Business & Entrepreneurship
GOLD - Evette Velasquez
SILVER - Marcial De Sautu
BRONZE - Emma Gamboa
Community Service
GOLD - Lior Silberman
SILVER - Jazmira Guzman
BRONZE - Christina Perez
Education
GOLD - Miranda Thomas
SILVER - Lorena Bonilla
BRONZE - Dayanara Diaz
Engineering
GOLD - Alessandra Peña
SILVER - Sara Kaufman
BRONZE - Daniel Marconi
Healthcare & Science
GOLD - Alejandra Abramson
SILVER - Valentina Allegra
BRONZE - Michelle Rodriguez
Media & Entertainment
GOLD - Ricardo Fernandes Garcia
SILVER - Marymar Coca
BRONZE - Jose Solorzano
Public Service & Social Justice
GOLD - Jenny Rodriguez
SILVER - Maxton Torres
BRONZE - Taylor Perez
Sports & Fitness
GOLD - Lucas Mous
SILVER - Nicolas Nadal
BRONZE - Sebastian Suarez
Sustainability (Green)
GOLD - Gabriel Villar
SILVER - Emilia Fiebel
BRONZE - Sofia Aranda
Technology
GOLD - Sarah Dufays
SILVER - Kevin Chafloque
BRONZE - Angela Luca
Business & Entrepreneurship
Please select a recipient name to read their bio.
GOLD - Evette Velasquez
Hometown: Gibsonton, FL
High School: East Bay High School
Hispanic Heritage: Mexican
Evette Velasquez is not only a senior at East Bay High School, she is also a dual-enrollment student at Hillsborough Community College. If that was not impressive enough, by the time Evette graduates high school, she will already have her Associate of Arts degree in Business Administration all while balancing course work from both schools, work, and extracurriculars. The hard work that Evette is doing know will pay off as she has big dreams to be a Project Manager, Operations Manager, or a Marketing Manager.
These dreams were sparked by her parents, who currently own their own business, and the versatility that comes with a business degree. So far, Evette has already taken Financial Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Introduction to Computer Technology, Elementary Statistics, Calculus for Business, and Customer Service Representative, and is currently in Business Law, Connections, Public Speaking, and a social media strategist certificate. She is putting the coursework into real-world experience as she also works part-time at a financial-services company doing accounting and administrative assistant work.
Despite her extremely rigorous coursework, Evette still prioritizes clubs and community service. At her high school, Evette is a member of the National Honor Society, the Key Club, AVID Club, and the National Society of High School Scholars. Her accomplishments have been recognized by the Academic Letter and Pin, AVID Certificate of Excellence, Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society Certificate, Nationals Honor Society Certificate, and the President’s Education Award. Evette is also currently ranked second in her graduating class.
Community service has been a constant throughout Evette’s high school career. She has over 75 hours so far volunteering with organizations such as Cancer Kids First, Oneblood and Celebrate Birthdays. The organization that means the most to Evette is Cancer Kids First, as she has had family members suffer from cancer and wants cancer patients to know that they are not alone. Of her 45 hours at the organization, Evette has made cards of encouragement, put together gift boxes during the holidays, and organized their Cancer Kids First Walkathon, which spread awareness and raises funds for pediatric cancer.
Evette is of Mexican descent, has a 3.89 GPA, and plans to attend the University of Florida, the University of Central Florida, or the University of South Florida to study Business Administration and minor in Management.
High School: East Bay High School
Hispanic Heritage: Mexican
Evette Velasquez is not only a senior at East Bay High School, she is also a dual-enrollment student at Hillsborough Community College. If that was not impressive enough, by the time Evette graduates high school, she will already have her Associate of Arts degree in Business Administration all while balancing course work from both schools, work, and extracurriculars. The hard work that Evette is doing know will pay off as she has big dreams to be a Project Manager, Operations Manager, or a Marketing Manager.
