Chick Evans Scholarship a ‘prayer being answered’ for Nazareth student

Spending the past three summers on the golf course have provided a Nazareth Academy student with more than just an opportunity to hone his caddying skills.

The experience also has earned Leonardo Saavedra the Chick Evans Scholarship, a competitive and prestigious full four-year housing and tuition college grant from the Western Golf Association.

Valued at more than $120,000 over four years, the scholarship is awarded to caddies who demonstrate high character, high scholastic achievement, financial need and a strong caddie record.

“I was completely in shock,” Saavedra said when he learned of his award. “This is pretty much a prayer being answered for me and my family.”

After submitting an application last fall, it was a nerve-wracking waiting game for Saavedra.

“I didn’t hear anything for a long time and some of my friends from school received emails saying they made it as finalists and they could come in for interviews. Then I was worried,” Saavedra said.

Earlier this year, the Berwyn resident got the email naming him as a finalist.

“I was super pumped but also really nervous. I was thinking, ‘I hope I don’t bomb the interview,’ ” he said.

Saavedra is one of 58 students from the Chicago area to receive the scholarship after selection interviews Feb. 22-24.

The Glenview-based Western Golf Association has supported the Chick Evans Scholarship Program through the Evans Scholars Foundation since 1930, according to a news release. Known as one of golf’s favorite charities, it is the nation’s largest scholarship program for caddies.

Saavedra is set to begin college this fall at Marquette University, where he plans to major in psychology. His interest in the field was spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It has everybody so much more focused on mental health,” Saavedra said. “And I realized I probably wouldn’t have been able to go through it without the support of my family and friends and school counselor.”

He is grateful for the scholarship, which he said will help him achieve his educational and career goals.

“I had a limited path,” he said. “I still would’ve been able to go to school, but it would be a tough time for me and my family trying to pay for it.”

His mother, Maria Saavedra, calls the scholarship “a blessing for all of us.”

“It’s the best gift we could’ve ever gotten,” she said. “We’re incredibly grateful to all the people who are part of the Evans Scholarship because if it wasn’t for them he wouldn’t be able to pursue his dreams the way he is now. We’re super thankful.”

As part of the Daniel Murphy Scholarship Fund caddie program, Saavedra spent his first summer caddying at the Skokie Country Club. The next two summers were spent caddying at Ruth Lake Country Club in Hinsdale.

“It was during my freshman year at Nazareth that we heard about the summer opportunity,” he said. “It sounded like a ton of fun and a pretty good way to make money.”

The work helped him overcome some of his shyness.

“At first I kept really quiet and just got the job done. But then I began walking and talking with the golfers and over time it helped me come out of my shell,” he said. “I was getting paid to carry bags and have fun. It was a pretty good first job.”

Saavedra doesn’t know if he’ll take up golf as a future hobby.

“During the fall I love playing soccer and I want to try and continue it if I can,” he said. “But golf ... I’m not too sure. It looks easy when I see my golfers play, but when I try it’s pretty hard. If I do play, it definitely won’t be for a while.”