Hudson Woloss '22 Recruiting Profile

When I first started playing golf three years ago, I was drawn to the game because I saw it as a challenge, and honestly, it was fun for me. As years passed, I continued to play because I wanted to see if I could succeed at it. Succeeding at something isn’t everything, but I felt fulfilled when I accomplished a goal I had set. As I have grown with this game, I have found myself craving to be on the green whenever I have the chance. And well, if I’m being honest, I schedule around golf. I don’t schedule golf around my other plans. Standing in solitude for 18 holes, I often find myself thinking about the possibilities that could lie ahead. I used to think, maybe I can play at the college level… but in a joking way.  But for the last year, I’ve found myself wanting to make that half-hearted joke an actual reality. I know I want to play at the collegiate level and I’ve spent more time on the course than at home to try and reach this dream. I want to compete with a team that supports one another- on and off the course- and that knows when it’s time to hunker down and focus and when it’s time to have fun. 

Throughout my time as a select softball player, as well as my time shadowing people who I looked up to on the golf course, I learned what it takes to be a great leader. I’ve had great coaches in my athletic career, and some pretty great teachers as examples as well.  Recently, I was given the privilege of being named Team Captain for my Varsity Golf Team. I am humbled because I didn’t do certain things to only be given this honor. I did them because they are what I find to be important qualities of someone's character. Each day, I would show up to practice and strive to be an honest and trustworthy person. I worked at being a good teammate and listener, and by doing the right thing even when no one was watching. And to this day, I still try to do all those things. I’ve found it an interesting job, being a leader. It’s not easy, but it is so rewarding to watch not only your hard work pay off but your teammates as well.

I have also realized through volunteering at my local church and helping out at two Governor Inaugurations that I enjoy service work. I see myself helping people in some way in my professional future.  Whether it be civil service like the medical field or a different field, caring for people is something that is rooted into my DNA. 

As far as academics, I have received Honor Roll Awards and Academic Excellence awards all throughout high school.  And although this year has been very different, as a remote learner I continue to take my studies very seriously. It definitely has been a challenge without face-to-face learning this year, however, I continue to find the resilience within myself to focus on my studies. One thing I’ve learned lately is how to take ownership of when I don’t understand something and seek out advice. It has been difficult to have a social life this last year with everything going on in our world these days, but going to practice in the afternoon is something that I look forward to every day. I'm grateful that I get to have that time outside with my teammates and the ability to still receive a quality education. I know for a fact that if I didn’t have golf right now, my mindset and success in school would be very different. For that, I am so appreciative of the fact that golf is a socially distant and outside sport. Can you imagine what we would do if we were all stuck in a tiny little container of a room? Yeah, me neither.

As hard as it is to talk about myself and what I want in the future, I know that playing golf in the future is something that I really want... and I think it is also something that I could be successful in doing. This game has taught me a lot about myself, but mostly how to trust my intuition and how to make my own decisions. I’ve learned humility when those decisions fall flat and I’ve learned how to walk with grace when those decisions help me reach victory.