Pedro Jesús González Sierra is a most amazing young man, at a young ten years of age in the fifth grade at Palma Ceia Elementary School. Yes, He is Made in Hayward!
Pedro is most expressive as he talks, in a very animated manner and can shift from Spanish to English and back to Spanish without even a small blink. As is normal for someone his age, he fidgets and is a bit restless as he talks. However, he is able to make his point well...it's that eye contact of his.
One sign of Pedro's maturity was when a young lady made a snickering reference to his Mexicanness. He handled it with maturity. “I felt a bit bad, but then felt sorry for her”, he told me, with a serious gesture. If some of our teenagers and adults were to react that way, there would be fewer problems. Right?
Does he volunteer? He does! In class he helps those who need it. He is curious about why some of his classmates have problems with school work, and would recommend that teachers find out why. He also volunteers as a referee at soccer games of the 'little ones'. Looks like he cares for others, and I am sure that he'll keep that quality in later years and into adulthood.
His future? He will be a professional soccer player with Barça of Barcelona, because his favorite player is Lionel..."Messi is phenomenal" - a great word for a little guy. Now that we're speaking of his favorite people, when he 'grows up' he tells me that he will write a book about his idol, César Estrada Chávez, and will also mention Martin Luther King, another one of his idols.
He is strong and will be a force...I have a feeling that he knows it. His self-esteem is visible, yet, there is a huge thirst of knowledge apparent in his questions, in his statements, in his posture.
He does have, of course, the support of this parents, all the time, at every turn. His father is from México and his mom is from Puerto Rico. A rich combination. He is the older brother of a set of triplets.
Pedro loves soccer and plays center or forward. He dislikes football for a very grown up reason: there are too many concussions to our young players that can cause problems for them later on in life. He cares for others.
Our future Mr. González is an impressive young man. I salute him, thank his parents, and teachers, and am extremely honored to present him to you.
Let’s help him, and my other Youngsters of the Month be leaders. They will encourage volunteerism and leadership among their peers for the benefit of our fine city.