When Ramzy Azar injured his arm playing baseball last summer, he realized it was time for a change. The former Cañada Colts player transitioned to Skyline last semester and has been taking full advantage of the time he’s freed up since quitting baseball.

“Over the summer while playing for the Denver Cougars, I had suffered yet another elbow injury, leaving me with one of the hardest decisions I have had to make,” Azar said. “Ever since I was a kid I had always been bouncing back and forth between work, school, and baseball, never really having the time or energy to focus on my academics.” He went on to say, “ I came to conclusion that the right thing to do was to transfer to Skyline and focus on my education.”

Ahmad Elayyan has been friends with Azar since kindergarten and appreciates that he challenges his friends without putting them down.

“He motivates me to get good grades and continuously forces me to go to the library with him,” Elayyan says. “Everyone who knows Ramzy understands that he is a very outgoing person and does what’s best for his friends and himself.”

However, Flavious Abellana who first met Azar last year through Phi Delta Kappa, was skeptical of him at first.

“He seemed like just the typical baseball guy, you know?” Abellana says.

The two started to connect during student government meetings, though, and they have become better acquainted this semester through their business law class.

“I saw this guy is actually really passionate and intelligent,” Abellana says. “He’s a scholar and also out in the community. He’s really committed. No days off.”

With the support of his brother who’d also gone to Skyline, Azar has immersed himself in his studies as a finance major and in the campus community. He founded and became president of the Inspiring Community Leaders club.

“I was part of the honors society and student body, which were two experiences that stuck out to me as influential, so I encouraged Ramzy to get involved,” his brother said. “He’s definitely changed since starting at Skyline. He’s much more responsible.”

Although he’s done with baseball, Azar acknowledges that his 12 years in the game taught him some valuable lessons in leadership and teamwork. Additionally, he was given the opportunity to travel further down the country, including Puerto Rico and the Domincan Republic during his baseball career. This allowed him to meet people from various backgrounds and experience different communities.

“Baseball was my first love at the age of seven, so if I said I don’t miss the game … I would be flat-out lying,” Azar said. “Giving up on baseball was not easy, especially the first semester at Skyline. It was almost as if I were having withdrawals. Transitioning to the beneficial side of stepping away from the game, I now have the time to devote myself to my community and to my peers.”

English instructor Kathleen McClung, whom Azar cited as one of the most inspirational teachers he’d had at Skyline, said that she watched him become inspired by poet Jimmy Santiago Baca who had spoken on campus last semester.

“I saw a lot of growth,” McClung said. “I really enjoyed working with him and he sets a good example of intellectual curiosity and drive.”

Azar presented a collection of his original poetry as his honors project for McClung’s class, which she believed was partly inspired by the Jimmy Santiago Baca talk.

This semester, Azar founded and became president of the Inspiring Community Leaders club. Having worked in downtown San Francisco since a young age, Azar was aware of the levels of poverty and homelessness around him and has volunteered with local food banks for in an effort to give back. His goal for Inspiring Community Leaders is to provide interested students with information and resources about community service and volunteer work.

“I want to help people reach their goals,” Azar said, “to be inspired and see the light, believe in themselves and strive for nothing less than they’re capable of.”

Update this article headline was changed from “Broken arms leads to a helping hand” to “Injured arm leads to a helping hand” in order to better reflect the content of the article. 6:59 p.m. 5/15/14