NEW YORK -- Looking back on that day at Lehman High School in the Bronx, T.J. Rivera was nervous. Perhaps it was Rivera's old fear of public speaking rippling back to the surface. Perhaps it was the simple memory that when he was that age, he was "too cool for school." Whatever the reason, the nerves vanished as soon as Rivera grabbed a microphone and realized how enthralled the students were that he, a Major League Baseball player, was taking time out of his day to share his story.
This may seem like a small thing, but for Rivera, it was everything.