These dreams were sparked by her parents, who currently own their own business, and the versatility that comes with a business degree. So far, Evette has already taken Financial Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Introduction to Computer Technology, Elementary Statistics, Calculus for Business, and Customer Service Representative, and is currently in Business Law, Connections, Public Speaking, and a social media strategist certificate. She is putting the coursework into real-world experience as she also works part-time at a financial-services company doing accounting and administrative assistant work.
Despite her extremely rigorous coursework, Evette still prioritizes clubs and community service. At her high school, Evette is a member of the National Honor Society, the Key Club, AVID Club, and the National Society of High School Scholars. Her accomplishments have been recognized by the Academic Letter and Pin, AVID Certificate of Excellence, Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society Certificate, Nationals Honor Society Certificate, and the President’s Education Award. Evette is also currently ranked second in her graduating class.
Community service has been a constant throughout Evette’s high school career. She has over 75 hours so far volunteering with organizations such as Cancer Kids First, Oneblood and Celebrate Birthdays. The organization that means the most to Evette is Cancer Kids First, as she has had family members suffer from cancer and wants cancer patients to know that they are not alone. Of her 45 hours at the organization, Evette has made cards of encouragement, put together gift boxes during the holidays, and organized their Cancer Kids First Walkathon, which spread awareness and raises funds for pediatric cancer.
Evette is of Mexican descent, has a 3.89 GPA, and plans to attend the University of Florida, the University of Central Florida, or the University of South Florida to study Business Administration and minor in Management.
SILVER - Marcial De Sautu
Hometown: Miami, FL
High School: Belen Jesuit Preparatory High School
Hispanic Heritage: Cuban, Puerto Rican & Argentine
Growing up, Marcial De Sautu has always been fascinated by business. Some of his earliest memories were watching CNBC and watching the numbers change before his eyes. Marcial yearned to know what those constantly changing digits meant and what the effects were for the market.
In high school, Marcial made sure his schedule included business courses like Fundamentals in Business and Entrepreneurship, and Spanish for Professionals that he took at Florida International University and AP courses like AP Calculus AB, AP Statistics, and AP Computer Science Principals. With the AP Calculus AB and AP Statistics, meant that Marcial has maxed out of the most rigorous math courses his school offers. Besides the business coursework, Marcial does extremely well in DECA. Last year, Marcial won second place in District 10 in the Accounting Applications category, which allowed him the opportunity to compete in the state meet. Marcial was thankful for this opportunity as it allowed him to think outside the box in the business case study that required him to come up with a solution and defend his reasoning during the interview portion. The DECA medal he earned, hangs above his bed as a reminder of what Marcial is fighting for.
Described as being humble but with a tireless work ethic, Marce, as he is affectionately referred to at school, leads by example. This was evidenced by when Marce, was awarded the Dartmouth College Book Award, which recognizes students who not only display academic excellence but exemplary extracurricular leadership and requires the nomination of several teachers. Despite being well-deserving, when Marce’s name was called as the recipient, Marce appeared shocked speaking to his humble nature.
Marce has been heavily involved in his school and his community. He is the Vice President of his school’s Key Club where he has been a member since his freshman year, and his current role requires him to encourage active involvement and leading the meetings amongst the clubs 300 members. During his junior year, Marce was tapped to take part of Peer Ministry, which requires him to plan school retreats and days of reflections and is on Student Council. He is also an avid athlete, having played basketball, volleyball, golf, and track and field. Outside of school, he is the Vice President of the Abuelos Foundation, an organization that supports the homebound elderly population of Miami-Dade.
Marce has a perfect 4.0 GPA, and is of Cuban, Puerto Rican, and Argentine descent and plans to attend Notre Dame University, the University of Michigan, or Georgetown University to major in Finance and minor in Marketing.
High School: Belen Jesuit Preparatory High School
Hispanic Heritage: Cuban, Puerto Rican & Argentine
Growing up, Marcial De Sautu has always been fascinated by business. Some of his earliest memories were watching CNBC and watching the numbers change before his eyes. Marcial yearned to know what those constantly changing digits meant and what the effects were for the market.
