The 2021 Class of RDGA Foundation Scholarship Award Winners
With the completion of another school year for local High School students, The RDGA Foundation is pleased to announce its 2021 class of Foundation Scholarship Award winners – with each candidate receiving $1,000 towards tuition and expenses for their year ahead at their college of choice.
In addition to the annual Foundation Scholarship winners, the RDGA Foundation also announces the creation of a new annual scholarship award honoring the late Jack Fox, a past President and long-time volunteer for the RDGA. This new RDGA Foundation Jack Fox Memorial Scholarship will award $2,500 to the one most-qualified applicant of the year’s applicants.
Here, then, we present this year’s RDGA Foundation Scholarship Award recipients:
HALIE CARDON
Inaugural RDGA Foundation Jack Fox Memorial Scholarship Recipient
It is with great pleasure that the RDGA Foundation announces a new scholarship in the name of Jack Fox. John Michael “Jack” Fox passed late last year and he is missed every day. Jack is a past President of the Rochester District Golf Association and, for over twenty years, always supported the Rochester golf community, and Rochester community as a whole, in any way he could. Many generations of RDGA Tournament golfers will remember Jack as the personable first tee starter at countless RDGA events. A proud U.S. Navy veteran, Jack was truly a “Gentleman of Golf” – a distinction for which he was honored at the 2019 RDGA District Championship at Penfield Country Club by Michael Sorce.
The RDGA Foundation Jack Fox Memorial Scholarship is a $2,500 award for a high school senior who embodies the characteristics of Jack Fox that made the Rochester community a better place. Jack Fox blessed the lives of everyone who knew him and we are honored to announce this scholarship in his name. We are very proud of this year’s recipient and feel as though Jack would be as well. The RDGA Foundation Jack Fox Memorial Scholarship has been made possible by donations from Gary Rocco, Steve Kirin, and several other donors.
Halie Cardon is the first-ever recipient of the RDGA Foundation Jack Fox Memorial Scholarship. Halie exemplifies Jack Fox by always thinking of others and helping her community. The RDGA Foundation is very pleased to award this scholarship to Halie Cardon in order to help her in her college endeavors in any way possible, as she is always helping others. We are confident that she has an exciting future ahead of her and will certainly do a lot of good in this world.
Halie is a senior at Greece Athena High School. Next fall she will attend SUNY Geneseo, where she plans on majoring in Business Administration with a concentration in Communications and Philanthropy. Halie has won numerous service honors, including the 2019 Lions Club Award, the 2020 NYS Senate Youth Leadership Award for Community Service, and the 2017 National Outstanding Young People in Philanthropy Group Award. All four years of high school, Halie has won the Presidential Award for Academic Excellence. She is a founding member and the Communications Director of Athena Cares, a community service club at her school that raised over $30,000 for Water for South Sudan, started the Athena Food Pantry, and started a “Greece Goddess” prom dress donation initiative. She is also the Founder and President of various other community service organizations, including Dream to Believe and A Greater Purpose. When she is not studying and volunteering, she is interested in learning more about history, a J.R.O.T.C. Recruiting Coordinator, and a four-year Varsity Volleyball player. During her high school volleyball career, she was a Greece Athlete of the Year Finalist, Division III Volleyball Player of the Year, MVP twice, and Co-Captain for two years.
RYAN CONNORS
2021 RDGA Foundation Scholarship Recipient
Ryan Connors is a senior at Honeoye Falls-Lima High School. Next year, Ryan will study Computer Science and Mathematics at Hamilton College. Ryan was his school’s Varsity Golf Captain both his junior and senior years, has competed in various RDGA tournaments and has finished first overall (out of 39 players) on the Western NY PGA 2020 Junior Tour. Last year, Ryan was awarded the Colonel Emerging Leadership Award by Wilkes University and was awarded the Math Department Achievement Award.
