For over 25 years, we’ve used golf to teach lessons about life. We’ve spun the unexpected challenges on the fairway to coach kids about adversity in the everyday. It’s not just a game, its game-changing.
Our alumni are a reflection of that commitment we made to building game changers. Below are just a few of our exceptional alumni who are making a difference in the world because of the lessons learned at First Tee.
Visit our 25th anniversary page for more impactful stories and videos from our alumni.
First Tee is celebrating its 25th anniversary this month, and over the years, it’s helped produce no shortage of game changers.
One example is Marcus Freeman from First Tee – Greater Charlotte. He says the organization has helped him grow as a golfer and person.
“Being a part of this community has helped me get through hard times. First Tee – Greater Charlotte was a safe place for me in 2020. During this time my grandfather was going through end stage pancreatic cancer and my family, like the world, was navigating COVID-19 and social distancing,” he says.
The support he received from First Tee inspired Freeman to pay it forward.
He completed more than 300 hours of volunteer work for First Tee in 2021. He collected more than 500 books for a First Tee book drive, and he’s a member of the chapter’s participant advisory council. Freeman has also volunteered for his swim team and tutored students in Japanese.
“An aspect of volunteer work that I enjoy is seeing the impact that giving to others can have,” he says.
Freeman is one of 28 First Tee participants from across the country who’ll attend Innovators Forum this November in Dallas. The workshop empowers First Tee teens to develop a meaningful service project in their community focused on education, health or sustainability. Eight participants will be awarded scholarships totaling $32,000 after the event.
A junior at Palisades High School, Freeman is an accomplished violinist, and he won a medal for performing Japanese poems in 2019. Freeman aspires to study sports science in college. “I enjoy learning more about physical fitness and how the body works,” he says. Freeman spends his free time researching training tips and injury recovery.
As he progresses as an athlete and student, Freeman says he’ll continue to use the lessons and qualities he’s learned at First Tee, including confidence.
“When I first joined the program, I was a little shy when meeting new coaches, parents and other players. I spent time observing the instructors and how they interacted with all the different people coming and going. I saw them shake hands, make eye contact, smile and speak confidently,” he says.
“I knew I wanted those skills as well. I pushed myself out of my comfort zone, and I started to apply what I observed to my own social skills. I practiced a strong handshake. I introduced myself to people I didn’t know, and I have met many interesting people, like professional golfer Davis Love III, all because I have improved in sharing my personality.”
Learn more about Innovators Forum.
Lots of kids aspire to become astronauts but few go on to build careers in space exploration. That hasn’t stopped Hannah Rens from chasing her dreams into orbit.
The 24-year-old is a systems engineer for Boeing Space and Launch, working on Boeing’s Starliner, a commercial crew and cargo vehicle that will be transporting NASA astronauts to the international space station.
“My ultimate career goal is to be chief engineer of a permanent human habitat on the moon,” says Rens, a former participant at First Tee – Siouxland and First Tee volunteer. “To achieve that goal, I need to develop advanced business skills, gain industry experience and further my engineering technical education.”
That’s why she’s attending the First Tee Alumni Summit presented by Gallagher this November in Dallas. The event provides an opportunity for selected alumni to advance their career by building new skills while reconnecting with fellow alumni and chapter leaders.
“I’m looking to learn more about working in a rapidly evolving industry, startups and founding your own business, and how to develop an effective personal brand,” she says.
Rens says her nine years in First Tee helped shape her future. “It provided me with a structured path to improving my golf game, peer and trusted mentors, and interpersonal and professional skills that have been essential in achieving my goals,” she says.
While in First Tee, she was selected to attend the Leaders and Entrepreneurs Forum at Disney World. “Getting to meet other students from across the U.S. while listening and working with successful business owners and entrepreneurs was unlike any other experience I had in high school,” she says. “The business principles and goals I learned have stayed with me.”
