Just ask Nick Gardner what he did on his summer vacation. He was a Pittsburgh Pirate. With his own uniform. His own locker. He had batting practice with A.J. Burnett, then took a run around the bases as the team that is loving its first winning season in 20 years cheered him on.

Nick Gardner takes the field.

For real!

Nick, a Baldwin High School student, was the winner of our essay contest to be a Pittsburgh Pirate for a Day. The essay contest — on “My Personal Game-Winning Home Run” — was open to our students in this year’s summer program for teens who are blind or visually impaired. The contest was thanks to the efforts of one of our board members, Bert Maier, and the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Following is Nick’s winning essay:

My Personal Game Winning Homerun

When I was young, I used to sing all of the time. My family thought I would enjoy singing. When my Musical Director for Spring Musical talked to me after practice one day, he told me that they needed more guy voices in Choir and asked me if I would be interested in joining. At first I was a little hesitant, but I decided to tell him before I left that day that I would like to audition.

The next day after school, I did my audition. I was very nervous but was ready to sing my heart out. I had to sing the National Anthem. We used this piece because it is a hard piece of music to learn.

After my audition, I felt that it went well. A few weeks later, I found out that I had made the Choir. It felt great to know that I had accomplished my goal. In my second year, I joined the elite choir.

This accomplishment relates to a game winning home run because it made me feel so good that it built up my confidence. I really feel that I had done something that certain people think is not possible. It made me feel like I had accomplished the biggest goal I could accomplish in a fun activity in my high school career. I really enjoyed being in my High School Choir. This is my personal game winning home run in my life so far.