USGA Opens Career Opportunities Through 2024 Pathways Internship at Pinehurst

PINEHURST, N.C. (JUNE 4, 2024) – Reflecting an organizational commitment to advance more equitable and accessible opportunities for individuals interested in working in golf, the United States Golf Association (USGA) has identified 24 students from a wide range of backgrounds to participate in the Pathways Internship at the 2024 U.S. Open Championship.

The immersive, 10-day educational experience will primarily be held at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club as part of the U.S. Open community engagement strategy that aims to utilize USGA resources and expertise to propel a healthier future for the game. Supported by foundational sponsor Deloitte*, interns will be exposed to various career pathways in golf through job shadowing, networking with industry leaders, and professional development sessions.

“It’s important that we continue to open opportunities for everyone to work and play in golf,” said Mike Whan, CEO of the USGA. “Relationships are built and fostered on-site at championships, and the framework we’ve created with the Pathways Internship allows students to get that same opportunity, which can help to jumpstart their careers.”

The 2024 USGA Pathways interns include:

Patrick Barnes  Tennessee Technological University  2025  MBA, Business Intelligence and Analytics 
Pilar Berchot  King University  2024  MBA 
Esther Etherington  Franklin College 2026  Elementary School Education
Kameron Burris Garofalo  Oxnard College  2025  Business Administration 
Mekhi Gibson  University of South Carolina  2027  Sport and Entertainment Management 
Taylor Harvey  Delaware State University  2024  MA, Sports Administration 
Emily Jones  University of Dayton  2024  Early Childhood Education 
Azola Martin  Morehouse College  2025  Communication Studies/ Chinese Studies 
Jessica McEachin  University of North Carolina – Greensboro  2025  Information Systems and Supply Chain Management 
Evan McLurkin  University of California – Berkeley  2024  Business Administration 
Henry Oelhafen  Vanderbilt University  2026  Human Organizational Development 
Noble Parker  Southern Connecticut University  2026  Computer Science 
Nikelle Pledger  Ohio State University  2025  Strategic Communications
Chandler Redfearn  North Carolina A&T  2025  Kinesiology 
Maya Renteria  George Washington University  2026  Finance
Douglas Sherriffe  California State University – Northridge  2025  Kinesiology 
Henry Stephens IV  Duke University  2026  Pre-Law 
Cameron Tarront-McKitt  Tennessee State University  2026  Exercise Science
Cristian Tavarez  William Paterson University of New Jersey  2024  Sport Management
Claudia Comas Torres Emerson College  2024  MA, Sports Communication 
Sandhya Vaikuntam  Quinnipiac University  2025  Applied Business/Sports Studies 
Savita Wilson  Columbia University  2024  MS, Sport Management 
Avery Wright  Arizona State University  2026  Sport Business and Marketing 
Ashley Yen   Yale University  2026  Data Science and Statistics 

 

Launched as the Lee Elder Internship in 2022, the program will enter its third year with more than 40 percent of past participants now holding full-time positions in golf administration or golf-connected businesses, including the USGA, PGA Tour, Allied Golf Associations, MNML Golf, Deloitte and others. Additionally, four alumni will serve as peer leaders at Pinehurst.

“My time as an intern at The Country Club confirmed that my passion for golf was not limited to the fairways or greens,” said Skylar Graham, 2022 program alumna and current associate with Excel Sports Management’s golf division, who will act as a peer leader. “The wonderful connections I made with leaders across various sectors in the golf industry opened my eyes to endless professional opportunities that I did not know existed. The Pathways Internship empowered my vision for a career beyond the course and I am excited to help foster this experience for the new class of interns.”

Each participant in this year’s program hails from a different accredited four-year educational institution, demonstrating the USGA’s focus on broadening the funnel of career entry points. While roughly half of the interns have little to no experience in golf, five are First Tee alumni, three are collegiate golfers, three are USGA Boatwright Interns and one is an Evans Scholar.

As part of the process, students had the opportunity to share their personal views on why diversity and inclusion in sports are important to them, and how they aim to propel those values forward. Among this year’s class there are founders of nonprofits and community programs, five students who represent Historically Black Colleges and Universities, an international student whose collegiate golf career opened a pathway for her to the United States, advocates for the disabled, and an entrepreneur who launched an apparel brand focused on connecting underrepresented athletes of faith.

In addition to foundational sponsor Deloitte, the program is supported by USGA partners Ally Financial, American Express, Cisco, Lexus, Peter Millar, Sentry Insurance and Rolex, as well as our broadcast partner, NBC Sports. This year’s internship will allow students to experience a broad range of golf championship functions, including broadcasting, communications, corporate hospitality, merchandising, course setup and operations. Based on their interests, interns will be placed in one of three career groups – Business of the Game, Storytellers of the Game, or Architects of the Game – to partake in on-the-job learning experiences.

This year’s class will also benefit from the recent opening of the USGA’s Golf House Pinehurst. With 70 USGA team members based in Pinehurst, interns will have the opportunity to develop a broader understanding of the many functions and roles that exist within the USGA beyond the championship stage – from aerodynamics to engineering, technical innovation, applied science and research to museum curation, grant administration and sports governance.

Additional programming will be held throughout North Carolina’s Moore County and the Raleigh-Durham area, including a day spent focused on growing their professional development skills with Deloitte practitioners while also learning more about Deloitte’s role as a trusted advisor to the USGA.  Programming will provide students with opportunities to better understand their own working styles, learn how to embrace their authentic selves in the workplace and explore how trends in business and technology play out in the sports industry. Interns will also work with Deloitte practitioners as they prepare for the Pathways case competition – which will be held Saturday, June 15, in front of a forum of USGA leaders.