In Ryan’s freshman year of high school, he was selected to be a part of HFL’s Technology Task Force with the School District’s Assistant Superintendent. Ryan is a member of the National Honor Society, French National Honor Society, and the National Chemistry Society. When Ryan is not golfing, studying, or volunteering in his community, he enjoys singing in his school’s and church’s choirs
ELLIE DERMODY
2021 RDGA Foundation Scholarship Recipient
Ellie Dermody is a senior at Greece Athena High School. Next fall Ellie will attend the University at Buffalo Honors College, where she plans on majoring in English. Ellie is the Secretary and a Founding member of Athena Cares Community Service Club and was awarded the Outstanding Young People in Philanthropy Award, nominated by Water for Sudan in 2017. She is a member of Greece’s Varsity Swimming team and won Most Improved Player in 2019. To give back to her community, Ellie was a founding member of the Teen Advisory Board at the Greece Public Library and was a Unified Bowling Volunteer. Ellie was a member of Greece Athena’s Masterminds Trivia Team, helping her team by specializing in English and Literature.
GIANNA DEROSA
2021 RDGA Foundation Scholarship Recipient
Gianna DeRosa is a senior at Allendale Columbia School. This fall she will be attending Trinity College, where she will be studying Human Rights. Giana wants to use her education and experiences to make the world a better place by advocating for the voiceless around the world, by writing about gender inequalities, racial injustices, homophobia, student mental health challenges, and other social issues. During her time in high school, she consistently made high honors and was a state champion in gymnastics with the Rochester Gymnastics Academy. Gianna was the TEDxAllendaleColumbia School speaker coordinator, reviewing and selecting prospective speakers to give a speech at her school. Gianna has spent time giving back to the Rochester community by coaching gymnastics, volunteering with Best Buddies, and volunteering as a School 25 Kindergarten Classroom Buddy.
RAINA HOFFMANN
2021 RDGA Foundation Scholarship Recipient
Raina Hoffmann is a senior at Wayne Central High School. This fall, she will be attending Cornell University, where she will be studying Computer Engineering. Raina has competed in many RDGA tournaments throughout her high school golf career. She was a captain of the Varsity Golf team at Wayne, a two-time state qualifier, and a two-time WNYPGA player of the year. Outside of golf, Raina was Wayne’s Math Team Captain, Science Olympiad Build Captain, and Master Minds Co-Captain. Raina received the Clarkson Leadership Award and Rensselaer Medal Award.
MASON RIVERA
2021 RDGA Foundation Scholarship Recipient
Mason Rivera is a senior at Brighton High School. Next year, he will study Economics at Adelphi University. Mason has competed in a number of RDGA tournaments during his high school golf career. Freshman and Sophomore year, Rivera earned All-Greater Rochester First Team Honorable Mentions. As a seventh-grader, Mason placed runner up in the Tournament of Champions and then was awarded most valuable player on Brighton’s Junior Varsity Men’s Golf Team. Mason medaled three times as a freshman to help Brighton win its first League Title. Mason has six Western NY Junior PGA Tour victories and was the 2020 RDGA Junior Champion. Outside of golf, Mason has maintained impressive grades and enjoys competing in Taekwondo. Mason obtained his 3rd Degree Black Belt in Taekwondo at the age of thirteen. Mason is a certified volunteer of the Greece Rotary Spaghetti Fundraiser.
GEORGIA SPATORICO
2021 RDGA Foundation Scholarship Recipient
Georgia Spatorico is a senior at Our Lady of Mercy. Next fall Georgia will be studying Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University. Georgia was a Varsity Golf Sectional Qualifier Champion and a member of the state team. Throughout her high school golf career at Mercy, Georgia won more than twenty individual golf tournaments. Georgia was Mercy’s Varsity Golf Team’s Captain for two years. When she is not golfing, she has maintained Scholarship Roll every year of high school and was a Varsity Ski Team two-time sectional qualifier. Georgia was a member of Mercy High School President’s Cabinet and completed over two hundred hours of community service for various organizations, such as Perinton Food Shelf, Ronald McDonald House, and the Danielle Downey Charity Tournament.