DENVER — What started as a summer job has turned into a life-changing opportunity for Denver-area student Vanessa Olivar.

The 18-year-old Denver Country Club caddie has earned the prestigious Evans Scholarship, a full tuition and housing scholarship awarded by the Western Golf Association to caddies who demonstrate strong character, academic achievement, financial need and a strong caddie record.

Watch Bradey King’s story on how Olivar persevered to nab this scholarship in the video below.

Denver Country Club caddie earns full-ride Evans Scholarship

Olivar is one of 15 students from Colorado to receive the scholarship this year and will attend the University of Colorado Boulder this fall.

When she first heard about caddying through her high school’s assistant principal, Olivar said she wasn’t sure it was the right fit.

“I didn’t know anything about the game of golf,” she said. “At first, I was a little doubtful and nervous, but I thought it would be a great summer job. I quickly found out that it was more than just carrying a golfer’s bag.”

Over the past three years, Olivar learned the responsibilities that come with the job, from carrying clubs and providing yardages to building relationships with members and fellow caddies.

“I learned a strong work ethic, and the relationships that I built through caddying have really shaped who I am today,” she said.

Her dedication paid off when she received the news that she had earned the Evans Scholarship.

“I got that flag saying, ‘Congratulations,’ and I was so excited,” Olivar said. “Words couldn’t express how excited my family and I were for this great opportunity that I worked so hard for over three years.”

The scholarship carries even greater significance because Olivar will become the first person in her family to attend college.

“I’m a first-generation college student,” she said. “Coming from immigrant parents, I kind of had to navigate this world by myself.”

Her parents immigrated to the United States when they were 18, and Olivar said their sacrifices inspired her to pursue higher education.

“Being able to tell my parents they don’t have to pay for my college takes that weight off their shoulders, but also mine,” she said.

Western Golf Association officials say Olivar exemplifies the qualities the Evans Scholarship is designed to recognize.

“The scholarship is based upon four principles: Their caddie record, their academic record, their financial need, but really what’s most important is their character,” said Brian Wilkinson, the Western Golf Association Director at Denver Country Club. “Vanessa expresses the great character and leadership that we’re looking for in young women and men.”

At CU Boulder, Olivar plans to major in public health with a minor in business before pursuing dental school.

She said the opportunity has changed the trajectory of her future.

“I knew I wanted to go to college, and I wanted to have a further education,” Olivar said. “I just didn’t know how I was going to do that. I didn’t know caddying was eventually going to change that for me. It’s a scholarship that has changed my life forever.

The Nuggets have made a habit of signing bench players with Colorado ties.

The latest homecoming they’ve arranged is for Alpha Diallo, who played a season of high school basketball at Denver West and is now signing a one-year, $1.4 million minimum contract with Denver in NBA free agency, a league source told The Denver Post on Sunday.

Diallo, 29, was named Defensive Player of the Year in the EuroLeague last season. This will be his first foray into the NBA after a five-year stint with AS Monaco. He recently committed to join Dubai Basketball on a multiyear deal, according to a report by the European media outlet BasketNews, but his contract included a clause granting his release if he left for the NBA by July 15.

The Nuggets have signed Diallo, Reggie Jackson (Palmer High School), David Roddy (Colorado State) and KJ Simpson (CU) to various deals in the last three years.

Born in New York, Diallo helped lead Denver West to the Colorado Class 4A Sweet 16 as a sophomore. He transferred to Lincoln High before his junior season, but he was ruled ineligible to compete for the entire school year due to what CHSAA deemed an implicit recruiting violation; Lincoln’s coach at the time had just coached Diallo in a summer tournament.

The eligibility fight with CHSAA eventually led Diallo to leave the state. He returned to the East Coast and played four years of college basketball at Providence, where he earned Second Team All-Big East honors twice.