Some stories begin with a single swing. For Sahara Washington, that swing happened at age three, and it set the course for everything that followed.
At First Tee – Greater San Antonio, we envision a lifelong pathway for every child who walks through our doors. We believe that by nurturing a child’s potential from that very first swing to the boardroom, we are shaping generations of game changers who lead with integrity, serve with purpose, and create a lasting impact. Sahara’s story is proof that this vision is real.
The Beginning: More Than a Game
Sahara grew up in San Antonio, the daughter of two parents who met while serving in the Air Force. Athletics were always a priority in the Washington household. Both of her parents were high school athletes, and they were determined to find a sport that would shape their daughter’s character just as much as her skills. When her father picked up golf and started heading to the range, he brought Sahara along. What happened next surprised even him.
First Tee – Greater San Antonio didn’t normally accept participants under age four. But when staff saw Sahara swing, they made an exception. At three years old, she had something, and the program welcomed her in.
That first tee moment was more than an introduction to a sport. It was the beginning of a journey that would cultivate the character, confidence, and resilience she would carry with her for the rest of her life.
Elementary School: Building a Foundation
In those early years, First Tee wasn’t about competition. It was about community. Sahara remembers it as a place full of kids her age, caring coaches, and the kind of fun that makes a child want to come back every Saturday. The program provided clubs, instruction, and, just as importantly for a young military family, it was free.
“It just really felt like a community,” Sahara recalls. “I still have friends from those early years.”
Her parents enrolled her in local and national tournaments as she grew, and it became clear that Sahara had real talent. But more than winning, she was developing something deeper: a love for the game rooted in joy and belonging, and a growing sense of who she was.
Middle School: The Shift to Serious
By sixth grade, something had changed. Sahara had transferred to a private school where she was the only girl on the golf team, and she was beginning to separate herself in junior golf tournaments. She started working with a private coach. Her parents were investing in her future. And she started doing the math.
“I think I knew in sixth grade that it had switched,” she says. “I knew I could probably get recruited. I knew I could go D1.”
First Tee remained a cornerstone throughout. While her private coaching was intense and her father pushed her hard, First Tee felt different. It was a place of encouragement, not pressure, where coaches asked what could be improved rather than tearing her down. The life skills being woven into every session weren’t just lessons on a curriculum. They were becoming part of who Sahara was.
High School: Pressure, Purpose, and Pebble Beach
High school golf brought a new level of intensity. Recruiting scouts. Tournament pressure. The weight of being a young minority woman in a sport that didn’t always look like her. Some days, the mental game was harder than the physical one.
But First Tee gave her somewhere to exhale.
Sahara brought her high school teammates to Saturday sessions. She earned a spot at First Tee’s national opportunity at Pebble Beach at age 15. She volunteered with the Tiny Tigers program, giving back to the same classes that had shaped her. And through all of it, the life and leadership skills she had been building since age three, including sportsmanship, resilience, gratitude, and confidence, were becoming second nature.
“It really was an escape,” she says. “The First Tee was consistent. It was always a place where I could reinforce healthier habits and be around people who were lifting me up.”
This is what First Tee’s mission looks like in real life: not just teaching kids to play golf, but inspiring them to contribute positively to their teams, their communities, and eventually the world around them.
Her junior year, she won the state championship. Around the same time, she got a call from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
College: A Full Scholarship and Five Years of Growth
Sahara had always known she wanted to go out West, somewhere warm, somewhere with resources, somewhere that felt right. She wasn’t even sure Hawaii had a university. But when their coaches flew to watch her compete in a Las Vegas tournament, one she won, she knew.
She flew to Honolulu. She committed on the spot.
The University of Hawaii offered her a full athletic scholarship, a life-changing opportunity made possible by years of dedication, discipline, and the kind of character that coaches notice. She went on to play golf at Hawaii for four years, then transferred to a Division II school in Texas for a fifth year while earning her MBA with a focus in international business.
In college, First Tee came with her. Sahara connected with the First Tee chapter in Hawaii and got her teammates involved in volunteering. The values she had carried from San Antonio showed up on the course in entirely new ways, including during 36-hole days in pouring rain, when she was cold, exhausted, and had to dig deep just to finish.
“I’d reflect back on those values,” she says. “I’ve done this before. I’m prepared for this. Trust the training.”
That is resilience. That is what First Tee builds, not just for the golf course, but for every storm life brings.
After the Final Round: A Career Built on Character
Sahara graduated and came home to San Antonio, stepping almost immediately into a professional role. Today she works as a Senior Analyst in supply chain and procurement for CBRE, serving the USAA account. She recently completed her second master’s degree in data science, a testament to the same drive and love of growth that has defined her since she first picked up a club.
She has volunteered with Meals on Wheels. She has mentored others. And she has come full circle in the most meaningful way possible: Sahara Washington now serves on the Board of Directors for First Tee – Greater San Antonio.
The same organization that welcomed a three-year-old who wasn’t quite old enough to join. The same coaches who lifted her up when the game felt heavy. The same Saturday community that helped her become who she is.
“I would not be as successful without the First Tee,” she says. “It guided me through tough times. It made me a better person.”
The Lesson Behind the Legacy
“First Tee to the Boardroom” is more than a phrase. It is a promise that every child who walks through our doors is stepping onto a pathway that extends far beyond the golf course. A pathway built on character, confidence, and resilience. On life skills and leadership. On the belief that how you carry yourself matters just as much as how you play the game.
Sahara Washington is proof that this pathway is real. And she is not the exception. She is the vision, one game changer among many, shaped by a community that believed in her from the very first swing.
Sahara Washington is a board member of First Tee – Greater San Antonio and a Senior Analyst at CBRE. She holds an MBA and an MS in Data Science, and has been a part of the First Tee family for over two decades.
