The Micah Pietila-Wiggs “Live Like Micah” foundation founded by T.E.A.M (Tutor, Educate, and Motivate) Tutoring Coordinator Steven Wiggs, is a foundation that is often present in the Bonita Vista High (BVH) community. It was created in July of 2022 after Wiggs and his wife, Ronnie Pietila-Wiggs’s son passed away in a car accident in January of the same year. The foundation works with close friends and family to host fundraisers and events throughout the year, as well as offer scholarships to students in the Sweetwater Union High School District.
“In the inception of it, I was grieving and I had no headspace to create anything or do anything. My husband really wanted to [create the foundation]. It was his way of healing and he wanted to take off with it. I’m a lot more involved now, but at the inception I was not that involved because it was hard for me to get out of bed every day, nonetheless be in charge or try to start a foundation,” Pietila-Wiggs said. “But that was the opposite of [Wiggs]. He would always say, ‘I don’t want anybody to forget Micah. I’m afraid that people are going to forget him. And I always want to remember everything good about him.’”
Pietila-Wiggs is the Vice President of the foundation and works alongside Wiggs in the organization of events. Wiggs wanted to create the foundation in memory of his son. He began with receiving help from friends and family to further the foundation.
“It was mainly to create an environment for all of the community to attend. It was in honor of our son but also to bring together all of his family and friends. We really had no set goal on how big we were gonna go, so even if we come up short, we’re still gonna be helping people and helping students,” Wiggs said.
When the foundation first began, there were no main goals. Therefore, when fundraising it was successful no matter what happened. The foundation additionally gives out scholarships based on who they believe deserve them as a reflection of students character. The foundation awarded six students a scholarship last year, three from BVH and three from Eastlake High—where Micah graduated from—however, they hope to continue to award more in future years.
“Our goal is to fundraise and to award scholarships to students. The scholarships aren’t necessarily academic based. They’re based on identifying students that are naturally kind, compassionate and caring,” Wiggs said.
The foundation fundraises throughout the year with three major events as well as through online donations. Additionally, they sell merchandise with designs such as photos of Micah as a part of the money raised to provide scholarships to students.
“We’re gaining a lot of attention from our community and those community members and business owners and they want to be a part of the [foundation]. Having sponsors [from these people] is really going to be how we reach that number [for more scholarships],” Wiggs said.
Wiggs and Pietila-Wiggs both emphasize the impact that Micah had on many people and the community. They continue to receive support from people close and far who knew Micah. Wiggs notes how Micah was a part of Little League Baseball and had spread his influence throughout that as well.
“He was kind of nationally known because of the Little League world series platform. So there’s people from all over San Diego that knew my son well. And also nationally, there’s people that still reach out to us,” Wiggs said.
Mariana Hughes, one of the many members and supporters of the foundation, has worked alongside Wiggs and Pietila-Wiggs in awarding scholarships and fundraising as a member of the board. She expresses how even though there may be a few challenges along the way, they collaborate as a community to push through them.
“When you are putting your love and heart into anything, it just takes some work. We’ve got a crew of very loyal and loving people that are ready to contribute and make beautiful things happen for our community and execute any event or activity that the foundation hosts,” Hughes said.
The foundation looks to expand its reach and share Micah’s impact further than just in the community. Furthermore, hoping to share who Micah was and what he did is the main goal for everyone involved.
“The mantra of being inclusive and kind and compassionate is a message that resonates with our community. It also resonates wider and beyond our community. I can see the ‘Live Like Micah’ Foundation extending beyond Chula Vista and San Diego to be something that we can build out to support other people and other young people in other areas,” Hughes said.
Hughes explains how supporting the foundation and its influence on young people in the community aligns with her core values. She and the many others in the foundation strive to see all the people that knew Micah come together to uplift him into the community.
“It’s very healing for them, and it is a great testament to the kind of person that he was, that really shared his love and might with everybody. For me, it is really gratifying to see these [young people] come together. To see them together and to see them work together and remember Micah and do what Micah would do in promoting love,” Hughes said.
Bringing awareness to the kind of person Micah was is what the foundation aims to spread. Wiggs, Pietila-Wiggs and Hughes all collectively share their love for Micah and what the community has done for him.
“I’m always proud to talk about Micah and how much he brought to all of us who knew him and [those who are] trying to share his outlook, his positivity and joy and love for people. I’m proud to be a partner in that,” Hughes said.
Many people grew connections with Micah throughout the years including Hughes’s children. She expresses how her and her family always shared a close connection to Micah and his family which made being a part of the foundation more significant.
“Micah was very close to my family. He was like a son to me. He was the best friend of my own son, Robbie. And then my younger son, Christian, is best friends with Micah’s little brother, Kali’i. We’ve grown up with these boys. We’ve been around this family forever and our family was devastated when Micah passed and so [I try] to get involved in support and do anything I can for the family,” Hughes said.
There are many people involved in the several different aspects of the foundation. There is a board of Micah’s close family and friends that decide who gets scholarships as well as people who support through donations or the events that are held. Pietila-Wiggs shares how being able to work with Micah’s long-term friends is one of the highlights of being a part of the foundation.
“[My favorite part] is being able to work with Micah’s friends. They’ve been here since day one. These are his friends and a lot of them he’s known since he was in elementary school. And they’ve been such a tight group and they’ve never let [Wiggs] and I feel like [we are] not a part of their lives. They include us in everything. They’re an awesome group of men and women, and we are just so fortunate that they still consider us family, and they really do look after us,” Pietila-Wiggs said.
Being connected to the people within the foundation has allowed them to collaborate towards their goals and spread the essence of who Micah was. As Micah’s friends are a part of the board, Pietila-Wiggs hopes that eventually they will take over her and Wiggs’ roles in the foundation and further continue to do what they currently work towards.
“His friends are starting to become adults now, they’re getting adult jobs. I’m hoping in the future they’re going to want to take over the foundation and they’re going to want to continue his legacy,” Pietila-Wiggs said.
Micah is described by Wiggs, Pietila-Wiggs and Hughes as someone who left a mark on the people he knew. Although the foundation has many goals, Pietila-Wiggs shares what they want everyone to remember when they think of Micah and the foundation.
“[Our goal is for people] to remember his name and to remember his time here on earth and how much he affected people. You don’t get to choose how you’re going to die, but you definitely get to choose how you’re going to live. So he really did do a lot of living in his 21 years,” Pietila-Wiggs said.
