Kevin's Story 
   I was born in September 1982 to Jackie and Percy Hall. At age 2 1/2, I was stricken with a virus called H-Flu Meningitis which nearly took my life. It took my ability to hear instead. It was a very sad and shocking time for my parents but they made a promise and to this day, they have not broken it. They promised to raise me as a normal human being. They rallied around me and with unshakable faith, lots of prayers and support, they were able to make me realize that the reality is that I lost my hearing but I do not have to let it stop me from achieving my dreams. With help of good friends, my parents learned sign language then taught it to me. They enrolled me at St. Rita School for the Deaf when I was 3 1/2. Bowling was my first sport as a young kid and my parents eventually put me in organized sports such as baseball, basketball and soccer. I became an accomplished bowler, reaching the #2 spot as one of the top junior bowlers in the nation at age 8. Despite my participation in all those sports, when I first picked up a golf club at age 9, life as I knew it changed. I began to practice with a passion every day of the week, often until darkness, either with my parents or with my teacher, Don Barnes. At age 10, I entered my first golf tournament and finished 2nd. I won my first National tournament when I was 14.I was blessed with an opportunity to play high school golf for my local public school, Winton Woods, and became the first student in St. Rita's history to be mainstreamed into organized sports at a different school in the process. In my senior year, I was the #1 player in the city of Cincinnati, Ohio and I finished 4th in the State tournament. I also had the privilege of playing on the Tiger Woods team at Torrey Pines twice and I also was fortunate to qualify for the US Junior Amateur. Perhaps the thing I am most proud of is the fact I worked hard in school and got good grades. I graduated with top honors and was Valedictorian of my class.
 
After I graduated from St. Rita/Winton Woods, I attended Ohio State University on a full scholarship. I became the first Africa-American to play golf for Ohio State. I remember that my transition from a small school (130-150 kids) to an enormous University (50,000 students) was an extremely difficult one. My parents would visit me several times to make sure I was ok and was able to adjust to things. Coach Jim Brown also tried to make things easier for me. I eventually got settled in and was able to play in 5 tournaments as a freshman and contribute to two team victories including our home event, The Kepler, where I finished 2nd individually to Luke Donald. I lettered all four years for OSU and had the honor of being co-captain my junior and senior years. My senior year at OSU is something I will never forget. I performed consistently in most of the tournaments and I was fortunate enough to piece together three good rounds to win my first collegiate event at the Marshall Invitational. On Mother's Day weekend of 2004, my teammates and I played a great tournament in the Big Ten Championship and we won. I also won as an individual by 11 shots, breaking several records. In my career as an amateur, I qualified for the US Amateur and the US Public Links. In my five years at Ohio State, I was student-scholar athlete four years in a row and was on the Dean's list. I finished with a 3.2 GPA with a major in Journalism. 
  
Throughout the course of my life, I have been blessed with the opportunity to meet many people of which have made a huge impact in my life. I have learned a lot of things from them, a lot of them coming from my parents. I've learned that life is too short. I need to make the most of every opportunity that comes my way. God gave me a 2nd chance at life and I intend to make the best of it! It takes courage to do what I do and to keep going even in face of adversity. People ask me all the time how I can continue to do what I do when the going gets tough. I tell them that it's one day at a time. You have to take it one step at a time. If you work hard without reservations and you put all you have into the time you have in a day and do it over and over, good things will happen to you eventually. My goal is to play on the PGA Tour. I know I have a lot of work to do and I am prepared to do so to achieve my goals. My motto is: work, work, work, dig, dig, dig and to never take my eyes off the goal. I was always taught that anything is possible if you are willing to work for it. I was always taught that with God anything is possible if you are willing to work for it. The sky is the limit. Always reach for it and never give up.

Kevin

Timothy 2:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.