Tonight’s Padres v Reds game was graced by Monserrat Lopez voice, a Hispanic standout and role model. 

The 17-year-old San Diego high school honor student finds the time and energy to be in the school band, play sports and sing, her first love, all while facing homelessness.  Lopez and her brother have been living at “Father Joe’s Village” in the Toussaint Academy for two years when their father became too ill to take care of them and their mother remained out of their life.

Lopez kicked off the game at Petco Park with part of the game’s proceeds benefiting the very organization that has helped her survive, Father Joe’s Village. 

As a resident of the Toussiant Academy, a group home which takes in homeless and abandoned youth in San Diego, Lopez gets life skills, job training and college counseling on top of getting a place to live.  She hopes to attend either Stanford or Berkeley, her brother was accepted to UC San Diego. 

Lopez’ wish is not only to sing but to be an inspiration for other teens who find themselves homeless and hopeless. “You don’t always do the wrong thing to get homeless, sometimes it just happens to you,” Lopez said to NBC San Diego. “Never give up and always go to every door possible because the craziest things will turn out to be something amazing.”