Warriors pick Dawson, Pastor
Sierra Dawson is Elizabeth Forward's female winter sports selection in the Centennial Chevrolet Scholar/Athlete Spotlight program.
Colin Pastor is Elizabeth Forward's male winter sports selection in the Centennial Chevrolet Scholar/Athlete Spotlight program.
Sierra Dawson and Colin Pastor understand the balance that is needed between academics and sports, and for their effort, the pair is Elizabeth Forward’s winter sports female and male selections in the Centennial Chevrolet Scholar/Athlete Spotlight program.
Pastor has a 4.4 GPA and is the son of Greg and Lori Pastor of Elizabeth. Dawson, the daughter of Terrance and Sarah Dawson of McKeesport, carries a 4.0 GPA.
Dawson is a starter on the girls basketball team and holds the school record among girls of 12.4 seconds in the 100-meter sprint, while Pastor is a facilitating point guard for the boys basketball team and was a four-year starter on the soccer team.
Dawson is being looked at by colleges for both sports.
“This means a lot to me because I have put in a lot of work,” said Dawson about being recognized. “I work hard to study every night and at practice too.”
Pastor, who is being recruited to play soccer by several schools and has been offered by Saint Vincent, shared similar feelings.
“It is an honor to be recognized and pretty cool,” said Pastor, who has also been accepted at Penn State, Ohio State, Drexel, Iowa, and Minnesota. “There is a lot of competition academically and I appreciate it.”
While neither of the scholar/athletes have picked where they will continue their respective educations after high school, they both know what field they will enter as Pastor will go into finance and Dawson wants to be a biology teacher.
“All through my life I have liked reading the financial news and watching channels like CNBC,” Pastor said of his choice. “I like international news. It intrigues me.”
“I love working with kids and I enjoy biology,” said Dawson. “I have a big family and my cousin is a teacher so I have always been around it.”
Dawson has four siblings (Joselyn, 12, Briaunna, 9, Aiden, 7, and Mila, 2) and is aware that they watch her every move.
She says that her family has been the biggest influence on her as an athlete.
“My parents and siblings push me to my full potential,” she said. “I take being a role model to my siblings very seriously.”
Pastor has a 20-year old sister, Rachel, who will graduate from Ohio State this spring with a degree in Finance and International Business, and he says that his dad has influenced him the most as an athlete.
“He always helped me out and has been there for me despite being on the road a lot,” said Pastor of his dad who works for Lionsgate Films. “Even on the road, we talk on the phone about the games.”
Pastor talked about Matthew Dellavedova and how the Milwaukee Bucks point guard has influenced him.
“I have always tried to be aggressive because I am not the most skilled,” Pastor said. “I am scrappy.”
Dawson said Steph Curry is the professional athlete that she admires the most.
“He really carries his team and his work ethic is insane,” she said.
A consummate team player, Dawson did not hesitate when asked about her most memorable sports moment.
“We won at Thomas Jefferson last year when my good friend Justice Mitchell scored at the buzzer,” she said of a 59-58 win. “The energy after it happened was crazy and everyone was jumping up and down and screaming.”
For Pastor, he recollected a big win last year during his junior season when the Warriors upset Steel Valley, then ranked as one of the top teams in their class, 57-55.
“We won the game by one point at home,” he said. “They came down with the ball but they missed a shot and then missed another after they grabbed the rebound.
“I was guarding another player and when the horn sounded we all hugged each other and kind of went crazy.”