The students at Rosa Parks Elementary school thought they were having an assembly, to reward them for their hard work on the essays they wrote. But that was just the beginning of the surprise.
Nothing but smiles and screams as more than 200 2nd and 3rd graders at Rosa Parks Elementary School reacted to seeing Padres Pitcher and San Diego native Joe Musgrove walk into their school auditorium. And he didn’t come empty handed, like the others before him he rolled in with a brand-new bike.
The students thought they were there for an essay awards ceremony, after each student wrote about what they wanted to be when they grew up and why.
With the help of SDG&E and the Padres, the winners were each given brand new bikes.
But it didn’t end there. As the students chanted “ One more bike. One more bike!”
And then, they had the big reveal. The curtains were pulled back and up on the stage hundreds of bikes. As they announced everyone in those classes would be getting a bike.
And just like that, the holidays got a little brighter for these kids.
Johana Bielma, the Associate Principal at Rosa Parks Elementary says, “ that’s what makes this event so magical. That all of our kids get to experience the magic of the holidays.”
And that magic continued during our conversation with 3RD grader, Dat Cai, who was excited to see Musgrove in person.
He says, “ I’ve never went to a Padres game and I never saw them before.”
But, it didn’t end there during our interview, Musgrove came over and signed Cai’s jersey.
Giving kids like Cai, an extra gift under the tree, but also the motivation to dream big and work hard.
Musgrove says, “ The opportunities may not seem real as a kid at the time, but this is where it all starts. Saying these things, putting it on paper, starting to believe it. And make the actions towards making it happen.”
