It was a treat for students at St. James Elementary this morning as MLB player Jonathan Holder spoke to students about the importance of working hard to accomplish their dreams.
The Gulfport native once attended St. James, graduated from Mississippi State, and now plays in the Major Leagues for the Chicago Cubs.
The sixth graders at St. James were able to listen and ask questions about what steps Jonathan took to becoming an MLB player.
Each student even received their very own baseball from Holder. Mrs. Holder said, “We just thought it was a wonderful opportunity for students to listen to his story and they might not want to play baseball, but they may choose a different path. If they listen to him, maybe today they realize when they walk away that if they work really, really hard and pray that anything is possible.”
Jonathan said, “If you would have told me when I was in sixth grade that I could make it to the Major Leagues and play for a long time, I don’t know if I would have believed it. So, I feel like I have to do my due diligence and come back to these kids and tell them that it is possible.”
Holder heads to Arizona in a couple of weeks for spring training.