A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, Rens began her career with internships focused on aircraft maintenance and repair. As Starliner prepares to expand its service to additional sites in Earth’s orbit, Rens works on vehicle life span and sustainment. Ultimately, Starliner will become one of the first spacecraft with turnaround times closer to traditional air traffic. Talk about a Game Changer.
Rens now serves as a mentor for high school and college students who want careers in the space industry, and she’s enrolled in an astronautical engineering master’s program at the University of Southern California focusing on human spaceflight.
Rens still golfs, and she’s a certified open water and dry suit SCUBA diver. Learn more about the accomplishments of First Tee alumni.
Palm Desert has separated themselves in the DEL. They have had consistent division one talent come through the program and next or the tee is Hailey Hays.
“I started in the First Tee Coachella Valley program. I have been a member for 13 years now,” said Hays. “It’s such an incredible program. Then I started on the high school team as a freshman, and I had a lot of pressure, and I went in knowing I want to be a strong asset to the girl’s golf team.”
“Her freshman year she just started getting into the feel of the game, but now she has the determination and passion to go out there and shoot low scores,” said head coach Kaitlyn Ellis.
Nothing is getting in the way for Hays senior season, it’s all tunnel vision.
“I am focused on myself and making sure I play to the best of my ability, but also this is a team sport,” said Hays. “It’s not just about myself it’s about making sure that all of us are improving all of us are getting better and we all our playing our best to win. Hopefully take home the league title again this year.”
Golf is hobby for most of us but for Hays, golf is everything and then some.
“Golf takes up majority of my time I practice every day after school no matter how hot it is,” said Hays. “Golf is my thing and I love it so much it brings me so much joy.”
“She always cares about others, and she always puts others before herself,” said Ellis. “And that is someone you look for as a coach, but also a leader on the Aztec golf team.”
A difference maker Hays is for her team, but she also gives back to her community.
“I’m a member of the National Charity League and I have been doing that for about six years now,” said Hays. “ I just did a fundraiser this past year that raised over $15,000 for my First Tee chapter, so I’m really working to help grow the chapter as well.”
Hays’ last year in Aztec red and she wants it to be the best one yet.
“My goal would be to win league, DEL individuals this year. I’ve been working hard I was second place last year, so the goal would be to win DEL and to make it to the second round of CIF individuals,” said Hays.
“She wears the Aztec colors and Aztec pride very well,” said Ellis.
What a player, what a person.
The First Tee Coachella Valley is a stepping stone used by many young kids that aspire to be great in the game of golf, including Braden Bernaldo.
He’s been with the local chapter of the First Tee since he was four and says that it’s much more than just a youth development organization.
“All of the volunteers and coaches that I’ve met throughout the years, I’ve built such a strong relationship with them. And it was hard for me to leave that,” says Braden for what’s kept him there for so long.
He also says, “They made me feel at home because they really got to know each individual student personally, and they were supportive and they wanted you to do your best even when you didn’t have the best days. They worked with you one on one to work out those problems and to see how you could get better. So they were very interactive with us and were very personable.”
The former Palm Desert High student was among only 40 First Tee Participants to be tapped nationwide to attend the second-annual First Tee Leadership Summit in partnership with PGA TOUR Superstore in West Creek Ranch, Montana.
And he had one way to describe it, “life changing, simply put.”
These talented group of young stars were together less than a week — but he says it’ll be a week he’ll never forget.
“An enclosed week with the other participants and all the other guest speakers that were there. I just felt like we were in our own bubble,” says Braden.
He went on to say, “It was very nice to open up to one another and kind of truly identify who we are as people and learn how to build authentic relationships. It’s a life changing experience that we will hold on to for the rest of our lives.”
All the while, Braden is no stranger to the limelight or being handpicked in a crowded sea of talent across the country.
Just last summer, he punched his way into the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship. That’s just one of the many milestones he’s hit throughout his short, but nothing short of success, junior career.
