ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Roger Mooney
If Roger thought covering the Tampa Bay Rays inexplicable run to the 2008 World Series was strange, imagine how he felt on the March afternoon in 2016 when he stood in the heart of Havana, Cuba while on assignment to cover the Rays historic game against the Cuban national baseball team.“Is this really happening?” he thought then.Ah, the life of a sports writer, where the unexpected is the norm.
My background story
From Little League to the World Series, Pop Warner football to the Super Bowl, Roger covered it all during his 20-plus years as a sports writer. He met everyone from Hank Aaron to Ben Zobrist, covered nearly the entire spectrum from youth sports to Florida and Florida State football to the Buccaneers and the Lightning.It was a good run, filled with great subjects for stories and a lifetime of memories, highlighted by a white-knuckle trip through the backstreets of Havana in a 1956 Dodge that did not have a working horn, speedometer or seatbelts. An unforgettable ride as the cabbie bounced through narrow streets to escape the traffic jam caused by President Obama’s arrival.Now, Roger is writing about students who benefit from the four scholarships provided by Step Up For Students. These are inspiring stories about children whose lives improved dramatically because of their new educational opportunities.
What I did before joining Step Up For Students
Before joining Step Up, Roger spent seven seasons covering the Tampa Bay Rays for The Tampa Tribune and two years writing about the Rays and the Tampa Bay Lightning for The Tampa Bay Times.A native of New York City, Roger’s future as a hall-of-fame baseball player was derailed in high school when he could not make the baseball team. Undaunted, he sets his sights on writing. He studied at St. John’s University and dabbled in real estate and technical writing before finding his first job at a newspaper.
What do I do on my day off?
When not working, Roger enjoys running (he has completed three marathons and has his sights set on someday running a fourth), reading (his goal is 20 books a year), bike riding, canoeing and kayaking with his wife, Suzanne, watching sitcoms (Superstore and Young Sheldon currently top the list) and taking his mixed beagle, Story, on long walks.
How to reach out?
Reach me at rmooney@stepupforstudents.org
03/25/24 | Roger Mooney
A student with many interests has many options thanks to his Personalized Education Program
Cooper Campen is the spelling bee champion of Alachua County who plays the trumpet, reads John Grisham novels, and would like to be a mechanical engineer. Or a doctor....
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03/18/24 | Roger Mooney
What can Emma do? Amazing things, that’s what
CLEARWATER – On the desk inside Emma Coto’s bedroom is a sign that says, “This Girl Can.” That’s as good of a place as any to begin this story because...
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02/29/24 | Roger Mooney
With education choice scholarship, parents feel they are doing ‘something greater’ for Emilio
APOPKA – The days were long when the family lived up north, when Maria Alvaracin and her husband, Fernando Ramirez, worked two and sometimes three jobs each in one...
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02/15/24 | Roger Mooney
Education choice scholarship a ‘humongous blessing’ for straight-A student Briana
The first quarter academic awards ceremony at Grace Christian School was coming to an end, and Lynette Thomas had yet to hear her daughter’s name called. Briana Thomas had enrolled...
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02/08/24 | Roger Mooney
Virtual reality allows tween with serious medical condition to experience the world safely from home
Tristan Drummond was born 10 weeks premature with one kidney and enough genetic disorders that doctors gave him a 50/50 chance to turn 1. He had his first surgery when...
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02/02/24 | Roger Mooney
Mikaela’s goal is simple: From head of the class as a student to head of the class as the teacher
TAMPA – Be a doctor, some say. Be a lawyer, others suggest. You’re so smart, you should do something big, they tell her. Mikaela Powell politely listens to those who see...
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01/22/24 | Roger Mooney
Sugar and spice and tackles: Payton wants to coach football just like her dad
NAPLES – Payton Gibbs stood at midfield wearing black pants, a red pullover, and a red ballcap emblazoned with the University of Massachusetts logo. From a distance, she looked like a football coach...
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12/20/23 | Roger Mooney
Two Catholic schools join Florida’s growing list of Purple Star schools that accommodate military families
The pre-K-to-8 private school is one of 73 public and private schools in the state this year to receive a Purple Star School of Distinction designation for supporting students of...
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12/18/23 | Roger Mooney
How an education choice scholarship gives Hannah her voice, her strength and a horse named Snowflake
OCALA – Seven years ago, Vicki and Tim Fouche were greatly dissatisfied with the care their daughter Hannah was receiving at her school for students with special needs near their Summerfield...
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12/15/23 | Roger Mooney
With his sights on Harvard University, Florida teen works to learn as much as he can
PALMETTO BAY – Elijah Williams was in the fifth grade when he set his sights on a career in engineering. The best way to get there, he decided, was with an...
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07/17/23 | Roger Mooney
Florida education choice scholarship alum has big plans for her future
MARGATE, Florida – Kaylia Powell’s home life is in a constant state of flux. At times, she has lived apart from her mom and separated from her brothers and sisters. She...
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06/23/23 | Roger Mooney
Education choice scholarship puts Florida student on the path to college, military
PLANTATION, Florida – There was no way William “JR” Moreland was taking AP Language and Composition as a junior, or so he thought. He heard it was hard, harder than Honors...
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06/16/23 | Roger Mooney
Florida Tax Credit Scholarship student has heart set on becoming a doctor
MIAMI – Nery Perez-Valdes wanted to become a doctor, but life got in the way. She fled Cuba for Miami with her mom when she was 11 and found herself working...
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06/02/23 | Roger Mooney
How education choice scholarship moved Florida student’s life from chaos to calm
PINELLAS PARK – David Facey remembers sitting in his Language Arts class last year hoping for salvation. Hoping someone would pull the fire alarm. Drastic, yes, but anything to bring class...
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05/26/23 | Roger Mooney
Long bus ride worth chance for Catholic school education
PALM COAST – Every school day at 7 a.m., a small bus rolls to a stop in front of the rectory of the Catholic church in Crescent City. Waiting to board...
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05/19/23 | Roger Mooney
With nowhere to turn, Florida mom started her own school for students on the autism spectrum
Joshua Akabosu was nearly hit by a truck when he was 10. He had run from school that day, as he often did. Announced to the class he was going...
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04/14/23 | Roger Mooney
Jaylen’s challenge: Prevent bullying, create Tourette Syndrome awareness
LAKELAND, FLA – Jaylen Arnold was 8 when he walked into his old elementary school to speak with two dozen or so former classmates, many of whom had recently taunted and...
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04/07/23 | Roger Mooney
Young Florida artist blossoms with love of grandparents, help from education choice scholarship
PLANT CITY – Lilly Bowden flipped through her sketch pad and proudly showed off her work. There’s a fox on one page and a cat on another. A giraffe from the...
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02/17/23 | Roger Mooney
Florida Tax Credit Scholarship student scores grades, touchdowns
TAMPA – The numbers Joquez Smith compiled as a running back during his four years of high school football place him among the best to have ever played in Hillsborough County....
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01/20/23 | Roger Mooney
Florida student fighting for life since birth benefits from education choice scholarship for children with unique abilities
OKEECHOBEE – Peyton Williams entered this world with a damaged heart, a damaged airway and hardly any hope from doctors who examined her the day she was born. They told her...
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