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Pacific Union College hosted critically acclaimed author Matt de la Pe帽a during the May 1 installment of the Colloquy Speakers Series. de la Pe帽a, the award-winning author of five young-adult novels and the picture book A Nation鈥檚 Hope: The Story of Boxing Legend Joe Louis, inspired the campus with the story his personal path to literacy. 

de la Pe帽a was introduced by a professor who played a pivotal role in his development as a reader and writer: PUC鈥檚 own president, Heather J. Knight, Ph.D. Knight taught de la Pe帽a during his time as a student at the University of the Pacific, and described her former student as a 鈥渟uccessful, prolific, and accomplished young writer.鈥�

However, as de la Pe帽a explained, his career as a writer was completely unexpected. Describing himself as a 鈥渞eluctant reader鈥� through most of his childhood, de la Pe帽a never finished a book in high school. As the son of teenage parents from National City, Calif., 鈥渓iterature was something that belonged to the kids in the richer families,鈥� said de la Pe帽a.

The author urged PUC students to not let circumstances or the assumptions of others determine their paths. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e going to deal with a ton of definition, from parental, professional, to personal,鈥� he declared. 鈥淭he most difficult to break away from is personal definition.鈥� 

Despite the environment and expectations of his childhood, de la Pe帽a set the goal of going to college to study psychology and meet new people. Since he knew his family could not afford the tuition, he worked incredibly hard in the hopes of earning a basketball scholarship to pay his way through college.

de la Pe帽a鈥檚 hard work paid off, and he attended University of the Pacific on a full basketball scholarship. That was where he met Knight, who handed him a copy of the novel A Color Purple and encouraged him to read it. Though he initially struggled with the book, the former reluctant reader stayed up until four o鈥檆lock in the morning finishing the book while on a trip with the basketball team. 

Realizing that he would become a professional basketball player in the NBA as had been his plan, de la Pe帽a, inspired by the joy he found as a closet poet and the characters he had met in A Color Purple, decided instead to pursue writing. 鈥淚 went in search of that feeling in other books and became an avid reader, wanting to share that feeling in others,鈥� he said. He encouraged all aspiring writers in the audience to dive in to literature: 鈥淵ou can never be at least a good writer unless you鈥檙e first a great reader.鈥�

de la Pe帽a took time during his presentation to describe how his father became a voracious reader. While de la Pe帽a was pursuing his M.F.A. in creative writing at San Diego State University, his father asked to read one of the novels he had been assigned, A Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garc铆a M谩rquez. de la Pe帽a鈥檚 father fell in love with reading, devouring the books de la Pe帽a was reading in his master鈥檚 program and eventually finding books to read at his local library. 

Ultimately, de la Pe帽a鈥檚 father went on to receive his GED, his associates degree, and finally his bachelors degree in literature at the University of California Santa Cruz. He now teaches Spanish to third graders.

Now the author of books including We Were Here, Ball Don鈥檛 Lie, Mexican WhiteBoy, I Will Save You, and, most recently, The Living, de la Pe帽a鈥檚 inspiring story entertained and inspired students. 鈥淭he path to literacy makes you a better person,鈥� de la Pe帽a concluded. 鈥淲hen someone hands you a book, they鈥檙e changing your life.鈥