In high school, Marcial made sure his schedule included business courses like Fundamentals in Business and Entrepreneurship, and Spanish for Professionals that he took at Florida International University and AP courses like AP Calculus AB, AP Statistics, and AP Computer Science Principals. With the AP Calculus AB and AP Statistics, meant that Marcial has maxed out of the most rigorous math courses his school offers. Besides the business coursework, Marcial does extremely well in DECA. Last year, Marcial won second place in District 10 in the Accounting Applications category, which allowed him the opportunity to compete in the state meet. Marcial was thankful for this opportunity as it allowed him to think outside the box in the business case study that required him to come up with a solution and defend his reasoning during the interview portion. The DECA medal he earned, hangs above his bed as a reminder of what Marcial is fighting for.
Described as being humble but with a tireless work ethic, Marce, as he is affectionately referred to at school, leads by example. This was evidenced by when Marce, was awarded the Dartmouth College Book Award, which recognizes students who not only display academic excellence but exemplary extracurricular leadership and requires the nomination of several teachers. Despite being well-deserving, when Marce’s name was called as the recipient, Marce appeared shocked speaking to his humble nature.
Marce has been heavily involved in his school and his community. He is the Vice President of his school’s Key Club where he has been a member since his freshman year, and his current role requires him to encourage active involvement and leading the meetings amongst the clubs 300 members. During his junior year, Marce was tapped to take part of Peer Ministry, which requires him to plan school retreats and days of reflections and is on Student Council. He is also an avid athlete, having played basketball, volleyball, golf, and track and field. Outside of school, he is the Vice President of the Abuelos Foundation, an organization that supports the homebound elderly population of Miami-Dade.
Marce has a perfect 4.0 GPA, and is of Cuban, Puerto Rican, and Argentine descent and plans to attend Notre Dame University, the University of Michigan, or Georgetown University to major in Finance and minor in Marketing.
BRONZE - Emma Gamboa
Hometown: Silver Springs, FL
High School: Forest High School
Hispanic Heritage: Colombian
One of Emma Gamboa’s mentors, Leah Nanni, believes that Emma’s go-getter attitude is one of her best attributes. Due to her love of learning, maturity and high-level of self-direction, Emma finds opportunities for herself to get ahead. When Emma had concerns about financing college, Emma networked to find a financial advisor who would be willing to meet with her and a few friends to teach them the essentials in budgeting, saving and investing. As a first-generation college student Emma is seeking out information to fill information gaps that she cannot turn to her parents for. Other examples were due to her interest in business, Emma contacted accounting firms and inquired about if they offered shadowing opportunities for high school students. Her actions paid off and she was granted the opportunity to shadow this summer. After being able to see the day-to-day life of the auditors and other tax professionals, cemented her love for business.
Emma doesn’t let opportunities go to waste. She is now enrolled in International Business courses at the community college which she enjoys as she can combine her new love for business and her love for math which was ignited when she learned multiplication in elementary school.
Emma being creative, inquisitive and entrepreneurial has served her well so far. Inspired by her mom’s small business, Emma has implemented in taking pride in her work, never cutting corners, being honest and putting the customer first is why she was drawn to her school’s entrepreneurship pathway. So far, Emma has her own dog-sitting business and has even begun pitching her idea for a specialized backpack for female athletes.
To get a head start in her business career, Emma has already taken numerous business courses such as Introduction to International Business, Business Finance, Business Ownership, Business Management and Law, Elementary Statistics, and AP Macroeconomics. With these classes, she enjoys that they involve both logic and creativity. For her business creation project, Emma and her partner got to think strategically weighing the elements of their business, considering aspects like manufacturing costs and what their breakeven point would be and allowing them to see a full business cycle.
