“You’re going to deal with a ton of definition, from parental, professional, to personal,” he declared. The author urged PUC students to not let circumstances or the assumptions of others determine their paths. As the son of teenage parents from National City, Calif., “literature was something that belonged to the kids in the richer families,” said de la Peña. Describing himself as a “reluctant reader” through most of his childhood, de la Peña never finished a book in high school. However, as de la Peña explained, his career as a writer was completely unexpected.
Knight taught de la Peña during his time as a student at the University of the Pacific, and described her former student as a “successful, prolific, and accomplished young writer.” de la Peña, the award-winning author of five young-adult novels and the picture book A Nation’s Hope: The Story of Boxing Legend Joe Louis, inspired the campus with the story his personal path to literacy.ĭe la Peña was introduced by a professor who played a pivotal role in his development as a reader and writer: PUC’s own president, Heather J. Pacific Union College hosted critically acclaimed author Matt de la Peña during the May 1 installment of the Colloquy Speakers Series.
