Jennifer Barrientos Archives - First Tee

FTSV at John Deere Drive Your Future Academy

(FTSV at John Deere Drive Your Future Academy Published 12/3/25) In early November, in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL, 36 girls from First Tee chapters from across the country were welcomed to the annual 2025 Drive Your Future Academy, a five-day leadership program specifically for girls, designed to help develop critical skills that will serve students in college and beyond. Kathryn Newton – actress, First Tee – Miami alum, and First Tee Ambassador – headlined the list of mentors on hand to lead a variety of workshops centered around topics such as: advocating for yourself and others, overcoming adversity, cultivating meaningful relationships, roadmap to successful mentorship, and embracing self-awareness.

This year, First Tee – Silicon Valley was honored to be represented by two of our participants and junior volunteers, Alexis Chu and Jennifer Barrientos.

Both participants are long time participants in our program, junior volunteers, and members of our Junior Council. At the event they had a great time learning from their peers and mentors and came away with a ton of valuable life skills they will surely use in their futures.

For Jennifer, it was also a new life experience, being the first time she’s left her home state.

“I really enjoyed the experience overall – everything was brand new for me; it was even my first time on a plane!” she reflected. “The biggest highlight for me was the lesson on mentorship – we can always offer support to people by offering our skills and diversifying the people you surround yourself with. Our coach laid out a timeline of her mentors and taught us that each mentor will lead you to your next.”

The event reinforces First Tee’s commitment to empowering girls through its programs, which are offered through 150 chapters across the country. Most First Tee Chapters, including us here at FTSV, provide dedicated programming for girls, intentionally inviting and engaging them in a variety of opportunities. At our chapter, that is Girls Golf, a quarterly event geared specifically (but not exclusively) to girls, designed with input from our Junior Council and put on with help from junior volunteers like Jennifer and Alexis. When asked to sum up the importance of creating safe spaces for girls in golf and how that was created at Drive Your Future, Jennifer replied,

“Being a group of all girls, we had similar challenges. I’ve had struggles being the only women and Latina in certain spaces, but at Drive Your Future, we were reminded that girls can advocate for themselves and accomplish anything we want. Hearing stories from women that have grown so much through their lives and careers was inspiring.”

Events like these are so valuable for participants to build on the lessons they’re already working on in their First Tee classes back home.

Congratulations to Jennifer and Alexis for being selected for this amazing opportunity. Well deserved!

The 2026 First Tee National Opportunities schedule will be released soon – if your teen is interested in applying, stay tuned! Click here for more information on the National Opportunity process.

Fall 2025 National Opportunity Update

(Fall 2025 National Opportunity Update – Published 10/03/25) For First Tee – Silicon Valley, the Fall has many unique and impactful opportunities for high school participants who go above and beyond. Between the Innovators Forum, the Drive Your Future Academy and the PURE Insurance Championship, hardworking FTSV participants will represent their chapter on the national stage. If you are interested in learning more about the National Opportunities available, please visit our website or email Coach Phoenix – [email protected].

Innovators Forum (October 2-5, 2025, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL):

Each year, a group of exceptional First Tee teens gather at the First Tee Innovators Forum, where they develop a meaningful service project to bring home to their community. Projects focus on education, health, human rights or environmental sustainability. By bringing together passionate participants from across the chapter network, the Innovators Forum provides a distinctive enrichment experience, engaging teens who share a similar desire for learning and generating changes in their communities.

This year, two outstanding FTSV participants will be attending this event. Sahara Huchim Velazquez and Nicolas Hernandez Lopez have been in the program for years and both volunteer as junior coaches. Have a great time Sahara and Nicolas!

PURE Insurance Championship Impacting First Tee (September 16-21, 2025, Pebble Beach, CA):

For more than 20 years, the PURE Insurance Championship has provided First Tee participants with the unique opportunity to showcase the skills and values they’ve gained through the program. Held at the iconic Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill Golf Course, the tournament pairs 80 standout teens from First Tee Chapters nationwide with PGA TOUR Champions players and amateurs from the business community. The annual event was broadcast internationally on Golf Channel.

This year, FTSV participants Alexis Chu, Brian Yu and Walton Li attended this event and were phenomenal representatives of our chapter. Everyone played very well, including a 6^th place finish for Alexis and 3^rd place finish for Brian. More importantly, all players conducted themselves with respect and kindness, building lasting relationships while playing golf in one of the most beautiful places on earth. Fantastic work!

Drive Your Future Academy (November 6-10, 2025, Ponte Vedra, FL):

The First Tee Drive Your Future Academy presented by John Deere is a female empowerment event recognizing young women who are motivated to influence positive impact at their chapters, schools and communities. The five-day academy experience focuses on the importance of building a strong network and how to approach mentorship opportunities, navigating post-graduation and career planning, and appreciating the value/impact of volunteerism.

Jennifer Barrientos and Alexis Chu were selected to attend the upcoming 2025 Drive Your Future Academy. Jennifer has been a participant for over 7 years, is a dedicated junior coach, and is a key member of the FTSV junior council. Alexis is also a dedicated participant, demonstrating her strong life skills on and off the course, including just recently at the PURE Insurance Championship. Enjoy the week!