out to Barton Hills Country Club in Ann Arbor where they interviewed with Western Golf Association officials.
Seven days after the aforementioned interview, Meredith received the good news in a letter from the Evans Scholars Foundation.
“Winning this award was a great ball for me,” said Meredith, “I was extremely happy afterwards.”
There are 14 Evans Scholars Chapters at universities across the Midwest and each has an Evans Scholars house where the recipients live. Participating universities include Northwestern University, the University of Wisconsin, Michigan State University, Ohio State University, Indiana University, and the University of Michigan, where Meredith will be attending this fall.
Recipients of the award receive full tuition and board to the university and, pending their admittance, have the bulk of their college expenses paid. The only inclusive expenses are a $2000 annual house maintenance fee, food and books.
The University of Michigan reports that during a typical fouryear undergraduate program, the average student will spend $47,000 on tuition and almost $35,000 on room and board.
Meredith’s brother Nathaniel, Seaholm graduate class of 2003, also was a recipient. Nathaniel attended Michigan and is currently in the final stages of a master’s degree in aerospace engineering.
“My brother has always told me what a great program the Evans Scholars is and how much fun it’s been for him.” Meredith said, “I’m extremely excited to get up to Ann Arbor and get started with my own college experience.”
