Second Place (Tie)
Secondary (Grades 9-12)

     Becoming a professional athlete in the United States is one of the hardest things to do in life. There are thousands of ways to fail before making it to the big leagues, and even the people who stay out of trouble are not guaranteed to play baseball. My good friend Roberto Ramirez became a professional baseball player by fighting his way out of the poverty stricken Dominican Republic. As a child, his family did not feed him as much as his brother because they thought his brother had a better chance in succeeding in baseball. However, unlike his brother, he worked hard to get out of the Dominican, and was one of the few players to be chosen to play in the big leagues. This desire drove him to become a caring, honest and thankful leader.

     Today, Roberto is no longer playing baseball due to an unfortunate injury, but he will never be deprived of his passion for the game of baseball. Just this past baseball season, he took me to a Diamondbacks vs. A's game because he wanted me to meet his friends on the A's. I was very surprised when his former teammates saw him. He was respected by people like Miguel Tejada and Jason Giambi because of his hard work habits and leadership abilities. Roberto successfully passes these mental abilities on to youngsters, such as myself, when he works with them. Last year, I helped him coach a little league team. I have never seen a coach believe in his players and help them with leadership skills on and off the field as much as Roberto did. Every practice, the kids' faces would light up in excitement when Roberto would arrive. He commits his time in order to help children begin their lives in the right direction. The one quality that I like about him best is that he believes in you. He believes that any kids growing up in America who start their lives off in the right direction can become whatever they want.

     This passion to see kids succeed makes Roberto a hero not only to kids like myself, but also a hero to himself. True leaders in society are not the people who make ten million dollars a year, but they are the people who inspire others to work hard and believe in themselves.