All Post By Roger Mooney
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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 do 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 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 [email protected].
About The Author
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Student Spotlights, Beyond the Scholarship, Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options, Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities, Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, Gardiner Scholarships, School Choice, Step Up For Students
Private school scholarships allowed the Roland family to meet the academic needs of their children
Markala was Marlena and John Roland’s first child, and there were more on the way – four more, in all. And Markala was 5, so the Roland children were going to reach school age in quick succession. This presented a dilemma. “We wanted our kids in private school, but we didn’t have the money,” Marlena said. But there was hope. The year was […]
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Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities, Beyond the Scholarship, School Choice, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
This kid can do things: The Caleb Prewitt Story
JACKSONVILLE – David Prewitt was worried. His wife, Karen, wasn’t. “He can do it,” she said. Their son Caleb, 13 at the time, was participating in his first open-water swim, something he needed to conquer if he was going to complete his first triathlon. One thing you need to know about Caleb: He has Down […]
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Student Spotlights, Beyond the Scholarship, Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options, graduate, School Choice, Step Up For Students
Books, banners, boats and National Merit Scholarships
CLEARWATER, Florida – They are honor students and athletes. Volunteers in the community and student ambassadors at school. One is a champion sailor who has competed in the national and international regattas in places like Canada, Argentina, and Poland One is a state champion cheerleader. There is an Eagle Scout who won a district championship […]
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Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, Beyond the Scholarship, Rising Stars, School Choice, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
From Snowed in to Sunny Side: Joseph's journey to self-enrichment
TITUSVILLE, Florida – Coach Mustard did it. Not the deed that formed the plot of the Temple Christian School’s production of “Get a Clue.” That might have been Scarlett Starr. Or not. The play is a mystery. On the surface, Coach Mustard helped solve the mystery. But there was something else going on with Coach, and it […]
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Hybrid Learning, Beyond the Scholarship, Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities, Homeschool, Personalized Education Program, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
Tadpoles, robots, and sewing machines all part of this family's hybrid-homeschool experience
Seppie Furlano gets dirty at school. It happens. He’s 8, he’s a boy, and one day a week, his classroom is a mixture of trees, shrubs, dirt, and mud. And there’s a creek. Seppie and his classmates, who include his 10-year-old sister, Luciana, climb trees, discover tadpoles, and build small boats out of twigs and […]
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Student Spotlights, Beyond the Scholarship, Personalized Education Program, Rising Stars, Step Up For Students
Poetry in motion: The tale of one homeschool family using the PEP scholarship
TAMPA – The poem is a father’s message to his son, that everything they do together will be a memory someday. I’m going to love and hold you until you’re grown for in a blink you'll be on your own. Barbara Hamilton wrote the poem for her son, Ronald, when he was in the seventh […]
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Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, Beyond the Scholarship, Rising Stars, School Choice, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
The sky is the limit: How an ed choice scholarship turned Aaliyah into a straight-A student
DeLAND, Florida – A black sweater, white shirt, and a red tie lay on Aaliyah Tape’s bed when she returned home from a summer vacation spent with family. She knew what they were: a private school uniform. “Oh, Lord,” she thought. It was a message from Aaliyah’s grandmother, Cat Gracia, that would drastically change Aaliyah’s […]
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Student Spotlights, Beyond the Scholarship, Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options, Step Up For Students
Taking advantage of her opportunities, Zori reaches Step 1 of her life plan – an Ivy League scholarship
FORT LAUDERDALE – Zori Brown was in the sixth grade when she made a plan for her future that was concise and to the point: “I don’t know of any sixth-graders who have a life plan,” said Zori’s mom, Endea Mathis. Endea said she was raised in a home where education was stressed above all […]
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Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options, Beyond the Scholarship, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
A new school and its challenging environment started Owen on his journey to the Naval Academy
NAPLES, Florida – Owen Phypers’ commute from his new home to his new high school took about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, his parents were driving 90 minutes one way to their old jobs near their old home so their son could have the opportunity to attend a private high school with high academic standards and a […]
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Florida Tax Credit Scholarship, Beyond the Scholarship, School Spotlights, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
Wait till you see where Khyla is going
LAUDERDALE LAKES, Florida – Khyla Beaujin’s first fashion show as a designer was over, and she described the backstage chaos to her mother. Where are the models? Where are their shoes? Who has the jewelry? Khyla was frustrated at times and overwhelmed at others because the designers shared models and the models shared shoes, and […]
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