Paul SuellentropFormer Wichita State student-athletes Corey Novascone and Calvin Pearson credit golf with making college education possible and teaching them life lessons that come with the ups and downs of competition.
“Golf has pretty much given me everything that I had, every opportunity I have,” Novascone said.
Novascone is program director at the First Tee-Greater Wichita, which opened the Steve Hatchett Learning Center at MacDonald Golf Course in March. Pearson is vice president of the board of directors.
The Learning Center is part of a $3 million complex that includes a driving range, putting and chipping area and the learning center with indoor/outdoor hitting bays and spaces for homework help and tutoring.
In 2024, around 750 children participated in First Tee programs, totaling around 1,000 classes. First Tee offers free instruction, use of the facilities and equipment for beginning golfers.
Paul Suellentrop“I played professionally for a few years, and I knew after I was done with that, I wanted to find a way to give back to the game of golf,” Pearson said. “We’re helping (youngsters) with the game of golf, but then also outside of the game of golf. Helping kids prep for college and providing them tutoring assistance, that has just as much weight as the golf side.”
Novascone, who graduated in 1999 and majored in communications, played on WSU’s NCAA regional team in 1998 and earned All-Missouri Valley Conference honors in 1998. Pearson, a 2014 graduate who majored in exercise science with a minor in economics, played on MVC championship and NCAA teams in 2011, 2012 and 2013. He earned All-MVC honors in 2012 and 2013.
Listen to Novascone and Pearson describe First Tee's mission on the Roundhouse podcast
About Wichita State University
Wichita State University is Kansas' only urban public research university, enrolling more than 23,000 students between its main campus and the WSU Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology (WSU Tech), including students from every state in the U.S. and more than 100 countries. Wichita State and WSU Tech are recognized for being student-centered and innovation-driven.
Located in the largest city in the state with one of the highest concentrations in the United States of jobs involving science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), Wichita State University provides uniquely distinctive and innovative pathways of applied learning, applied research and career opportunities for all of our students. The National Science Foundation ranked WSU No. 1 in the nation for aerospace engineering R&D, No. 2 for industry-funded engineering R&D and No. 8 overall for engineering R&D.
The Innovation Campus, which is a physical extension of the Wichita State University main campus, is one of the nation’s largest and fastest-growing research/innovation parks, encompassing over 120 acres and is home to a number of global companies and organizations.
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