The MGA Foundation is proud to announce the newest GOLFWORKS Graduate Scholars: Marisol Holguin, Arun Lakhihal, Natalie Moody, Edward Ricottone, and Derek Young.
This 2025 class of GOLFWORKS Graduate Scholarship recipients joins five other scholars, awarded in 2024, who are currently attending colleges and universities across the country. The MGA Foundation introduced the GOLFWORKS Graduate Scholarship in 2024 to advance educational opportunities to students who have displayed exceptional commitment to working in service to golf in the Met Area. The scholarship offers an affordable pathway to pursue a career in the golf industry.
“The MGA Foundation is pleased to award the second class of GOLFWORKS Graduate Scholars,” says Johanna Gavin, the director of the MGA Foundation. “While the scholars have diverse backgrounds and experiences, they share a work ethic developed by their time working in golf that has translated to the classroom, extracurriculars, and their personal lives. They are achievers, leaders, and future stewards of the game. We are proud to support them through their academic careers.”
To qualify for the GOLFWORKS Graduate Scholarship, students must demonstrate a financial need, experience working in service to golf at an MGA member club, a commitment to pursue a career in or future with the game of golf, and exceptional academic and leadership qualities.
Marisol Holguin, a freshman at the University at Buffalo, worked in the golf shop at Metropolis Country Club in White Plains, N.Y, the Women’s Metropolitan Golf Association (WMGA), and the MGA. At the WMGA, Holguin assisted with tournament administration and website management. Holguin was an honor roll student at White Plains High School.
Arun Lakhihal, a freshman at Rutgers University, was an AP Scholar and a member of the varsity golf team at John P. Stevens High School in Edison, N.J. Lakhihal was also a coach with First Tee – Metropolitan New York since 2021. He also founded LuckyFinanceTips, a TikTok channel focused on helping teens with personal financial literacy.
Natalie Moody, a senior at Hofstra University on Long Island, has worked as a caddie and instructor at Hempstead Golf and Country Club on Long Island since 2024, and was a camp counselor at Peninsula Golf Course in Massapequa, N.Y., and E. Donald Conroy Golf Course at Sumpwams Creek in Babylon, N.Y., during the summers from 2020 to 2024. Moody was the captain of the high school golf team at Massapequa High School and plays for Hofstra’s golf team.
Edward Ricottone, a freshman at Penn State Brandywine, worked at the Golf Club at Middle Bay in Oceanside, N.Y., for the last four years, assisting on the range, helping stage events, and cleaning clubs and carts, among other tasks. Ricottone attended Oceanside High School, where he earned National Honor Society accolades and was a member of the varsity golf team. He is a member of the men’s golf team at PSB.
Derek Young, a freshman at Hofstra, has caddied at Garden City Golf Club on Long Island since 2022 and has volunteered with First Tee in East Meadow since 2020. He has also worked at Padavan-Preller Fields in Queens, performing field maintenance since 2024. Young graduated from Francis Lewis High School in Queens, where he was a member of the varsity baseball team and a yearbook photographer.
The GOLFWORKS Graduate Scholarship is administered by the MGA Foundation and celebrates GOLFWORKS interns and others who work at clubs and courses throughout New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
To learn more about the GOLFWORKS Graduate Scholarship, contact Johanna Gavin, director of the MGA Foundation, at jgavin@mgagolf.org. For information about how to become a GOLFWORKS intern or how to support the program, contact Lou Cutolo at lcutolo@mgagolf.com.