First Tee $20K Scholarship Winner Steps 'Outside Comfort Zone'

ATLANTA — An Atlanta teen is one of four high school students to win a $20,000 scholarship from a leadership program sponsored by PGA Tour Superstore and Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank.

BJ Little, a junior at Cristo Rey Atlanta Jesuit High School with a 4.0 GPA, was named a recipient of the First Tee Scholarship program award and will receive $5,000 each of the four years he is in college. Little, 16, also will be paired with a dedicated adult mentor who will encourage and guide him throughout his college career.

First Tee, which is sponsored by the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation and PGA Tour Superstore, is an international youth development program introducing kids and teens to the game of golf, and using the sport to teach values like integrity, perseverance, and respect to developing youth.

The scholarship program goes a step further, guiding youth as they grow into young adults and providing them with life skills and support along the way. It is open to high school seniors planning to go to college.

The three other scholarship recipients include 17-year-old Antonio DelCastillo, from San Clemente, Cal., Srishti Dhurandhar, 17, from Livingston, NJ, and 17-year-old Houstonian, Hannah Newell.

Little was awarded last month during the First Tee Leadership Summit at West Creek Ranch in Emigrant, Mont., where dozens of teens participated in dynamic outdoor and team-building activities, including horseback riding, obstacle courses, archery, and skills test, to hone and develop traits that will make them better leaders in the future.

He has been with First Tee for eight years. During the Summit, the self-described “city boy” shahid it was a challenge to adjust to the rural summer camp environment in Montana. But he noted that the change would only be a benefit.

“This setting right here is new for me,” Little said. “I’m trying to make sure that I step outside of my comfort zone so that I know where my limitations are and I feel like I can do anything that I put my mind to. So, I feel like if you have that mindset, you will be able to overcome or face and persevere through any challenge or adversity that you face.”

Little has high aspirations, indeed. He wants to get into politics and eventually run for U.S. Senate and for President.