Along with 119 championship interns and Greenkeeper Apprenticeship Program students, the Pathways interns are among many directly benefiting from enrichment and learning opportunities on-site during the U.S. Open. The USGA annually funds more than 270 paid internships across the country, including nearly 200 interns who are taking part in this year’s P.J. Boatwright Jr. Internship Program through the USGA’s network of 57 Allied Golf Associations.

About the USGA

The USGA is a mission-based golf organization whose purpose is to unify the golf community through handicapping and grassroots programs; to showcase the game’s best talent through the U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open Presented by Ally and 13 other national championships and our museum; to provide unbiased global governance with The R&A through the playing, equipment and Amateur Status rules; and to advance issues important to golf’s future, with a focus on driving sustainability, accessibility and inclusion. As a nonprofit association, our work and our team are driven to act for the good of the game. For more, visit usga.org.

 

*Please see www.deloitte.com/us/about for a detailed description of their legal structure.

Categories

Articles
Australia
Dream Destinations
Africa
Alaska
Alberta
Anguilla
Antigua
Argentina
Arizona
Aruba
Australia
Austria
Bahamas
Baja
Bali
Banda Islands
Banff
Barbados
Barbuda
Belgium
Belize
Bequia
Bonaire
Bora Bora
Boston
Botswana
British Virgin Islands
Cabo San Lucas
California
Canada
Canary Islands
Cancun
Canmore
Canouan
Capri
Chicago
Chile
Colorado
Columbia
Connecticutt
Costa Rica
Cozumel
Crete
Croatia
Curacao
Denmark
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
England
Europe
Fiji
finland
Florida
Florida Keys
France
Galapagos
Georgia
Germany
Granada
Grand Cayman
Greece
Grenada
Hawaii
Hilton Head
Holland
Hungary
Ibiza
Iceland
Idaho
Illinois
India
Indonesia
Ireland
Isla Mujeres
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Kauai
Kentuck
Kenya
Key Largo
Key West
Lake Como
Lake Tahoe
Las Vegas
London
Los Cabos
Louisiana
Mackinac Island
Maine
Malaysia
Maldives
Mallorca
Manzanillo
Marrakech
Martinique
Massachusetts
Maui
Mazatlan
Mexico
Michigan
Minneapolis
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Monaco
Montana
Morroco
Mykonos
Napa Valley
Nashville
Nevada
Nevis
New Hampshire
New York
New York City
New Zealand
North Carolina
Norway
Ohio
Oregon
Palm Harbor
Palm Springs
Panama
Paris
Patagonia
Pennsylvania
Peru
Phuket
Portland
portugal
Prague
Puerto Rico
Puerto Vallarta
Punta Cana
Punta Mita
Qatar
Rhode Island
Rhodes
Riviera Maya
Riviera Nayarit
Saba
Saint Lucia
San Francisco
San Jose
Santorini
Scotland
Scottsdale
Seattle
Seychelles
Sicily
Singapore
South Carolina
Spain
Sri Lanka
St. Augustine
St. Barths
St. Croix
St. Eustatius
St. John
St. Kitts
St. Lucia
St. Maarten
St. Thomas
Sweden
Switzerland
Syros
Tenerife
Tennessee
Texas
Thailand
Toronto
Trinidad
Tulum
Turkey
Turks and Caicos
Tuscany
US Virgin Islands
USVI
Utah
Vancouver
Venice
Vermont
Viet Nam
Virginia
Washington
Washington DC
Wisconsin
Wyoming
Dream Golf
Alabama
Anguilla
Arizona
Bahamas
Baja
Barbados
Bermuda
Britain
British Columbia
Cabo San Lucas
California
Cambodia
Cancun
China
Colorado
Costa Rica
Cyprus
Dominican Republic
Dubai
England
Finland
Florida
France
Georgia
Hawaii
Hilton Head
Iceland
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Ireland
Italy Golf
Jamaica
Japan
Kauai
Kentucky
Key Largo
La Romana
Lake Tahoe
Lanai
Las Vegas
Los Cabos
Malaysia
Maldives
Maui
Mauritius
Mazatlan
Mexico
Michigan
Minneapolis
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Myrtle Beach
Napa Valley
Nayarit
Nebraska
Neuvo Vallarta
Nevada
Nevis
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
North Carolina
Norway
Nova Scotia
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oman
Oregon
Palm Springs
Panama
Pennsylvania
Portugal
Puerto Rico
Puerto Vallarta
Punta Cana
Punta Mita
Qatar
Rhode Island
Riviera Maya
Riviera Nayarit
Scotland
Scottsdale
South Carolina
Spain
St. Augustine
St. Barths
Switzerland
Tennessee
Texas
Tokyo
Turkey
Turks and Caicos
Tuscany
USVI
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
Wisconsin
Dream Jobs
Anguilla
Antigua
Argentina
Arizona
Aruba
Bahamas
Barbados
Bonaire
California
Dominica
Dominican Republic
England
Florida
France
Georgia
Grand Cayman
Grenada
Illinois
Italy
Key Largo
Key West
Londo
Loreto Mexico
Los Cabos
Maldives
Maui
Morocco
Napa Valley
Nevis
North Carolina
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania
Peru
Punta Cana
San Diego
Sedona
South Carolina
St. Augustine
St. Barths
St. Croix
St. John
St. Thomas
Texas
Trinidad
Turks and Caicos
USVI
Virginia
Zimbabwe
Dream Specials
Featured
Jamaica
St. Barths
Whistler

Sandals New Over Water Bungalows

Authentic Watches

Sandals Summer Savings

Check out Orbitz Best Travel Deals

Kiwi.com – Book Cheap Flights!