Six young ladies have been named winners of the 2023 Maureen J. Garrity Scholarship for Women, a merit scholarship established to support the education of women who participate in the Pepsi Little People’s Golf Championships.
Maddie O’Brien from Quincy, IL, wants to do many things, but becoming a physical therapist is utmost, due to personal experiences. She has been admitted to a Doctor of Physical Therapy program at Carroll University. A soccer player in high school, she enjoys reading.
Ava Kalanek from Bismarck, ND, will be playing college golf at Black Hills State University, while majoring in Business Management. Her future career goal is to be a cosmetologist and own her own salon.
Catalina Easley, from Cantrall, IL, took up golf at age 8, and it is her passion. Catalina has verbally committed to Milligan University in Tennessee to study nursing and play golf. She is bilingual and plans to volunteer abroad in medical missions.
Influenced by Japanese home cooking, Julia Imai from Brookline, MA, is a golfer and baker, and works for a local golf tour. She aspires to be a D1 collegiate golfer, majoring in food science – and dreams of opening her own bakery.
Ella Barton from Ft. Worth, TX, holds the scoring record at her high school, and plans to play golf in college while majoring in psychology or child life studies. She hopes to pursue a career as a child life specialist or counselor, and train to be an animal assisted therapist.
Coming from a family of golfers, Mia Natividad from Yorkville, IL, will play college golf at the University of Toledo, along with her sister, and aspires to make lifelong connections with coaches, teammates and friends she has yet to meet.
The Maureen J. Garrity Scholarship for Women was established to honor Dr. Garrity, who spent 34 years at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, and was particularly impactful in supporting student-led programs on leadership, community service, and social determinants of health.
Maureen was a long-time supporter and volunteer with Pepsi Little People’s, winning the 2017 Little People’s Volunteer of the year Award. She passed away in December of 2018 after a long battle with cancer.
The MJG Scholarship is ongoing and will be available to young women who will be graduating in 2024 or 2025 and who will be participating in the 2024 Pepsi Little People’s Golf Championships. To apply, each applicant must submit a current high school transcript and write a personal essay describing herself, her career aspirations, and her community service activities.
ABOUT PEPSI LITTLE PEOPLE’S
The Pepsi Little People’s Golf Championships is an international junior golf competition for boys and girls aged 3 through 18. The 51th annual tournament will be held June 17-19, 2024, at two golf courses in Quincy, IL. Information on the 2024 event will be available at www.littlepeoplesgolf.com
Little People’s Tournament Office: 217-257-5718
