As many in the sports media industry know, long-time ESPN reporter Pedro Gomez passed away unexpectedly last week on February 7 at the age of 58. But just yesterday, the Pedro Gomez foundation was created in honor of Gomez in order to contribute to a cause Gomez cared so much about: helping young and aspiring journalists.
The foundation is primarily for scholarship funds of students attending the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Arizona State University.
Besides being a phenomenal journalist, Gomez was committed to helping current students at his alma mater, Arizona State University. A reporter for the Arizona Republic and former professor at ASU, Katherine Fitzgerald had this to say about Pedro Gomez and the new foundation:
“Like so many others, I grew up seeing Pedro on TV, marveling at his reporting. When I eventually met him on assignments in Arizona, I was floored by his warm demeanor. Around the same time, I was also teaching Intro to Sports Reporting at ASU. Eventually, I asked a question he had gotten many, many times: Will you come talk to my class?”
Sure enough, Gomez went to ASU to help teach and enlighten the next generation of reporters, even during the dreaded 8 am slot. Fitzgerald mentioned that Gomez even called out students for the questions they asked, not to embarrass them, but to truly teach them how to ask the right questions.
Stories like this make the establishment of the foundation come as no surprise. The Executive Director of the Arizona Sports Commission, Nikki Balich who is a friend of the Gomez family was the one to help get the ball rolling on the Pedro Gomez Foundation.
Following the wishes of Pedro Gomez’s wife, Sandi, Balich established the foundation to fund the scholarships of students attending the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications at ASU.
