Haverhill’s Carlos Pena Touts Importance of School Attendance in New PSA

City native Carlos Pena lent his support to the Haverhill Public Schools "Attendance Matters" campaign. (Video screenshot)

City native Carlos Pena lent his support to the Haverhill Public Schools “Attendance Matters” campaign. (Video screenshot)

Getting to the head of the class is hard work—just ask Carlos Pena. Haverhill’s native son and former Major League Baseball slugger has lent his support to the school system where he got his start in a new PSA touting the importance of showing up to school every day.

“In 14 years as a professional baseball player and now as a broadcaster, staying on top of my game has taken a lot of hard work. As a player, it meant showing up and practicing every day—even when my friends were goofing off, even when it was raining. Whatever it took,” Pena said in a new video shot at the MLB Network studios.

The 1995 Haverhill High grad’s segment is the latest in a series of videos for the school district’s “Attendance Matters” campaign, which was first reported by WHAV in September.

Supervisor of Attendance Lorna Marchant told WHAV she is grateful for the support of hometown hero Pena.

“We’re making a concerted effort to work with the community to make everyone understand that it’s not just a teacher’s job: It’s everyone’s job to come together for the betterment of our community,” Marchant said.

Last year, Pena was inducted into the Haverhill High School Athletic Hall of Fame. Offering remarks during a ceremony at the Hunking School, the athlete—who retired in 2014 after a career of 286 home runs—joked that he didn’t just break baseball records as a Hillie.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I have a record. I am the only swim team member in the history of Haverhill High School who has never wore a speedo. Never! I wore my baggies, man. My baggies—the whole time,” he joked.

Watch Pena’s full “Attendance Matters” PSA now!

Carlos Pena PSA for Haverhill Public Schools from Haverhill Public Schools on Vimeo.