Florida Memorial University, an HBCU based in Miami Gardens, Florida, has granted an 11-year-old business owner named Carter Bonas a full-ride scholarship to its institution.
This game-changing scholarship was presented to Bonas at the South Florida HBCU Golf Classic, which went down this past Saturday at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort in Naples, Florida.
“I was awarded a [4-year] scholarship to attend college! See you in 6 years (or less) to get that business degree to take Spectrum Golf to the next level,” Bonas wrote beneath a video of his award, proclaiming that he wants to earn a degree that’ll help further his business.
Notably, Bonas — who was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome (which is now recognized as part of the Autism spectrum) as an infant, per Spectrum Golf’s website, got into golf as a way to play sports that didn’t involve physical contact.
“It helped Carter tremendously! He began playing tennis and golf, which he now loves. Golf helps Carter focus on something that he is good at and for him that is the most rewarding feeling in the world,” Bonas’s mother, Dr. Thelma Tennie, noted on the website.
“We allowed him to indulge in his obsessive fixations, high energy, and desire to play with others (yet still solo) by choosing sports where his [actions] alone controlled his outcome,” she continued. “The use of non-contact sports, 1-on-1 activities, traditional psychotherapy sessions and non-traditional therapies proved to be effective in Carter’s social-emotional developmental progression.”
At 10 years old, Bonas further developed his interest in golf by launching an apparel line called Spectrum Golf. He chose this name for his business “because he is considered high functioning on the Autism Spectrum Scale,” per the business’s website.
Since then, Bonas has been killin’ it, and it’s worth adding that there have been plenty of past coverage on his story, business and charity efforts, signaling that this 11-year-old entrepreneur really knows what he’s doing!
We’ve #TeamedUp with 11-year-old entrepreneur, Carter Bonas this week to feature his outstanding Spectrum Golf apparel inside our #MerchTent!
Stop by and get yours! ⛳️ pic.twitter.com/ntGUu2D8eb
— Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational (@DowGLBI) July 15, 2022
A 10yo South Florida golfer is embracing being on the autism spectrum by taking a swing at owning his own business. Carter Bonas’ ⛳️apparel line “Spectrum Golf” has even been featured on the @GolfChannel — and @KarenHenselTV puts Carter in the #7Spotlight tonight at 10p @wsvn pic.twitter.com/5kMQ1Fg5NA
— Daniel Cohen (@DCohenNEWS) February 19, 2022
Shoutout to Carter Bonas for securing this game-changing scholarship to Florida Memorial University.