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Holmberg all business and all A’s at Kansas State
   Getting to know the Kansas Junior Golf Scholars

   It appears to be “all business” at Kansas State University for Topeka’s Amanda Holmberg. The Kansas Golf Foundation scholar maintained a 4.0 grade point average during her first year in Manhattan and wrote in a letter to The Foundation that she pans to maintain the lofty mark this school year.
   “(In 2009-10) I plan to obtain a part time job while taking 15 hours at Kansas State University. I plan to stay active in my sorority, the clubs I am involved in, and also continue to Amanda Holmberg

tutor and volunteer at Lee Elementary School. While doing all this, I plan to maintain a 4.0 GPA,” the former Washburn Rural High student wrote.
   But don’t think the young student spent her whole freshman year in the KSU library. Holmberg says she’s gotten involved in a wide variety of activities at the school.
   “I joined the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority,” the 19-year-old finance and accounting major wrote. “Through it, I participated in homecoming, Relay for Life, sibling rivalry, and a number of other similar events. I was on the alumni and scholarship committees and a member of various intramural teams. I was involved in the community service committee of BAPP Club (Beginning a Promising Profession Club) and was later elected as treasurer for the College of Business Administration Student Council.”

Three times to state golf event
   Holmberg says she and one of her childhood friends got involved in junior golf in Topeka.
   “I can’t remember if it was grade school or middle school,” she admits.
   The program gave her a club and she went on from there, hitting balls on the range with her father and playing golf with her friend.
   Holmberg says she began enjoying the sport and that led to playing on Washburn Rural’s golf team all four years in high school. She had her career low round and tied for second at the regional event her senior season and was part of three Washburn Rural teams that made it to the state championships.
   “I played as an alternate at state my sophomore year and then both my junior and senior years,” says Holmberg, who didn’t play any other sports in high school although she was a softball player during the summers. “I don’t think I ever placed individually. My sophomore year we took first as a team.”
   Holmberg says golf has taught her lessons, especially on controlling her emotions.
   “It can be frustrating…and it taught me to be able to handle the different things that can be thrown at me,” she says. “And it taught me to be able to get along with different types of people. Because in tournaments you get put with people you don’t know. So it’s helped me with my communications skills and talking with people I don’t know.”

Plenty of options
   A sophomore this past fall at KSU, Holmberg added a number of business club and sorority responsibilities as she works towards her degree in accounting and finance with a minor in economics. It may be a little early to determine her exact career path, but Holmberg has some ideas.
   “Right now I’m leaning towards (being) a financial planner, but I don’t really know,” she says. “I like keeping my options open…just seeing once I get more into my core classes where that goes and what I enjoy the most. I know I want to stay near Topeka because that’s

where my family is…somewhere in Kansas probably."
   One thing is certain, she understands the economics of pursuing a degree in this day and age and a job last summer helped with that…
   “During (the summer of 2009), I will be working full time at the Educational Credit Union to help pay for my college expenses and get me better prepared for life after college,” she wrote. “At my job, I plan to use some of the knowledge I have gained from the previous school year. I learned how to be independent and balance multiple activities and tasks while staying organized and maintaining good grades.”
   And that organization has become very important for Holmberg. On top of all her classroom work and school activities she’s been working with students at a Manhattan elementary school.
   “Two days a week I volunteered at Lee Elementary School in Manhattan during recess and lunch, and tutored two sixth graders in math and reading as well,” Holmberg says.
   Through her experience the straight-A business student remains appreciative of the support the KGF has given her.
“Thank you and your foundation again for supporting me through my educational experiences,” Holmberg wrote in her letter. “It has allowed me to gain knowledge and experience I would not have otherwise gained and is greatly appreciated. I wouldn’t have been able to get to where I am today without your help and for that I would like to thank you.”