2024 Scholarship Winner Honored By Ocean City Fishing Club

OCEAN CITY, NJ — The typical college life isn't for everyone. That's why Kelsea Bowman, this year's recipient of the Ocean City Fishing Club scholarship, is seeking a path in the trades and working part-time while studying.

In February, four months before she graduated from Ocean City High School, she started a part-time job in turf management at Union League National Golf Club in Cape May Court House. Bowman is combining that work with studies in Penn State University's online Turfgrass Science and Management program, while also taking classes in hospitality at Atlantic Cape Community College.

Her course of study fits the criteria the fishing club has set for its scholarship program, which awards $500 annually to a graduating Ocean City High School senior who intends to study biology, environmental sciences, oceanography, or a related field in college, the club announced in a news release. The recipient is recommended by the school's faculty and administration.

“I figure that if I want a career like this,” she said, “I have to be expert in my field and be able to get along with people at a professional level.”

When she realized the typical college life didn't suit her, Bowman sought advice from a career counselor at OCHS who explored opportunities in the trades, and discovered an opening at the golf club, where she currently works four days a week, and starts early.

“I usually start at 4:50 a.m., sometimes rolling greens, which ends about 8:30,” she said. “After that there's mowing and typical landscape work to keep the grounds and course looking great. I’m a visual and hands-on learner, so this suits me perfectly. There's a great crew there and I'm learning a lot.”

But the fishing club says Bowman still has lots of energy to go to the beach, surfing, boating and golf.

Her family is fourth-generation Ocean City, according to her father, Charles, who recently retired from the city fire department. Her mother, Jennifer, is the club services manager at Ocean City Yacht Club. Her sister Caroline is working toward a master's degree in mental health counseling, while Katie, her other sister, is at Florida Atlantic University studying exercise science.

Founded in 1913, the Ocean City Fishing Club is the oldest, continually operating fishing club in the United States.