Braden is entering his freshman year two time zones over in Sioux City, Iowa at Morningside University,home of the Mustangs. He’s studying business right now and says, “the goal for me mainly after college would be to build my own company. Again, I don’t know what specifically yet. I’m sure it’s gonna have something to do with golf, but that’s the main goal.”
And when asked about who stands out to him on tour right now, the young standout says, “Will Zalatoris. I think he is a very he’s an underdog on tour right now this season. He had been coming up so close, especially in majors. But he’s just been playing really consistently and I really admire that.”
Talialaina Letoi
As we all know, the Coachella Valley is a major golf hub for fans, the professionals, and even some aspiring stars — many who started with the First Tee Coachella Valle.y
Among them, includes 18-year-old Maleyna ‘Beast Mode’ Gregorio, who has been with the First Tee since the age of four.
“I think something that’s so amazing about the First Tee is that they truly help and guide you throughout your golf journey and the journey of life,” says Maleyna.
The First Tee is a nonprofit designed to help young golfers build their strength of character through the game, and Maleyna has been a clear standout.
Recently, Maleyna was one of only 40 First Tee Participants selected across the country to attend the second-annual First Tee Leadership Summit in partnership with PGA TOUR Superstore in West Creek Ranch, Montana.
She says, the summit taught her and others there a lot.
While there, these young golfers would take part in dynamic outdoor and team-building activities.
“Those activities really made me get closer to the people who did attend that leadership summit. And we had some amazing keynote speakers that I’ll be taking quotes from them like success is a constant road under construction,” Maleyna said while describing her experience. Among the keynote speakers included Josh Stewart and even NFL standout Michael Vick, who spoke on the power of decision-making.
One of the many takeaways Maleyna took away, included his comments on not losing one’s self to their sport saying, “He gave us some great advice on how to not tie your identity as an athlete to also a human being, which I think is very important for me moving forward into playing collegiate golf.”
But all in all, Maleyna says the values and experiences with the First Tee — both on and off the course — are unmatched.
“So when you look at First Tee, it’s not only just about the game of golf, it’s about truly building upon who one is as a person and the people in First Tee Coachella Valley are so passionate about what they do and they’re going to help your child grow whether that’s in the game of golf or not,” Maleyna went on to say, “But the core values and the life lessons they teach you is something that will correlate with your child for the rest of their life.”
Maleyna is headed to UC Riverside this Fall where she’ll play on the Women’s Golf Team. And when it comes to what she wants to do after college, Maleyna says she wants to try to go try out for Q-school with her sights set on the LPGA Tour. However, she says, “regardless if that works out or not, I hope to still be in the golf industry and help work on continuing women’s rights equality in the game sports.”
Talialaina Letoi
First Tee Coachella Valley members Braden Bernaldo, 17, and Maleyna Gregorio, 18, were exclusively selected among 40 teenage First Tee chapter members nationwide to attend the second-annual First Tee Leadership Summit.
“It’s such a blessing to be able to represent the Coachella Valley,” said Bernaldo. “The First Tee has helped me have a direction in life and be respectful and use my nine core values.”
“Its played a huge role. Not only just the chapter, but also the people that work in the chapter and who donate,” said Gregorio.
Both participated in a five week leadership series prior to this honor. They will spend an entire week strengthening their leadership skills and grow characters strengths.
Gregorio says she is excited about this opportunity but also has bigger aspirations in mind.
“I want to make a difference in the future of continuing to further female equality and I think golf is one where we need a little bit of work on,” said Gregorio. “We are headed in the right direction but there is always more improvement.”
This First Tee Leadership Summit will be held at West Creek Ranch in Montana from Aug. 1-5th.
Bailey Arredondo is a Sports Anchor/Reporter for KESQ News Channel 3. He joined the Desert’s News Leader in January 2022 here.
Like many other junior golfers heading to the college ranks, Maleyna Gregorio dreams of a future on the LPGA Tour. But she also has plans should a playing career not happen.