Emma is of Colombian descent and has an impressive 3.71 GPA. She will be studying Finance and minoring in Criminal Justice at the University of Central Florida, the University of South Florida, or the University of Tampa.
High School: Forest High School
Hispanic Heritage: Colombian
One of Emma Gamboa’s mentors, Leah Nanni, believes that Emma’s go-getter attitude is one of her best attributes. Due to her love of learning, maturity and high-level of self-direction, Emma finds opportunities for herself to get ahead. When Emma had concerns about financing college, Emma networked to find a financial advisor who would be willing to meet with her and a few friends to teach them the essentials in budgeting, saving and investing. As a first-generation college student Emma is seeking out information to fill information gaps that she cannot turn to her parents for. Other examples were due to her interest in business, Emma contacted accounting firms and inquired about if they offered shadowing opportunities for high school students. Her actions paid off and she was granted the opportunity to shadow this summer. After being able to see the day-to-day life of the auditors and other tax professionals, cemented her love for business.
Emma doesn’t let opportunities go to waste. She is now enrolled in International Business courses at the community college which she enjoys as she can combine her new love for business and her love for math which was ignited when she learned multiplication in elementary school.
Emma being creative, inquisitive and entrepreneurial has served her well so far. Inspired by her mom’s small business, Emma has implemented in taking pride in her work, never cutting corners, being honest and putting the customer first is why she was drawn to her school’s entrepreneurship pathway. So far, Emma has her own dog-sitting business and has even begun pitching her idea for a specialized backpack for female athletes.
To get a head start in her business career, Emma has already taken numerous business courses such as Introduction to International Business, Business Finance, Business Ownership, Business Management and Law, Elementary Statistics, and AP Macroeconomics. With these classes, she enjoys that they involve both logic and creativity. For her business creation project, Emma and her partner got to think strategically weighing the elements of their business, considering aspects like manufacturing costs and what their breakeven point would be and allowing them to see a full business cycle.
Emma is of Colombian descent and has an impressive 3.71 GPA. She will be studying Finance and minoring in Criminal Justice at the University of Central Florida, the University of South Florida, or the University of Tampa.
Community Service
Please select a recipient name to read their bio.
GOLD - Lior Silberman
Hometown: Boca Raton, FL
High School: Pine Crest School
Hispanic Heritage: Peruvian
Lior Silberman’s Peruvian heritage has been a driving force in the organizations in which she has done most of her service as they are mostly for Latino serving organizations. For the past four years, Lior has worked at the Guatemalan Maya Center. When she first started there, Lior would be in charge of reading to the kids, organizing Christmas drives, outreach, and moving in donations. Even as a child Lior, has been an avid reader; this love was fostered by her weekly library visits that would involve her carrying bags of books home for her to pore over as they offered unlimited adventures at her fingertips. This love for reading and adventure allowed for Lior to be part of La Escuelita, which is Guatemalan Maya educational program where she created their audio library. There she paired to books to recordings of her reading them in both Spanish and English so that the students can escape to their own adventures like she did as a young girl. Due to Lior’s commitment to the organization and their mission, she was tasked with more responsibility. The center was experiencing higher requests for their assistance in legal proceedings, so she was asked to help with the scheduling of families appointments. Which meant that now Lior was responsible for translating and assisting in filling out immigration applications, a task of great importance. In addition, she would work one-on-one with families to help them pay overdue bills, make sure they were submitted correctly, fill out emergency rental assistance forms, write and translate letters for financial support on behalf of a wrongfully terminated labor worker, helped families apply for food-stamps and would help organize the free medical clinic. One of her favorite ways to contribute was by assisting with their advocacy events where Lior would invite lawyers to come and speak to the community on issues that can be exploited due to most community members not having the legal rights and knowledge on the issue such as illegal rent raising. Due to her work and advocacy, the center was able to gather stories of illegal rent-raising and take their concerns to the Lake Worth government who then declared a housing state of emergency in Lake Worth City. Lastly, Lior would even work with the FBI to help search through records to see if numbers and addresses matched with cold cases of missing children in her community.
