Giandiego Mazzara is a senior at John F. Kennedy Memorial High School. He plays football and track, and is interested in becoming an attorney, as well as playing college football. I decided to speak with Diego since he will be one of the many unique and valuable seniors leaving us this year.
How was life in Massachusetts compared to New Jersey?
Diego: I was a baby when I was in Massachusetts, so I don’t really remember, but I do know that I was born in a very poor town. I do know that I am in a better place now; rather be here than Massachusetts.
Regarding college football, is there any specific team that you’d like to play for?
The Georgia Bulldogs. That is 100% the team that I would love to play for. That, and Rutgers. Those are my dream teams, but it’s gonna take awhile to get there.
What position do you play in football? Would you like to play more?
I’m a kicker because I’ve played soccer my whole life. So, kicking a ball came easily, but I would love to know what it’s like to play tight-end. I’ve never been tackled, I want to know what it’s like to be tackled. But, I like kicker better, because y’know, you don’t get hurt. But I would love to play tight-end.
Does your sister pursue sports in the same way you do?
Yeah. My sister was a great runner growing up, and she was a cross-country star for awhile. Then she had a very bad injury that really altered her career. She doesn’t pursue it, but she pushes me to pursue it as much as I do. She’s been one of my biggest supporters. Especially after my injury, she was right there. But yeah, I would say she pursues it just as much as I do.
What about being an attorney intrigues you, in comparison to your passion for college football?
When I think of being an attorney, I think of it as trying to help someone that can’t be helped, or trying to help someone that knows they’re innocent, but can’t prove it without me, and that’s why I wanna do that line of work. My whole life I’ve been big on helping people, and even if it’s just divorce at first, that’s why I wanna pursue it. It’s more like, I wanna do this because I didn’t have help when I was younger, but then I got the help, so that’s what I wanna do. I wanna help people.
After high school, which will you prioritize more, aspiring to be an attorney, or getting into consistent college football?
An attorney. Because that really is my plan, people say, “I would like to go to the NFL, that’s my plan A, and my plan B is becoming an attorney.” No, I wanna become an attorney, because, it’s very rare to become a kicker in the NFL, even though I’m gonna try as hard as possible, I’m not giving up… I would love to be an attorney.
