Park Tudor student honored at baseball game

CINCINNATI (WISH) - Raeya Ponugoti, fifth grade student at Park Tudor School and the 2012 Breaking Barriers: In Sports, In Life Essay contest grand prize winner, was honored on the field before Friday night's Cincinnati Reds game at Great American Ball Park.

Sharon Robinson, daughter of Jackie Robinson, author and Educational Programming Consultant for Major League Baseball, paid a visit to Raeya and her peers at Park Tudor School.

Raeya, whose essay explores the commitment and determination she needed to pursue her love for dance in the face of bullying, had the opportunity to meet Robinson and hear her speak about her father, late Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson, as it relates to the Breaking Barriers: In Sports, In Life program.

The Cincinnati Reds hosted a pre-game ceremony in Raeya’s honor, which included Robinson, Reds third baseman and Indiana-native Scott Rolen, and Hall of Famer Joe Morgan.

The Breaking Barriers: In Sports, In Life Essay Contest recognizes students for their efforts to overcome personal barriers using the values exemplified by Baseball Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson.

Using baseball-themed activities, the program, developed by Major League Baseball, Sharon Robinson, and Scholastic, is designed to provide students of diverse backgrounds in grades four through nine with strategies to deal with barriers and challenges in their lives, while at the same time conveying the significance of Robinson breaking Baseball’s color barrier in 1947.