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 Students with Unique Abilities, Home Education, Homeschool, Step Up For Students
Meet the SkiSibs: The sister/brother combo conquering Florida one triathlon at a time
SAFETY HARBOR, Florida – Edelweiss Szymanski turns 10 on a Friday in December. She will celebrate the milestone by running a 5-kilometer race in Daytona Beach. The next day, she’s scheduled to compete in a triathlon. No pizza party. No theme park. How many 10-year-olds want to run three miles on their birthday, then swim, […]
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Student Spotlights, Beyond the Scholarship, Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities, School Choice, Step Up For Students
By running the Chicago Marathon, Caleb Prewitt continues to raise the bar for the Down syndrome community
Caleb Prewitt continued to shatter the perception of what someone with Down syndrome can’t do when he conquered the 26.2-mile course at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on Oct. 12. Caleb, 18, became the youngest person with Down syndrome to earn an Abbott Star for running one of the original six World Major Marathons. […]
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Military Family, Beyond the Scholarship, Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options, School Choice, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
Education choice scholarship a 'game-changer' for military family transferring to Florida
It’s been a month since classes started, and Matthew Ottenwess is settled into his freshman year at Tampa Catholic High School. He’s made friends and likes his teachers. His high score on the school’s entrance exam gained him admission to three honors classes and one AP course. He plays linebacker on the junior varsity football […]
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Personalized Education Program, Beyond the Scholarship, Scholarship News, School Choice, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
Lofty dreams and a PEP scholarship power 12-year-old pilot in training
MELBOURNE – When it comes to her son’s education, Denice Santos always thinks about the big picture. “What can we do to merge his goals?” she said. “Education, and then, of course, becoming a pilot.” Her son, William, 12, has wanted to fly airplanes for half his life. He took control of a plane for […]
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Personalized Education Program, Beyond the Scholarship, Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities, Home Education, Homeschool, School Choice, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
Chickens, horses and ed choice scholarships combine for an ideal home education setting
This is what home education looks like to Vivian McCoy: Feeding horses in the morning. Mucking stalls, too. Doing the same in the late afternoon, plus whatever else needs to be done at the horse farm where she works part-time. In between, Vivian, who is in the ninth grade, and her sister, Genevieve, second grade, […]
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PEP students flock to Sarasota's Fab Lab, where STEAM learning is fueled by their imagination
SARASOTA – Duct taped to the wall of Eliah Hillebrand’s bedroom, next to the light switch, is the engine from one of his remote-controlled cars. Attached to that is a small, arm-like device. Using the remote, the 11-year-old can turn the ceiling light on or off from his bed. “Genius,” said Eliah’s mom, Jennifer. “I […]
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Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options, Beyond the Scholarship, graduate, School Choice, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
With the help of a private school scholarship, Duke is 'ready for the bigger world'
CLEARWATER – Gedontae “Duke” Rich never considered himself Ivy League material until, as a high school junior, he was approached by a football coach from Princeton University who offered a scholarship. Not long after, he received a similar offer from a football coach at Cornell University. “The college scholarship part, I could probably see myself […]
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Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities, Beyond the Scholarship, Gardiner Scholarships, Step Up For Students, Student Spotlights
Of Funyuns, Skinny Pop, and iced tea: How Jack brought healthy snacks to his school
TAMPA – It was July 2024, and Jack Canterbury celebrated a birthday. His 14th. That led to a question he had been waiting a while to ask his mother. “Can I get a job?” Maria Canterbury had promised her son he could start working when he reached that age, and Jack had some employment opportunities […]
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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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