Supporting junior golfers as they build confidence, character and lasting skills.

Zebulon Barnes, a sophomore at Lincoln University of Missouri, is 19 years old.

Nineteen going on 30. He’s a longtime past participant in SCGA Junior programming at Maggie Hathaway GC and one of the Foundation’s 61 postsecondary scholars, thanks in part to a collaboration between Deloitte and the SCGA Junior Golf Foundation.

“He has flourished,” explained Camille Mahlknecht, director of development for the SCGA Junior Golf Foundation, who met Barnes three years ago. “He is confident, has a résumé that is pretty strong given his age and is able to communicate with adults, which is a skill that is not always there with 19-year-olds. He is shaking hands, utilizing the network really well.”

Barnes is far from alone. Thanks to Deloitte, dozens of Southern California youth, primarily from low- to middle-income families in the Los Angeles area, are developing skills to help prepare them for their future.

“We know not everyone is going to make it as a professional golfer,” Mahlknecht said, “but other doors can open and Deloitte is a force that is focused on opening many of these doors. It is never too early to think about the long-term plan.”

Deloitte has been assisting aspiring Southern California junior golfers since 2023. One form of support has been Deloitte’s involvement with an ambitious $21 million endeavor launched in 2024 to restore the historic Maggie Hathaway GC in South L.A. The course, redesigned by Gil Hanse, reopened in March 2026 — becoming a “safe place,” as Mahlknecht put it, “to play and learn the game.”

The vision and restoration are great examples of businesses, non-profit organizations and civic and community leaders collaborating to support and improve communities.

Deloitte is helping students prepare for their future success by building skills that are critical in college and career settings such as résumé writing, building their personal brand and discovering how they might best fit in the corporate world.

“You have to be able to communicate and work in a team environment,” said Jordan Wiggins, a principal at Deloitte Consulting LLP and a board member of the SCGA Junior Golf Foundation. “You can learn the A.I. skills and you can learn the technology skills, but it’s hard to teach the people skills.”

One way is to introduce the concept of Business Chemistry to these soon-to-be young adults. Deloitte’s Business Chemistry® is a data-driven, scientifically grounded framework designed specifically to improve workplace dynamics and professional relationships. By assessing observable traits, it categorizes individuals into four primary working styles — Pioneers, Guardians, Drivers and Integrators — to help teams build emotional intelligence, understand how different members communicate and collaborate more effectively.

Once the youth acquire a better handle on their style — they will typically identify with more than one group, if not all four — they will be able, Wiggins said, to “understand how they can be successful.”

After all, in pursuing Plan A — to become a professional one day — the young golfers will invariably come into contact with many individuals who have fared very well in the private sector. And by possessing the skills that Deloitte is teaching, they can engage in, as Wiggins said, the kinds of conversations on the golf course that may lead to them accomplishing their goals.

Deloitte also teaches college students ways to help deal with stress — that part of the college experience that hasn’t changed no matter the numerous advances in technology.

“That’s the thing Deloitte can coach you up on,” Mahlknecht pointed out, “helping navigate course load, and practice load if on the golf team — how to manage it so they can function at their best capacity possible. Some are far from home and missing their parents’ cooking for the first time. It’s a lot to shoulder for a young adult.”

And let’s not overlook the importance of public speaking. “A lot of people don’t like public speaking, but it’s about voicing your opinion,” Wiggins said. “We want to hear your opinion, who you are, how you tick.”

Barnes, from the city of Carson, about 20 miles from Los Angeles, could not be more excited about the future.

“It helps me get in the game,” he said, and he’s not referring to golf. “It’s about business, about connections … about community.”

He’s interested in a career in real estate development — if, of course, this golf thing doesn’t work out.

Which includes more than just building homes.

“I want to build homeless shelters,” he said, “schools, things that can help out younger kids and people who are hurt.

There is so much destruction and anger and negativity around the world. I just want to spread positivity and help as many people as I possibly can.”

Nineteen going on 30.