MLB Hopeful Peter Maris III
Peter Maris III was playing in Spring Training games for the San Francisco Giants when the pandemic hit. (Photo from @gingerhiggz Twitter feed)
Peter is an infielder in the San Francisco Giants organization, and was the subject of the chapter on athletes in This Book Will Not Be on the Test. He took the minimum number of classes during his four years at UCSB to focus on baseball, but he’d been chipping away at his remaining requirements ever since.
Have you ever pursued a goal for nine years that you didn’t enjoy and didn’t think you were very good at? Can you even imagine?! That tenacity is why Peter Maris is just one step away from the big leagues, and that’s why we wanted you to hear from him.
What are your plans for the next few years?
My plan for the next few years is to play Major League Baseball.
How have study skills helped you achieve your goals?
My study skills have helped me to achieve my ultimate goal of graduating from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Because of my professional baseball schedule, I could only attend classes during UCSB’s fall quarter. I had to stay committed to coming back each year and using my study skills to succeed in my classes and earn my degree.
What advice do you have for students?
The advice I’d give current students is to stay dedicated to your courses because the degree is worth it. A college degree is something that no one can ever take away from you, and that you can always be proud of. Even though my circumstances caused it to take me longer than most students, I’m glad I stuck with it and earned my degree.
Here’s Maris hitting a monster home run in the Triple-A National Championship game last year, helping the Sacramento RiverCats to the title. Boom!
