SMCHS Alum Grant Boyson Reflects on His Time at SMC and How Golf has Impacted Him
By: Abriela Thiel (’19)

Grant Boyson, a 2018 graduate of St. Mary Catholic High School (SMCHS), started playing golf when his dad introduced him to the sport when he was young.

“My love for golf developed from there, and over time, I just kept getting better and better,” Grant said.

In high school, Grant was a three-sport athlete playing football, basketball and golf. He was a four-year letter winner in golf, three-year letter winner in basketball and two-year letter winner in football playing kicker, punter and wide receiver on the SMCHS football team. Grant was a three-time first team All-Area Fox Cities honoree, earned first-team All-Big East honors twice and the 2016 Big East Player of the Year.

After an injury in basketball his junior year, Grant decided not to play basketball his senior year in order to focus on continuing to improve his golf game. During this year-long commitment to improving his game, Grant worked hard on the course in addition to preparing for college recruitment.

As one of the top prep golfers in Wisconsin during his time at SMCHS, it was golf that offered him continued opportunities in college and a chance to continue playing the sport he loves. Grant says golf provided him the opportunity to meet lots of people and enjoy the atmosphere of college sports.

Grant was recruited by DePaul University, where he is currently on a golf scholarship. In the fall, he will be a senior at DePaul, and it will be his fourth year as a member of the NCAA Division I golf team. Grant is studying biology, and he hopes to go to medical school after graduation.

At DePaul, Grant is a two-time member of the BIG EAST All-Academic Team. He has played in 31 career rounds over his first three seasons and posted a career-best round of 73 five times.

Grant’s sister, Elana, also attended and graduated from SMCHS in 2016, and in the fall, she will be starting her last year of nursing school at Bellin College in Green Bay.

As Grant looks forward to either volunteering or playing in the Greater Zephyrs Open event this year, he reflected on what his time at SMCHS meant to him, taught him and what he hopes current students will take away from their time at SMCHS.

Grant says his time at SMCHS helped prepare him for college through their high standards in academics and the wide variety of extracurricular activities that are offered.

“They always had high academic standards. They always kept me on top of my work. All the teachers and staff always had high expectations for you, and that really helped me prepare for college,” Grant said.

Grant says the high expectations and committed teachers and staff at SMCHS taught him to always do the best that he can in his work.

Along with this, Grant believes students should take advantage of the opportunities to participate in extracurriculars because paired with the academics, students learn how to time manage and stay engaged beyond the classroom. As Grant found with his opportunity to continue golfing at DePaul, participating in extracurriculars also allows students to continue doing what they love beyond high school.

“Participating in extracurricular activities gives you unique opportunities in high school and after high school,” Grant said.

Participation in sports also gave Grant some of his best memories from high school. Grant says one of his favorite high school memories was when the golf team found out they were going to state in 2016. He remembers everyone’s excitement when the team finally got their sectional scores that said they qualified for state.

Grant led the SMC golf team to a sixth-place finish in the Wisconsin State tournament that year after advancing them to state by finishing second in the regional qualifying and fourth in the sectional tournament.

Grant explained that he feels that SMCHS shaped him into who he is today, and the teachers and staff taught him everything that he knows, both in academics and faith.

Because of this, Grant looks forward to volunteering or playing in the Greater Zephyrs Open event on July 16 to give back to the school that gave him so much.