“Of course the goal is to go to the LPGA Tour and try out for Q-school, but there is always a Plan B,” said Gregorio, the 18-year-old from Indio who will play golf at Division 1 UC Riverside this fall. “Regardless if I get LPGA status or not, I want to be 100 percent in the game of golf. I’m very passionate about equality when it comes to female pay. I think that is something I want to work toward, getting females more opportunities and for an equal amount of pay.”
It’s that kind of commitment to golf that in part helped Gregorio earn a $20,000 scholarship from the First Tee College Scholarship Program. Gregorio, who turned 18 last Saturday and has been a member of the First Tee of the Coachella Valley since she was just 4, is one of 25 First Tee scholars across the country to earn the scholarship.
“She’s amazing. She has on her golf bag ‘Maleyna Gregorio, Beastmode,” said Teal Guion, the executive director of the First Tee of the Coachella Valley in Palm Desert. “That’s like the best way to explain her. She is the most focused. If she wants to get something done, it’s going to get done. I think with her scholarship application, it was submitted on day one.”
The scholarship from the national First Tee was in part because of Gregorio’s long history with the local chapter of the First Tee, and her own story of staying with the game despite obstacles. Gregorio had to explain those challenges in her applications, which she said took her 10 hours to complete.
“It’s kind of like my life journey with the game, a lot of it was obstacles that I have endured, and I have endured quite a few of them as a golfer and just as a regular human being,” Gregorio said. “I think that is something that kind of set me apart from other people applying. Volunteering a lot and really prioritizing my academics and things like that set up to get the scholarship now.”
Part of that journey was having to leave the game for a while because of an apparent allergy to the sun, Guion said.
“Really during the pandemic, she said you know what, I’m going to figure this out,” Guion said of Gregorio. “So she would sit outside for like 10 minutes and then she would go back in. Then she would sit outside for 15 minutes and go back in. So she built her stamina up and with medicines and things like that, she was able to go out and start practicing and playing again.”
The COVID-19 pandemic presented another challenge, since Gregorio and her parents decided she would leave Shadow Hills High School after her sophomore year to be home schooled. While not playing high school golf, Gregorio did play tournaments like the SCPGA Junior Tour and the Valley Junior Golf Tour. Home schooling gave her more time to practice and travel to tournaments, she said, and that led to UC Riverside and head coach Mary Ritchie.
“Tournament results got me conversation starters with the coach, and she signed me back in March,” Gregorio said.
Applying for the First Tee scholarship was at the urging of Guion, Gregorio said.
“Coach Teal has kind of given me amazing opportunities and she said that I should apply for it,” Guion said. “She’s kind of like a second mom to me, so I did what she told me to do and now here we are.”
Gregorio says her experiences at the First Tee from the time she first hit a tennis ball with an oversized plastic club have been important in her path to college golf and beyond.
“So many things. It’s truly one of the main factors that has contributed to who I am today,” she said. “It taught me values and skills and communication that will travel to my personal, my educational and my professional life journey and I think that a lot of kids can learn that.”
The First Tee scholarship is one of about 12 scholarships that Gregorio has earned, with a plan that she may be able to graduate from UC Riverside debt free. After years of volunteering at the First Tee of the Coachella Valley, Gregorio started as a paid employee this week – “my first real job,” she laughed – as a coach for summer camps. She can work throughout the summer before going to UC Riverside in September as a sophomore. She has already completed a year of college credits at College of the Desert while putting together a 4.56 grade-point average in high school.
When college starts in September, Gregorio is planning on a double major of business and communications.
“She is going to try to go to Q-school after school, but then she wants to go see if that works out. She wants to do marketing for the PGA and the LPGA tour and try to grow women’s golf,” Guion said.
Gregorio is already keenly aware of where women’s golf is and where she would like it to go.
“Just (Sunday), the biggest paycheck that the females got, $1.8 million (for first place at the U.S. Women’s Open),” Gregorio said. “I think we are headed in the right direction, but I think there is a little more work we can do.”
