Participating in Sing Song is like a part time job ÂÂ- a month-long gig with hours of practice that all hinge on a three-minute show. But for one Sing Song participant, the practice may be all in vain.
Kyle Karnei is preparing for Gamma Sigma Phi’s club act, and at the same time, qualifying for an ACU golf tournament that would require him to miss the show.
“Golf is my passion, but GSP is my family,” Karnei said. “Whether I make the tournament or sing in the show, I will have no regrets.”
The Wildcat golf team is in their second week of a two-week qualifying process to determine which five players will travel to the UTPA classic in Edinburg. As of Thursday night, Karnei was set to participate in Sing Song.
The busy schedule is nothing new to the sophomore accounting major from Waco. In addition to being involved in golf and GSP, he is the vice president of the sophomore class, the president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and an ACU student ambassador. It’s a lot to put on top of a full slate of classes, but head coach Tom Shaw sees it as a positive.
“Kyle is really the ideal ACU recruit with how involved he is in the community here,” Shaw said. “The leadership and initiative that he shows in these extra curricular activities show up on the golf course as well.”
Karnei first touched a golf club at the age of 12, but as he put it, it was “nothing special.” Golf was not even his primary sport until high school.
Then in his junior season, he won a tournament in Salado against the best 5A competition in the state. It would prove as a stepping-stone to better play.
“After I won that, I kind of told myelf, ‘Hey, if I work at this, I might be pretty good,'” Karnei said. “That win put me on the map and gave me the confidence to pursue golf at the next level.”
In the fall season, Karnei qualified for half the team’s tournaments and had a 74-stroke average and did so while pledging and raising more than $1,200 for a SAAC service project.
The spring season is already presenting new challenges with tournaments, Sing Song and a bill he is writing for Student Congress.
“I know it’s a lot to take on, but I feel called to use my gifts as abundantly as possible,” Karnei said. “Sing Song is important to my brothers, which means it’s important to me.”
