As a youngster growing up in Okaloosa County, Alia Scotka got her first taste of golf as a six year old.

Tagging along with her dad.

I'm on the range heading away and a middle school golf coach comes up and he's like, hey, like, your daughter has a really good swing.

Have you heard of, like, the First Tee program?

She signed up for the First Tee program at Tanglewood Golf Course in Milton and got hooked.

Then her dad took her to watch a few LPGA tournaments in Destin in mobile.

And seeing the pros really inspired her young mind.

When I was like 9 or 10 years old, I'm like, you're telling me I can play a sport that's really fun for, like, my life and a career?

Yeah, I want to be able to play with a love of the sport and burgeoning talent.

Alicia started getting noticed.

I remember working a first tee tournament.

There is this young girl, ten years old, had the brightest smile and just the very soft voice.

And she was winning tournaments.

Ten years old.

Alicia's parents are both immigrants dad Mark from the Czech Republic and mom Bella from the Philippines.

The challenge of trying to navigate life in America didn't stop them from going all in to support her new passion.

My parents were working either 2 or 3 jobs, one on the side or whatnot, and they put aside money to encourage me to have a better career in life.

They really saw passion in the sport that I had and they saw potential.

They're willing to sacrifice that for me.

As a 13 year old, Alicia won a prestigious event in Orlando sponsored by LPGA player Amelia Lewis.

Part of the prize was getting to travel to a pro tournament in new Jersey and go inside the ropes with Louis.

Got to, like, ask her so many questions about how it is on tour.

And I was like, what the what I had to do to get there.

That really inspired me to be like, okay, like I can I can get to this point and my game can, can really get there.

She continued to shine after joining the elite program at Niceville High School and in environment that just accelerated her progress.

Niceville really brought in a lot of like, competitive and talented, young ladies and, us having our game so close to each other, it really motivated us to like, want to be at the top.

Aleah eventually became team captain and was a key part of Niceville, finishing state runner up twice.

When it came time to pursue college options, she turned to Kristen Dawsey, a Gulf Breeze grad and head coach at the University of West Florida.

She asked me like, how to get recruited by other schools and and I think that was such a cool dynamic.

You know, like, she knew that there was a coach in the area, but from, you know, Pensacola.

And then she trusted that I wanted to help her.

So I actually helped her get recruited by other schools.

And I think in that recruiting process, she realized that, you know, maybe going to school is what she actually wanted.

Our coach is absolutely amazing.

She really wanted us to, like, make sure it was the best choice that we wanted to make for ourselves, whether that be above or somewhere else.

And honestly, for me, it was a I was just screaming in my ear, screaming for me.

Leah earned Conference freshman of the year honors, and her game went next level late in her sophomore season, when she won the conference tournament.

She protects her game, and she's very confident with what she knows and what she's bringing to that table, and that's something you can't teach.

Aleah is reaching new heights as a senior, finishing the regular season ranked top 30 in the nation.

She continues to display a remarkable ability to remain positive through the inevitable challenges and doubts that all golfers face.

I've trained so hard to, like, not think that way over the years that it's harder for them to creep in.

But those downs don't stick for long.

This year I've seen her have a terrible ball striking day, which is that's what the this is what the pros do.

They have bad days and good ball striking days and still still shoot under par.

And that's where she's at right now.

It's really cool to have that confidence in your player, knowing that she has developed over four years to get to that point.

Aliyah is just as impressive and accomplished away from the course.

She's president of the Student Athletic Advisory Committee for you and the conference, as well as being on the board at the national NCAA level.

When you get to sitting around a table of like 26, 27 other athletes who are representing like thousands of other college athletes, it's pretty enriching.

They trust you.

You can get their voice heard for her to still take on all of that, as well as be there for her teammates, as well as shooting low numbers.

I mean, the girls really see that dedication that she has as a leader.

I mean, she's just done a phenomenal job.

She's absolutely shaped this program.

A skilled graphic artist.

She already has job opportunities lined up after graduation, but that's plan B because Aleah will be pursuing professional golf.

Her golf game is there.

She's got a great impact position.

She's got great stamina on the golf course.

And her mental game is something I wish I had when I was trying to play.

It's really grueling out there and it's really tough at times, and she has the confidence to try that.

Her drive and determination in everything are pretty awe inspiring.

And there is no question where the motivation comes from.

My parents, they're such hard workers, first coming into the country as immigrants and then working hard towards a citizenship to even be here.

Having that instilled in the household, I think that's what really like established that motivational player in me and that drive and wanting to like, be successful in life and having that push from them and wanting to, you know, do better, be better and.