Palm Springs Desert Sun
“Agradecimiento!”
That’s the word that Karla Garcia says again and again when describing her journey to First Tee. Garcia, now 19 and a first-generation college student, is pursuing a golf management degree at College of the Desert and hopes to join the golf team next semester. Ironically, the Spanish word “agradecimiento” (gratitude) is how she feels toward her local First Tee chapter and how it helped her learn to speak English.
After moving to Coachella Valley from Mayrit, Mexico at the age of 11 and without knowing a single word of English, Garcia, needed to learn the language fast. Her stepdad suggested First Tee Coachella Valley as an afterschool activity to help her hear and speak more English with both adults and kids.
“Even though I didn’t understand what the coaches were saying at first, everyone was so warm and welcoming, and I was able to enjoy being outside and playing golf,” Garcia recalls.
“I was very shy at first, but with everyone being so nice, I became more outgoing and got better at English each day!”
Garcia continued to attend First Tee Coachella Valley for the next several years, practicing her golf skills while slowly breaking out of her shell and feeling more comfortable with her English. Before she knew it, Garcia was spending all her free time at the chapter, practicing golf and English each day and even offering her time as a volunteer coach to the younger groups.
“My coaches were always so supportive and went above and beyond to help me and I’m so grateful. I want to be able to do the same for others since First Tee has given me so much,” Garcia gushed as she reminisced on some of her early memories with the program.
Volunteer coaching led to a full-time coaching offer in March 2021, where Garcia accepted the Lead Instructor role at First Tee Coachella Valley.
And as part of her new leadership role, Garcia has helped to develop the chapter’s first English as a Second Language (ESL) class, which will be launching in early spring. Garcia plans to bring her younger cousin to the ESL class and help coach him as he and his parents are still learning the language.
“I didn’t know any English, but I stuck with the program and learned! I think kids [like my cousin] will feel more comfortable with a mentor or coach who has been through what they are going through as participants,” said Garcia.
Agradecimiento is more than just a word to Karla Garcia, it’s her inspiration for the future. Her gratitude continues to help shape her plans following graduation.
“I hope to become a program executive at the First Tee so I can help provide playing opportunities and teach life skills to kids who typically wouldn’t have access,” Garcia explained. “I want to continue creating that same warm and safe place that I was so grateful for growing up.”
Garcia should have no shortage of opportunities to continue to work toward her goal. As First Tee celebrates their 25th anniversary this year, the youth development organization has grown to more than 145 chapters and 1,300 program locations across the country, using golf to empower kids and teach lessons about life.
To join in the 25th anniversary celebration or to find a First Tee chapter near you, visit FirstTee.org.
January 21, 2022
By Cara Canington , PGATOUR.COM
A group at The American Express that was having maybe more fun than we were, was the First Tee of the Coachella Valley.
All throughout the tournament the First Tee youth members were everywhere to be seen. Getting the opportunity to group up with the pros and be walking scorers for each of their rounds.
That’s a better seat than nearly everyone else on the grounds, and something First Tee Executive Director Teal Guion says is priceless.
“It’s amazing to be able to have the opportunity to be behind the ropes for our kids, to be able to walk with golf professionals to see their dedication and that level of expertise,” said Guion. “Even just watching their pre-shot routines and warming up, taking their practice swings and what they are doing to get that ball in the hole.”
A wonderful experience for young, local, aspiring golfers themselves to get a first-hand look at professional golf.
“It’s been one of the most memorable weeks of my life I would say,” said First Tee member Maleyna Gregorio. “Getting to walk with Jason Day and Justin Rose was a core memory and it’s all thanks to the first tee of the Coachella Valley for making it all possible for these kids. So I have to give it all to this wonderful organization.”
Bailey Arredondo is a Sports Anchor/Reporter for KESQ News Channel 3. He joined the Desert’s News Leader in January 2022 here.
