Georgian College

Each day as he walked up the driveway before the break of dawn to the sound of flags flapping in the wind and the sight of massive grand stands and the golf range illuminated by floodlights, Tom Schellenberg was unbelievably happy to be part of the PGA TOUR President's Cup. As Assistant to the General Manager at Jack Nicklaus' Muirfield Village Golf Club in Ohio, Tom, then 23, was in golf nirvana when the club hosted the prestigious biennial tournament in October 2013, where a team of U.S. players compete against an international team. Tom's role was to co-ordinate scheduling and provide the best customer service to the players, their trainers and families. In charge of the locker room, fitness centre and front gate security, he worked with the Secret Service to determine access points for dignitaries, including former U.S. President George W. Bush, whom he met. "I'd never been part of something that global," says Tom of the tournament that is broadcast to more than 800 million homes around the world. "I know it's just golf, but knowing the impact it had was my favourite part." Tom also loved the chance to build relationships with the golfers and their teams. As he was leaving the club after the tournament ended, walking down the driveway in that same stillness that awaited him each morning, he wondered what's next? With a personal goal to become the GM of a course before turning 25, in April Tom became Club Manager at Deer Ridge Golf Club, a championship course in the Grand River Valley. Tom says when he first arrived at Georgian, he thought maybe he could be a GM at a mid-level club someday but credits his teachers Brad Doey, Tim Zado and John Daggett for helping him realize he could go anywhere. "They were always pushing me to the next level and helped me realize my potential." EXTRAORDINARY EXPERIENCE: BEHIND-THE-SCENES ROLE AT THE PGA TOUR PRESIDENT'S CUP I'd never been part of something that global. I know it's just golf, but knowing the impact it had was my favourite part. Tom Schellenberg on being part of a PGA tournament TOM SCHELLENBERG Bachelor of Business — Golf Management, 2013 Photo courtesy of of Kyle Roberts 15 GEORGIANVIEW 2014

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