Around The Commonwealth
VSGA DAY MAY HAVE BEEN PUT ON HOLD
IN 2020 DUE TO THE CORONAVIRUS, but
the VSGA-VIP Scholarship Foundation was
anything but idle this spring. The Foundation
awarded $78,000 worth of scholarships to
graduating Virginia high school seniors with
a shared interest in golf, along with $5,000 to
graduate students in Virginia Tech’s turfgrass
management program.
Here is a look at the winners of the VSGA’s
named awards, along with a list of all scholarship
award recipients in 2020.
David Luo from Jefferson
High School received the
Dan Keffer Award, the
Scholarship Foundation’s
highest honor.
AJGA
C. DAN KEFFER AWARD ($6,000)
David Luo
The C. Dan Keffer Award is named for the former
VSGA scholarship committee chairman
and Foundation president. It is the Scholarship
Foundation’s highest honor, presented to each
year’s top applicant.
Luo, who lives in Centreville and attends
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science
and Technology in Alexandria, is the 2020
recipient. The American Junior Golf Association
honored Luo for his academic pursuits
by naming him to the 2019 AJGA Scholastic
Junior All-America team, one of just 24 students
(12 boys and 12 girls) nationwide to earn
the distinction.
Luo was Jefferson’s team captain in 2019
and earned Group 5A All-State honors, along
with Washington Post honorable mention
All-Met honors. Luo recorded a 4.53 GPA, is a
national AP scholar and is heavily involved in
Jefferson’s economics program.
SPENCER-WILKINSON AWARD ($6,000)
Melissa Meng
Spencer-Wilkinson Awards are presented each
year to promising young girls. Blacksburg High
School’s Melissa Meng is the 50th recipient of
a Spencer-Wilkinson Award, and she’ll continue
her golf career at Harvard University.
Meng was a key member of a Blacksburg
High School team that won two Virginia High
School League titles and finished twice as
runner-up during her four years at the school.
Meng was heavily involved in the AJGA and
is ranked 36th among junior girls nationwide
in the class of 2020. She is part of the AJGA’s
Leadership Links Program.
M AY/J UNE 2020 | V IRGINIA G OLFER
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