Pitman added another student to the list that continues to grow of collegiate student-athletes after Taylor Beckwith signed with Whittier College on Thursday.
After a long and successful career at Pitman, Beckwith’s ultimate decision came down to a handful of universities with Whittier atop the list. After weighing her options and visiting multiple schools, Beckwith decided to go with one of the younger programs in the state.
“I really liked the Whittier campus and the course is stunning and like that I can play year round since its Southern California and I liked their coaches as well, I got along with them,” said Beckwith. “I weighed my options, since I like to be logical and Whittier made the most sense.”
It made sense for numerous reasons but it also helped that Whittier had the exact Master’s program that Beckwith was hoping to find.
“Their graduate law program was a big emphasis for me because none of the other schools had this kind of program,” said Beckwith. “And because it’s near Los Angeles I figured I can get better opportunities and internships but luckily it’s just outside so I got the small town but city as well.”
After an impressive grade-point-average of 4.25 at Pitman thus far, Beckwith has shown signs of maturity on and off the golf course at early stages in her career.
“It’s a challenge, it’s a lot of time managing and late nights and early golf mornings but fitting in homework during lunch or in the car, just time management,” said Beckwith. “I’ve always been in AP classes so I knew what needed to be done and I made it happen and got it done.”
“It is always impressive and nice to see when a student-athlete can balance academics and sports like Taylor has,” said Pitman’s Athletic Director Dave Walls.
Beckwith also joins a growing program with a bright future especially since Whittier head coach Mike King has high aspirations and hopes that the talented Beckwith could assist in the progress.
“It’s a new program so I am looking to build it with the coach and he has a drive to win a NCAA D3 Championship,” said Beckwith. “I wanted some incentives going in so I will be in the middle of the mix.”
Beckwith just concluded her final year at Pitman and ended her career as a three-time Central California Conference Most Valuable Player.
“I did accomplish what I wanted to besides Nor-Cal but I got over it because golf has always been second to academics,” Beckwith added. “Don’t get me wrong golf is a huge part of my life but academics has always come first. I am ready for the next step.”
