LETTER FROM
OUR CEO
So much has changed in so short a time: tens of thousands of people are now testing positive
for the coronavirus daily in the US, schools are debating how to reopen safely, and large
sectors of our economy have ground to a halt. We are definitely riding the exponential growth
curve, and there is no end yet in sight.
Both strangely and predictably enough, this crisis has presented a massive opportunity for
those of us who have been or are currently engaged in building character in young adults.
Our job now, as it has been in the past, is to offer relevant and practical solutions that meet
the needs of our students. At IJGA, Bishops Gate, we literally work around the clock to
provide a normalized lifestyle during this pandemic. Our entire staff and student body are
all about grit, determination, and winning in difficult situations. Through our actions, we also
teach how to care and support one another.
My role is to encourage and challenge our IJGA family to unleash its many talents to help our
organization cope in these difficult times. We will only get through this crisis when our IJGA
family finds ways to help one another however possible. We are an international junior golf
academy with a village mentality.
We have found that relationships built through hard times can be exceptionally resilient. If we
take care to cultivate them now and provide pathways for involvement beyond this current
crisis, they may endure when a “new normal” begins to take hold (which it eventually will).
Some may even help us to rise to the occasion when the next crisis inevitably hits more
effectively.
Our summer internship program is a fine example of cultivating relationships to improve
outcomes for all involved. At the outbreak of the pandemic, several alumni broached the
subject of returning to campus for an extended stay while their colleges sorted things out.
One thing led to another and now we have a handful on college interns working side-by-side
with staff to affect the organization at a deep level.
We work as one to: get answers to health, safety, and workplace questions; help guide
reopening plans for schools; streamline processes; strengthen relationships with our alumni.
Together, we care, we fight, we show up.
Andrew Summers, CEO
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