SAN FRANCISCO — Teamwork is always an important lesson, and several representatives of different Academy of Art University athletics teams were able to work together and help out the community this summer, collaborating with The First Tee of San Francisco to create a clubhouse at the Golden Gate Park Golf Course.
 
Natalie Gabriel of ART U women's soccer, Dat Do of men's golf and Academy of Art head golf coaches Andy Moren and Elaine Harris helped connect art with community last month. Harris and Moren put First Tee SF Executive Director Dan Burke in touch with Academy of Art University, while Do and Gabriel helped design and decorate a shipping container that would become a golf clubhouse for the organization.
 
The container clubhouse officially opened on Friday, June 19, with a reception at the Golden Gate Park Golf Course, where those who donated their time and talent received a big thank you at the event from Burke. Attendees included The First Tee SF students and staff, staff members from the city of San Francisco, the Recreation and Parks Department, The Olympic Club Foundation, as well as Academy students and faculty who designed the interior of the clubhouse.
 
"I thought, 'Who can we partner with in this great city that can help take this blank canvas and do something very cool?' And not only cool but functional," said Burke in an Academy of Art press release. "We thought it was a natural fit to go to the Academy of Art University, which is a great institution in San Francisco, via their golf teams, which we had relationships with. They just jumped at the chance to impart their skills on something such as this project."
 
Part of Gabriel's duties were painting First Tee of San Francisco's core values on the inner walls of the clubhouse. Do helped other School of Interior Architecture and Design students to create a design that inspires creativity in the 7-foot-by-40-foot space. The Academy golf teams also volunteered their time to build out the inside of the clubhouse, which includes desks and chairs, a lounge area where students can relax or do their homework, along with learning the nine core values that are the life skills curriculum of The First Tee. The nine core values are hand-lettered in a rich orange color along the walls by Gabriel, a Fine Art major, and include: Honesty, Integrity, Sportsmanship, Respect, Confidence, Responsibility, Perseverance, Courtesy and Judgement.
 
"My favorite part in all of it was just hanging out there in the container," said Gabriel. "People that worked on the golf course were really sweet and friendly. The core values were important things and it was cool to know that kids were going to be in there looking at that stuff. It was a great intertwining of worlds. It was really cool how organizations like that can be involved with our school and our athletics program. It was an awesome experience."

The First Tee will be able to increase its reach to about 900 additional kids with the new clubhouse and the partnership with the Golden Gate Park Golf Course.
 
"The First Tee is a great program in San Francisco, and it's great to see athletes working as artists in the community," said Harris. "Golden Gate Golf Course is a small gem in San Francisco and it's great to see Academy of Art represented in that way. It's a perfect connection."
 
The idea is that kids would be in the clubhouse for about 20 minutes working on one of the core values of the day, 15-20 minutes on the putting green and then coaches will take a handful of kids each week out on the course to play a couple of holes. From there, kids have an opportunity to join The First Tee after school programs or summer programs, which will include tutoring, free access to range balls and they can go out and play the golf course for a dollar.
 
"Having the opportunity to work with the First Tee of San Francisco was a great experience for both programs," said Moren. "We really hope to grow a lasting partnership with the First Tee and help out with future projects and events. The project really showed the versatility of students and student-athletes involved and it was great to be a part of First Tee Director Dan Burke's vision which started on paper and then came to reality."
 
"It's going to be very impactful for the kids in those public schools," said Burke. "And I can just picture kids getting on that Fulton line in the summer, coming here and making this their home, learning about golf, learning the values it creates and being part of the fabric here at this whole facility."

Information from a www.academyart.edu press release was used in this story, which can be seen by clicking here.