Lior has also volunteered with the non-profit Outreach 360 where she teaches math and English to underserved students in Nicaragua. An opportunity which she was grateful for, in that she was able to not only teach the students but to highlight the doors that education can open for them. Even with all of Lior’s volunteer work, she is actively involved at her high school. She is a Pine Crest Admission Ambassador, participated in all of the schools’ recitals, a member of their dance team, member of her school’s chorus, co-captain of the track team and was voted in her school’s Homecoming queen. Academic wise, Lior has taken fifteen AP courses, two-post AP courses earning the College Board National Hispanic Scholar and AP Scholar with distinction.
Lior is of Peruvian descent, has an outstanding 3.99 GPA and plans to attend Duke University, Vanderbilt University, or Cornell University to study Sociology.
High School: Pine Crest School
Hispanic Heritage: Peruvian
Lior Silberman’s Peruvian heritage has been a driving force in the organizations in which she has done most of her service as they are mostly for Latino serving organizations. For the past four years, Lior has worked at the Guatemalan Maya Center. When she first started there, Lior would be in charge of reading to the kids, organizing Christmas drives, outreach, and moving in donations. Even as a child Lior, has been an avid reader; this love was fostered by her weekly library visits that would involve her carrying bags of books home for her to pore over as they offered unlimited adventures at her fingertips. This love for reading and adventure allowed for Lior to be part of La Escuelita, which is Guatemalan Maya educational program where she created their audio library. There she paired to books to recordings of her reading them in both Spanish and English so that the students can escape to their own adventures like she did as a young girl. Due to Lior’s commitment to the organization and their mission, she was tasked with more responsibility. The center was experiencing higher requests for their assistance in legal proceedings, so she was asked to help with the scheduling of families appointments. Which meant that now Lior was responsible for translating and assisting in filling out immigration applications, a task of great importance. In addition, she would work one-on-one with families to help them pay overdue bills, make sure they were submitted correctly, fill out emergency rental assistance forms, write and translate letters for financial support on behalf of a wrongfully terminated labor worker, helped families apply for food-stamps and would help organize the free medical clinic. One of her favorite ways to contribute was by assisting with their advocacy events where Lior would invite lawyers to come and speak to the community on issues that can be exploited due to most community members not having the legal rights and knowledge on the issue such as illegal rent raising. Due to her work and advocacy, the center was able to gather stories of illegal rent-raising and take their concerns to the Lake Worth government who then declared a housing state of emergency in Lake Worth City. Lastly, Lior would even work with the FBI to help search through records to see if numbers and addresses matched with cold cases of missing children in her community.
Lior has also volunteered with the non-profit Outreach 360 where she teaches math and English to underserved students in Nicaragua. An opportunity which she was grateful for, in that she was able to not only teach the students but to highlight the doors that education can open for them. Even with all of Lior’s volunteer work, she is actively involved at her high school. She is a Pine Crest Admission Ambassador, participated in all of the schools’ recitals, a member of their dance team, member of her school’s chorus, co-captain of the track team and was voted in her school’s Homecoming queen. Academic wise, Lior has taken fifteen AP courses, two-post AP courses earning the College Board National Hispanic Scholar and AP Scholar with distinction.
Lior is of Peruvian descent, has an outstanding 3.99 GPA and plans to attend Duke University, Vanderbilt University, or Cornell University to study Sociology.
SILVER - Jazmira Guzman
Hometown: Panama City, FL
High School: Bay High School
Hispanic Heritage: Puerto Rican & Dominican
Jazmira Guzman’s impact can be seen not only at her school, hometown, statewide but internationally. Her poise and dedication to service often times has the Bay High School Student Government Advisor reminding herself that Jazmira is not a peer but a student. Jazmira was inspired to join her school’s SGA after the devastation of Hurricane Matthew hit her town. Within student government, she has held multiple roles but this year she was elected to be the Public Relations and Social Media content Manager, a role, which she fulfills as what has been described at a professional level. She played a big part in helping organize their Bay Homecoming Week, Senior Trip, local food drives, monthly service projects, prom and graduation. At both her high school and their districts office she works as a Spanish translator, and was chosen to be the Student Intern for the Department of Communications for the 2022-2023 school year, a role in which she had to network and run for at the Student Government Conference-FASC.
