San Francisco boy gets to be State Assembly member for a day

By: 10 years ago

• Bright kid from a low-income neighborhood paired with nonprofit’s distinguished citizen awardee

• Has 4.0 grade point average

• Next distinguished citizen mentorship pairing set

SACRAMENTO, California — An underprivileged eighth-grade boy from San Francisco on Tuesday, April 29 is visiting Assembly Member Rob Bonta in the state capital to learn how the state assembly and one of its members work.

Michael Ruiz, 13, is Bonta’s mentee from San Francisco’s South of Market area, an enclave of low-income Filipino immigrants.

Michael will shadow Bonta as he goes about his day in Sacramento, and he gets to be an “assembly member for a day.”

Michael and Bonta were paired as mentee and mentor, respectively, during West Bay Pilipino Multi Service’s first annual Distinguished Citizen Awards last year.

Bonta was honored as a Distinguished Citizen for Public Service in 2013.

As part of the honor, each awardee was assigned to mentor one child from West Bay’s academic enrichment and mentorship program.

Michael recently competed in the San Francisco Unified School District track and won first place. He has a 4.0 GPA.

Michael is a gifted child from one of the poorest families in West Bay Pilipino Multi-Service’s after school program. He has serious dental defects, which make him too embarrassed to even smile.

Michael says he would like to be a “Pokemon trainer, an architect, basketball player or a track runner” when he grows up. His favorite activities are drawing, math, running and basketball.

West Bay is honoring a second batch of Distinguished Citizens on June 28 this year. Bonta will be a keynote speaker during the awarding ceremony at the Hotel Intercontinental on Howard Street in San Francisco.

For more information on West Bay, please visit www.westbaycenter.org. For press inquires, contact West Bay executive director Rudy Asercion at (415) 564-6262.