Golfer Stefanie Deng recruited by NCAA Division 1 Huskies

While seniors were busy receiving their college acceptances the past few weeks, one student got accepted to college two years before her senior year — Stefanie Deng (10C)! Last summer, the University of Washington discovered Stefanie Deng’s exceptional talent in golf and recruited her with a full scholarship opportunity.

Stefanie started playing golf back when she was only nine years old due to her Mom’s influence. Although she initially started just for entertainment, Stefanie has now been competitively playing for the last four years. She competes at tournaments around the world, attending one tournament each month on average. Here in China, she played various Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) China Junior Golf programs and even won first place. During the summer, Stefanie’s schedule becomes a little packed as she travels around the U.S. to play golf for two months. With her efforts, she was able to earn second place [at] the International Management Group (IMG) Junior World and the first place [at] the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) Memorial Open. Both tournaments, held in America, opened Stefanie’s opportunities to be recruited by colleges — including the University of California, Berkeley and other American state colleges — though she eventually committed to University of Washington, an NCAA Division 1 school.

Playing competitive sports, however, is not easy. It takes a lot of effort and time to reach Stefanie’s level. Stefanie, too, had to overcome hardships along the way. “About three years into playing golf, I actually thought about quitting. I felt very overwhelmed by the pressure of the sport and thought it was taking too much of my free time,” said Stefanie. After discussions with her parents, she decided to invest less time into golf. “However, after the phase was over, I recovered my passion for golf, and I am grateful for my parents and their support during the difficult time.”

Now, Stefanie is confident to say that golf is the center of her life and that she will not give up. According to Stefanie, through golf, it not only paved her way to become an acknowledged athlete, but also helped her mature as a person. “I feel that I have matured greatly through golf and that it has taught me a lot about myself.”

To all those students pursuing competitive sports, Stefanie recommended starting playing as a hobby first. “Sports is a competitive field, especially in America. [But] I have seen so many examples of people giving up their education just to pursue a single sport but not being able to continue due to height, injuries, [and other causes].” Furthermore, she suggested playing many different sports to eventually assess your true aspirations. “You can develop different muscles when you are young. Playing different sports also allows you to choose your favorite without feeling confined to playing one sport.”

Stefanie may not a be a school athlete that we always cheer for (since golf is not offered here), but her journey to become a professional golfer is, undoubtedly, still inspiring. Despite difficulties, Stefanie continued to pursue her dreams and accomplish things beyond expectations.

You can also check out Stefanie’s Baidu Encyclopedia (百度百科) page here.

Featured Image – Stefanie plays golf with her University of Washington cap 

Photos courtesy of Stefanie Deng