Jazmira commitment to serving her community knows no bounds. In fact, she has been able to volunteer and give back in all seven continents through her work at the Chautauqua Learn and Serve Charter School for Adults with disabilities. Their mission is to not only prepare disabled students to be able to be active participants in the world around them but to spread awareness of the needs of the disabled. In this organization, she volunteers every single weekday, goes to conferences and offers aid to disabled individuals who have had to endure undue hardships in their home counties and to act as a mentor to the schools students. So far, Jazmira has travelled to New Zealand, Tanzania, Dubai, London, Ireland, Argentina and even Antarctica to fight for the rights and inclusion of those with disabilities. This advocacy, she implements in her own town always going out of her way to make sure the students with disabilities at her own school are always treated with kindness and have a friend at school that they can turn to.
Jazmira certainly keeps herself extremely busy. After her junior year, she already accumulated over 300 community service hours all while working two jobs at a local action photographer and a local restaurant and with grand plans to get many more hours her senior year. She is ranked seventh in her class, is dual-enrolled, a recipient of the Cambridge AICE Diploma, named a Cambridge Scholar and the first ever recipient of the Kim Godwin Memorial Scholarship from FSU Panama City.
Jazmira is of Puerto Rican and Dominican descent and plans to attend the University of Miami, Clemson University, or the University of Florida to study Sports Management.
High School: Bay High School
Hispanic Heritage: Puerto Rican & Dominican
Jazmira Guzman’s impact can be seen not only at her school, hometown, statewide but internationally. Her poise and dedication to service often times has the Bay High School Student Government Advisor reminding herself that Jazmira is not a peer but a student. Jazmira was inspired to join her school’s SGA after the devastation of Hurricane Matthew hit her town. Within student government, she has held multiple roles but this year she was elected to be the Public Relations and Social Media content Manager, a role, which she fulfills as what has been described at a professional level. She played a big part in helping organize their Bay Homecoming Week, Senior Trip, local food drives, monthly service projects, prom and graduation. At both her high school and their districts office she works as a Spanish translator, and was chosen to be the Student Intern for the Department of Communications for the 2022-2023 school year, a role in which she had to network and run for at the Student Government Conference-FASC.
Jazmira commitment to serving her community knows no bounds. In fact, she has been able to volunteer and give back in all seven continents through her work at the Chautauqua Learn and Serve Charter School for Adults with disabilities. Their mission is to not only prepare disabled students to be able to be active participants in the world around them but to spread awareness of the needs of the disabled. In this organization, she volunteers every single weekday, goes to conferences and offers aid to disabled individuals who have had to endure undue hardships in their home counties and to act as a mentor to the schools students. So far, Jazmira has travelled to New Zealand, Tanzania, Dubai, London, Ireland, Argentina and even Antarctica to fight for the rights and inclusion of those with disabilities. This advocacy, she implements in her own town always going out of her way to make sure the students with disabilities at her own school are always treated with kindness and have a friend at school that they can turn to.
Jazmira certainly keeps herself extremely busy. After her junior year, she already accumulated over 300 community service hours all while working two jobs at a local action photographer and a local restaurant and with grand plans to get many more hours her senior year. She is ranked seventh in her class, is dual-enrolled, a recipient of the Cambridge AICE Diploma, named a Cambridge Scholar and the first ever recipient of the Kim Godwin Memorial Scholarship from FSU Panama City.
Jazmira is of Puerto Rican and Dominican descent and plans to attend the University of Miami, Clemson University, or the University of Florida to study Sports Management.
