Five Isenberg HTM Students Receive New England Club Foundation Scholarships for the 2023-2024 Academic Year

The Club Foundation of the New England Club Management Association (NECMA) awarded its 2023 scholarships to college students who were connected to the New England Region this past October. The scholarships provide financial support to students interested in starting a career in the club management industry. Through the David Meador Fund, the NECMA Club Foundation offers students within the region the opportunity to apply for a scholarship to support their hospitality and undergraduate studies. The scholarship is named after long-time NECMA club professional David Meador, former club manager of the Chilton Club of Boston. The scholarships vary in amounts from $1,000 to $3,000 per student and are based on a scholarship application, grade transcript, club management essay, and recommendations from both a club manager and a college faculty member. This year, for the third time, one of the applicants has been named the recipient of the Rod Warnick Scholarship, dedicated to the most outstanding club management student from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and named in honor of Professor Warnick, who has dedicated his 40-year career to the teaching, research, and advancement of the club management field. Most notably, he has promoted students to apply for scholarships and complete internships and externships, profiled his students for placement opportunities, and advised the UMass Student Chapter of CMAA during his tenure. Countless students have begun professional careers in the club management field through this portion of the hospitality program. Placements include many of the best clubs in the U.S., both in New England and throughout the U.S., and at some of the best tournaments in the golf and event industry—the U.S. Open, the U.S. Amateur Golf, and Ryder Cup Championships, plus regional amateur events. 

This year, five undergraduate students seeking to build their careers in the club industry were awarded scholarships for direct support of college expenses and were selected from a highly competitive pool of applicants within the region. The University of Massachusetts recipients of the NECMA Club Foundation scholarships were Grace Canzano (HTM major, junior, Fort Myers, FL); Jack Sorensen (HTM major, junior, Georgetown, MA);  Stephanie Hubbell (finance major and HTM minor, senior, Millis, MA);  Kayla Cunningham (HTM major, junior, Waltham, MA) and Sara Lynch (OIM and HTM double major, sophomore, Kingston, MA).  

Grace Canzano is the recipient of the Rod Warnick Scholarship offered by the New England Club Management Association and Club Foundation both this year in 2023 and in 2022 as the most outstanding UMass club management student. She will attend the 2024 CMAA World Conference in Las Vegas. Read more about Canzano here.

Jack Sorensen, NECMA Scholarship award winner, served as co-president of the UMass Student Chapter of CMAA beginning in the fall semester of 2023 after being an active member during the 2022-2023 academic year. Jack served as the pro-shop manager and assistant golf teacher for the New Golf Center for the previous three years, served at the UMass Athletics Minuteman hockey mascot for hockey games and assisted with Jake Hoffman and NECMA scholarship tournaments and is a member of the UMass Club Golf team. He attended the CMAA World Conference in Orlando in 2023 and coordinated the attendance of seven UMass students to the CMAA National Student Education Conference in November 2023 in West Palm Beach, Florida. Jack will attend the 2024 CMAA World Conference in Las Vegas in March 2024.

Stephanie Hubbell, NECMA Scholarship award winner, completed a full rotational internship at the Club at New Seabury, Mashpee in golf operations while running golf tournaments. She continues to work there through the fall season on weekends and holidays. She has also worked as a bartender and server for the Cape Cod Winery in Falmouth and completed a hybrid internship with Putnam Investments in Boston in 2023 as part of her finance degree. She attended the CMAA National Student Education Conference in November 2023 in West Palm Beach, Florida and will attend the 2024 CMAA World Conference in Las Vegas in March 2024.

Kayla Cunningham, NECMA Scholarship award winner, completed a full rotational food and beverage internship at Shelter Harbors Golf Club in Charlestown, RI and continues to work as a server at the UMass Worcester Dining Hall’s Commonwealth restaurant during the academic year. She has also worked as a store supervisor at the Cookie Monstah in North Andover, MA, is highly active in the American Hotel and Lodging Association club and attended CMAA National Student Education Conference in November 2023 in West Palm Beach, Florida, the 2023 World CMAA Conference in Orlando, and will attend the 2024 CMAA World Conference in Las Vegas in March 2024.

Sara Lynch, NECMA Scholarship award winner, worked at the Marshfield Country Club as a server over the previous three years while in high school and college. She has completed an internship with the Kate Murtaugh Events and Design of Boston and Westerly, RI recently and currently serves as a special events intern for the UMass enrollment management department. She plans to complete an event internship at the Wianno Club in Osterville, MA during the summer a 2024 and plans to attend the 2024 CMAA World Conference in Las Vegas in March 2024. 

NECMA through the NECMA Club Foundation announced the scholarships at the NECMA Annual Meeting held this year at the Wollaston Golf Club in Milton, Mass., in October 2023, which 13 students from the UMass CMAA Student Chapter attended. Students who have experience and seek to enrich and begin their career in club management may find out more information at the NECMA website (www.necma.org) or by becoming a member of the UMass CMAA Student Chapter. For more information about the NECMA scholarship, students may visit the NECMA Club Foundation’s website application page. Applications for the 2024 year are due by October 1, 2024.

The UMass Student Chapter of CMAA is a top-performing student chapter that has secured the National Student Chapter of the Year Award for top-performing clubs across the US in four previous annual competitions. The most recent Chapter of the Year award was granted to the UMass CMAA Student Chapter in 2021 at the CMAA World Conference for the 2020 academic year and the chapter has been awarded over 40 different idea fair awards in promoting concepts about the club management field. This year the UMass CMAA Student Chapter will receive a top performing student chapter award for student recruitment for meeting and exceeding their goal of student membership and being one of the largest student chapters in the country. The student chapter conducts club tours, assists with major and regional tournaments and member events, conducts bi-weekly education meetings and programs, participates in community-based and university-based activities and charity events, and promotes the club management profession to students on-campus and engages UMass club management alumni in their programming.

The UMass CMAA Student Chapter was formed on campus in 1978 and has consistently been one of the top five performing student club chapters in the country by its size and is supported regionally by the New England Club Management Association (NECMA), the NECMA Club Foundation, CMAA Club Foundation, and the Student Government Association of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Students from all majors with an interest in club management and golf operations are encouraged to join. Students and others interested in the UMass CMAA Student Chapter may contact the chapter at their email, cmaa.umass@gmail.com, or by visiting their Facebook page (@umasscmaa) or Instagram page.