Saratoga's Michael Gilbert, a wrestler at St. Francis, was awarded a REACH Youth Scholarship. On hand for the presentation of his scholarship were (left to right) Hirokazu Hashimoto, president and CEO of NEC Electronics; Jenny Thompson, Olympic swimming gold medalist; Gilbert; and Jim Plunkett, former Heisman Trophy winner and Super Bowl MVP.
Gilbert pins REACH Youth Scholarship
Award presented to eight athletes
By Dick Sparrer
Michael Gilbert pinned his share of opponents during a four-year wrestling career at St. Francis High School.
And the Saratoga resident finished his high-school career with one final pin last month when he was one of eight athletes in the Santa Clara Valley to pin a REACH Youth Scholarship.
The scholarships, supported by the San Jose Sports Authority and NEC Electronics, are presented annually to deserving student-athletes who have overcome adversity to succeed in athletics.
Gilbert was born without a right pectoral muscle, but still managed to be successful on the mat for the Lancers. And for his heroic efforts, the St. Francis senior was presented a $500 scholarship.
Celebrities serving as co-chairpersons for the fourth annual REACH Youth Scholarship program included Ronnie Lott, the former San Francisco 49er who is a recent inductee in the Football Hall of Fame; Jim Plunkett, a former Heisman Trophy winner from Stanford and a Super Bowl most valuable player for the Raiders; and Jenny Thompson, an Olympic gold medalist in swimming. Steve Shields of the San Jose Sharks was another co-chair, but was unable to attend because of the Sharks' participation in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Hirokazu Hashimoto, president and CEO of NEC Electronics, Inc. was also on hand for the presentation for the REACH scholarships, which stands for "recognizing excellence, adversity, courage and hard work."
The scholarship competition is open to athletes from all high schools in the Santa Clara Valley, and students were required to submit essays describing how they have overcome adversity.
In his essay, Gilbert wrote, "'Courage isn't a brilliant dash, a daring deed in a moment's flash; it isn't an instantaneous thing born of despair within a sudden spring. But it's something deep in the soul of man that is working always to serve some plan.' For me this plan was to become the captain of my wrestling team and to be the best wrestler I could. When I set this goal as a freshman, I knew it would be a hard goal to reach. Even so, I knew I could achieve it with courage and a lot of hard work. My determination to become team captain came from my experiences as a child."
And Gilbert was able to overcome his physical obstacle. He rose to become the captain of the St. Francis wrestling team as a senior. He placed in a number of tournaments, including the league finals, and came within a match of placing at the Central Coast Section finals. "As I look back on my wrestling career, I can't believe I was able to do as well as I did in a sport where strength is such a huge factor and is the one thing I lack the most," he wrote.
Gilbert was among eight scholarship winners in the program. Others included Eric Bembry of Leigh, Jose Juarez of Yerba Buena, Haley Champion of Palo Alto, Emily Levy of Live Oak, Jennifer Villanueva of Wilcox, Elvira Garcia of Silver Creek and Sara Wiedlin of Presentation.
Schools participating in the REACH Youth Scholarship program this year were Andrew Hill, Cupertino, Fremont, Gilroy, Leigh, Live Oak, Lincoln, Mitty, Oak Grove, Overfelt, Palo Alto, Presentation, Santa Clara, Santa Teresa, Silver Creek, St. Francis, Wilcox and Yerba Buena.
Saratoga, California Since 1955
