Christian Lopez 'does the right thing' for North Main, GGM and Baker schools

Students respond to the message from the young man who returned Derek Jeter’s 3,000th hit Monroe — Christian Lopez, the Highland Mills native whose gesture of returning Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter’s 3,000th career hit to him without any financial gain, reinforced the importance of “doing the right thing” to students at three area schools last Friday. Lopez’s visited captivated students and faculty at North Main Elementary in Monroe and George Grant Mason School and George F. Baker High School in Tuxedo. At North Main, which houses grades two through five, Lopez spoke at special assemblies for each grade level, culminating the school’s Red Ribbon Week activities. Red Ribbon Week at the Monroe-Woodbury School District focuses on making right choices - such as being drug-free or eating healthy, taking responsibility and “doing the right thing” such as being responsible, caring and honest. Lopez, who now currently lives in Astoria in Queens, reinforced those themes during his talks with students, using the story of what happened that July 9 afternoon when he caught that home run ball as a way to instill to them the importance of what he speaks to groups about now: Doing the right thing. 'Do the Right Thing’ award While Lopez still doesn’t know the plan for Jeter’s ball, he still remains hopeful that should the ball ever be put on display, part of that display would include a photo of him with Jeter. He shared stories of meeting Yankee players and other celebrities and reinforced that he absolutely had no regrets about his decision, noting he had received an e-mail with an offer to buy the ball for $2.5 million. Lopez took time to answer student questions, sign autographs and show his 2009 Yankee World Series ring given to him by Modell’s Sporting Good President Mitchell Modell to recognize his deed. North Main Principal Matthew Kravatz announced the creation of the school’s “Do the Right Thing” award during his visit, telling students at all four assemblies that a student would be regularly spotlighted, based on teacher nominations which exclude academic accomplishments, for “doing the right thing” at school. To launch the award, the school named Lopez as its inaugural award recipient and presented him with a plaque. 'Shows your character’ At George Grant Mason School and George F. Baker High School, Lopez spoke to students in the fourth through 12th grades about the same topic. “He reinforced how important it is to do the right thing, especially when no one is looking,” said Tuxedo Schools Superintendent Carol Lomascolo. “That shows your character.” GGM Principal Barbara Geoghan agreed: “The students ... couldn’t get enough of him. We do have a lot of Yankee fans here. The students enjoyed interacting with him by asking questions, shaking his hand, taking pictures and getting their belongings signed.” Lopez was a Cornwall High School classmate of Jena Giannotti, now a social studies teacher at George F. Baker High School, who invited him to speak at both Tuxedo schools. - Nancy Kriz He reinforced how important it is to do the right thing, especially when no one is looking. That shows your character.” Tuxedo Schools Superintendent Carol Lomascolo discussing the impact of Christian Lopez’s remarks and actions when he met with students last week.