IN ONLY his second year of college, Ateneo Men’s Baseball Team (AMBT) First Baseman Zach Peña has already excelled in various fields. Peña—who has been part of the Ateneo Baseball system since 2012 when he first joined as a fourth grader—also hosts the ClubHouse podcast and models for several brands such as local clothing label Pinagtagpo, and fast food giant Jollibee.
Through his success in his numerous extracurricular activities, the several unconventional experiences under Peña’s belt have helped him grow and set himself up for more success in the future.
Up to bat
Peña’s journey beyond the classroom began when his father inspired him to play baseball. “The main inspiration that I had was my dad because, when I was a kid, I would always see him watch baseball games and he’s a huge fan of the [New York] Yankees. I actually started out [playing] basketball but I didn’t excel as much, so my dad told me to try baseball out,” he said.
Following his father’s suggestion to try the sport, Peña joined baseball clubs in the Ateneo Grade School (AGS), where he immediately enjoyed every aspect of the game—hitting, catching, and throwing. Peña continued to develop his ability in the sport through his baseball clubs and his willingness to work hard. By the time he reached fourth grade, he had successfully made it into the varsity baseball team.
As the AGS Baseball Team was separated into two rosters—the White Team (developmental) and the Blue Team (first tier)—Peña was initially admitted into the White Team as a developmental player. Owing to his own consistent work ethic on the White Team, Peña’s progression catalyzed his elevation to the Blue Team when he entered high school. Peña went on to become a centerpiece for the Blue Eaglets, playing a pivotal role that won the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 81 Boys’ Baseball championship.
After high school, the next step of continuing to study in Ateneo was a no-brainer for Peña, who wanted to major in Communications Technology Management while remaining loyal to the team that he grew up with. However, the start of Peña’s college career coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic and the cancellation of UAAP Season 83.
The delayed debut with the AMBT did not deter him as he continued to work hard and stay prepared for the arrival of the next UAAP season, whenever that may be. While continuing to stay ready for the next UAAP Season, Peña found another way to stay productive in the pandemic by engaging in more extracurricular activities outside the baseball field.
Beyond the field
Among the new pursuits that Peña started during the pandemic was the ClubHouse podcast, which began through the pitch of his friend and co-host Miguel Mendoza. In the podcast, Peña and Mendoza interview professionals from various fields—such as medicine, architecture, and business—to obtain knowledge on these professionals’ experiences in their respective fields. According to Peña, the podcast aims to help those who are unsure of what career to pursue.
“The main goal of the podcast is to inspire and motivate the youth through talking to top-tier professionals. What my partner and I found is that there are a lot of people, especially in college, who don’t know what to do yet, and we thought that the podcast can be a great avenue for that,” he said.
For Peña, hosting the podcast has been about learning and guiding the careers of others, which has been a gratifying experience. “The most rewarding feeling is knowing that after each episode, there can be one life that can be touched, inspired, and motivated. Even I learn so much from every new episode that we put out from each individual that we talk to,” he added.
Apart from hosting the ClubHouse podcast, Peña also began engaging in acting and modeling opportunities. Initially approached by the Reco Modeling Agency in 2018, Peña did not realize he wished to pursue these until the pandemic began. Peña admitted that he was hesitant to pursue this because of doubt, but his interest in the opportunity was ultimately enough for him to go for it.
“Why is this card still in my phone if I don’t want to pursue it? Obviously I do want to pursue it, but maybe I’m just not confident enough, too shy, or I might hear bad comments from my friends. I just told myself: If it’s something that interests me, then why not?” shared Peña.
After joining the agency, Peña faced another challenge—fighting for a role when auditioning for commercials. For Peña, the world of acting taught him the valuable lesson of not being deterred by rejections. “One of the valuable things that [auditioning] taught me was you are going to experience failure in the real world. It took about 10-15 auditions until I got my first one, which was the Jollibee commercial,” said Peña.
Through his ventures into modelling and hosting a podcast, Peña has gained new experiences and learned several lessons that will help him succeed now and in the future.
The final inning
Peña’s endeavors in baseball, hosting, and modelling have taught him to establish a good and consistent work ethic, stay persistent through rejections, and avoid self doubt. These lessons have helped him to continue improving in baseball, consistently upload a podcast episode weekly, and land modelling opportunities.
The experiences have provided him with growth and an unconventional but well-rounded background encompassing various fields, which bodes well for his future. Aside from his numerous accomplishments in a wide variety of fields, Zach Peña has forged for himself a reputation as a trailblazer, risk-taker, and an Atenean go-getter.
