Elmhurst’s Regan Toole was recently honored as an Evans Scholar of the Year—the most prestigious title a student can earn within the Evans Scholar Foundation, which awards full housing and tuition college scholarships to golf caddies.
Toole was named a 2024 Evans Scholar of the Year during the Evans Scholars Foundation’s annual summer leadership summit in Northbrook on July 20.
Out of 1,130 current Evans Scholars nationwide, Toole was one of two recognized this year for her leadership and academic excellence.
Toole, who graduated from York High School in 2020, worked as a caddie at Hinsdale Golf Club in Clarendon Hills while she was in high school to earn the Western Golf Association’s (WGA) Evans Scholarship, worth $125,000 over four years.
Earlier this year, Toole graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with a 4.0 grade-point average and a degree in community health. Since graduating, she began her career as a philanthropy coordinator at Northwestern Medicine’s Northwestern Memorial Foundation in Chicago.
“I am eternally thankful to have received such a life-changing gift and deeply appreciate its impact on me and my family,” said Toole. “Without the Evans Scholarship, I wouldn’t have met my lifelong friends or experienced the incredible opportunities and memorable moments of college.”
While at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Toole achieved the highest university honors and was inducted into the school’s Senior 100 Honorary in recognition of her academic success and significant campus involvement. Toole served as vice president of communications of the University of Illinois Evans Scholars chapter. She was also active on campus as an Illinois Student Admissions Representative and Illini Service Dogs Trainer, and as part of the Phi Chi Theta Professional Business Fraternity.
Evans Scholars are caddies who have earned a full, four-year tuition and housing scholarship based on their strong caddie record, excellent academics, financial need and outstanding character. The Evans Scholars Program has been run by the Western Golf Association since its founding in 1930. This fall, a record 1,190 caddies will be enrolled at 24 universities nationwide as Evans Scholars, and more than 12,200 caddies have graduated since the program began.
