Mei Chan '23 Recruiting Profile

Hello! My name is Mei (May) and I'm currently a senior at Lake Nona Highschool in Orlando, Florida. 

Ever since I was young I always struggled with staying focused on one hobby. I was always hopping from one thing to another until I found golf. The summer I began middle school, my mom signed me up for a golf camp known as The First Tee, as something for me to do while she was busy working. When I first joined this camp I had no prior knowledge of how golf worked or that it was even a sport. My family doesn't play golf; my mom bought me a 7-iron that was a bit too heavy and a bit too long for me, however, it got the job done. Even so, I was hooked.

As I got older I gained more interest in the game as I started to learn and understand more of the game as it's not only a physical challenge, but it also has a heavy focus. I started to realize this more when I met my current personal coach, Kim Young, Coach Young has taught me so many different aspects of the game technically and mentally that now I feel as if golf helps me relax and eases my brain from overthinking and worrying about other outside factors. In addition to that Coach Young, has put a lot of faith in me and never gave up on me from being a beginner to now having a 0.5 handicap which I'm still working on improving. 

With this newfound passion, I was excited to finally play with a team in high school and playing on Lake Nona High School’s Women’s Varsity Golf Team is my most meaningful extracurricular activity because it’s helped shape my very identity. When I first began, I was extremely introverted and even though I was a pretty good golfer and made decent grades, I lacked motivation in golf as well as in academics. Becoming friends with the golfers on the team led to my realization that I didn’t want to fail them by underperforming, and I wanted them to feel as happy as I did when I had a successful round. I wanted to contribute to their success, as well as my own. Motivated to work hard to improve my skills, I gained the elusive “focus” which is the goal of every golfer, and it carried over to other aspects of my life, from the classroom to set future goals.
My teammates are my best friends and will forever hold special places in my mind and my heart. They support me when I need help and kick me (figuratively) when I need a push. They have shown me that it is possible to have fun while practicing tirelessly, and that dedicated, diligent perseverance brings both individual and team rewards and I hope to experience this all again in College Golf.