Cameron Lee, Renaissance Man
Cameron Lee, Penn State senior majoring in Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management is a Renaissance Man. He’s an avid reader who enjoys Harry Potter books. He is a hunter who likes to spend time in the woods hunting for deer and even bears. In high school, he played both golf and baseball and had offers to play to play both at college. He’s a PGA Professional Golf Management student at Penn State.
As a student enrolled in Penn State’s PGA Professional Golf Management Program, Cam Lee has traveled to Scotland to play the historic golf courses in the country where golf was born. He has worked the Masters golf tournament at Augusta National where he was assigned to Berckman’s Place, a VIP tent that features food, air conditioning, and merchandise at a price of $6,000 per person over the cost of entrance to the tournament. He’s been a part of the team within PGA PGM as the program’s intern.
According to Dictionary.com, the definition of Renaissance Man is “a person with many talents or areas of knowledge.”
Cam is originally from northern Virginia where his family has a taxidermy business. A dual-sport high school athlete, Cam played baseball and golf in high school. He was offered a spot on both the golf and baseball teams at Penn State’s Mont Alto campus. A torn ACL his senior year of high school threatened to derail it all but with determination, he was able to come back. And then he found the PGA PGM program.
“I had the opportunity to continue to play sports after high school at Mont Alto. My Dad heard of the PGA PGM program and then we reached out to Dr. Burch Wilkes, Director of Penn State’s PGA Professional Golf Management program. They worked with me, and I got to start at Mont Alto so I could play sports. I was able to get my Gen Eds done before transferring to University Park to start the program. As an out-of-state student, starting at the commonwealth campus was also cheaper.”
The PGA Professional Golf Management program at Penn State is a five-year program in which students earn their Penn State degree but also earn their PGA teaching pro credentials. The program includes five internships. Cam is finishing his final internship during Fall semester 2023 at The Club at Creighton Farms in Loudon County, Virginia and will graduate in December.
“I’ve had some amazing experiences while at Penn State,” said Cam. “I got to play the Old Course in Scotland with the PGA PGM program. The site of the British Open! There were big time celebrities when I was at Berckman’s Place at the Masters. I was in floor operations in the merchandise area at the Masters. I have really enjoyed my time at my internships.”
In addition to his in-the-field internships, Cam was also selected to serve as a PGA PGM department intern, working alongside RPTM-PGA PGM faculty and staff in support of operations, special events, and other tasks to support the PGM program. This position is a highly-coveted internship in which academics, golf, and overall student engagement are used to evaluate potential candidates.
Cam identified the challenges and celebrations of attending PSU and majoring in RPTM-PGA PGM. “The challenges were definitely all of the PGA work; the checkpoints and the written tests. The celebrations were definitely the internships. They were great.”
RPTM-PGA PGM has 100% placement for graduates of the program. Looking ahead to what’s next, Cam hasn’t made his final decision on where the next step will be. He’s had several preliminary conversations with some clubs in Virginia. His goal for now is to stay close to home so he can continue to build his skills and enjoy his varied hobbies and interests. Cam Lee is a man of many talents and knowledge. Cam Lee is a Renaissance man.