BRONZE - Christina Perez
Hometown: Cutler Bay, FL
High School: Miami Palmetto Senior High School
Hispanic Heritage: Colombian & Spanish
Christina Perez’s love for music can be seen in all avenues of her life, but especially in how she chooses to give back to her community. This appreciation for music was sparked by a violin summer camp that Christina attended as a seven-year-old. At the camp, Christina quickly fell in love with music and was invited back on scholarship for the next few years. Due to the camp’s impact on her life, Christina knew she wanted to give back and mentor others through music. At the same camp that changed young Christina’s life, she has volunteered her summers for the last several years. Now as part of the symphony orchestra in their flagship ensemble they volunteer every Sunday and play concerts for the not only the community but other charities. The mission of this organization is to teach rising musicians from novice so that they continue the cycle and become mentors them themselves for the next generation, making them the first minor-run organization affiliated with El-Sistema. At the organization, Christina was asked to be the Artistic Director prioritizing youth and the arts in an initiative called the Pinecrest City Music Project. With this role, Christina leads not only all of the art and musical components of the Pinecrest City Music Project and co-leads the administrative side such as finding mentors for the students and curating the visual artwork for the performances. This non-profit ensures that school-aged children have the opportunity to not only play music that they might not have the resources to otherwise but to appreciate music as well. Even during the pandemic, Christina would find ways to share her love for music with those in her community when she co -produced a virtual concert video in a park. When the activation returned to being in in-person activation, Christina ensured that all of the Miami-Dade public schools were able to be involved which ensured that Artsfest would have music, art, culture and a space for their community to sit out with their families on the lawns and take it all in.
Christina knows that age does not determine the impact that can have on one’s community which is why she has started a self-driven project called Play it Forward which would try to alleviate some of the social barriers to learning an instrument. Through this initiative, Christina found instruments beyond repair and approached successful local artists in their area to transform the broken instruments into art that can be auctioned, with the proceeds going to the Greater Miami Youth Symphony and the African Heritage Cultural Arts. These centers would be able to get new instruments and give scholarships for deserving students who reside in the communities in Miami with the highest percentages of lower-income residents.
Numerous awards have been given to Christina to recognize her dedication to giving back. She has won the Palmetto Bay Rotary Club Service Above Self Awards in 2019, the PTSA Service Award in 2019 and 2021.
Of Colombian and Spanish descent, Christina will attend Barnard College, the University of Florida, or Columbia University to study Political Science.
High School: Miami Palmetto Senior High School
Hispanic Heritage: Colombian & Spanish
Christina Perez’s love for music can be seen in all avenues of her life, but especially in how she chooses to give back to her community. This appreciation for music was sparked by a violin summer camp that Christina attended as a seven-year-old. At the camp, Christina quickly fell in love with music and was invited back on scholarship for the next few years. Due to the camp’s impact on her life, Christina knew she wanted to give back and mentor others through music. At the same camp that changed young Christina’s life, she has volunteered her summers for the last several years. Now as part of the symphony orchestra in their flagship ensemble they volunteer every Sunday and play concerts for the not only the community but other charities. The mission of this organization is to teach rising musicians from novice so that they continue the cycle and become mentors them themselves for the next generation, making them the first minor-run organization affiliated with El-Sistema. At the organization, Christina was asked to be the Artistic Director prioritizing youth and the arts in an initiative called the Pinecrest City Music Project. With this role, Christina leads not only all of the art and musical components of the Pinecrest City Music Project and co-leads the administrative side such as finding mentors for the students and curating the visual artwork for the performances. This non-profit ensures that school-aged children have the opportunity to not only play music that they might not have the resources to otherwise but to appreciate music as well. Even during the pandemic, Christina would find ways to share her love for music with those in her community when she co -produced a virtual concert video in a park. When the activation returned to being in in-person activation, Christina ensured that all of the Miami-Dade public schools were able to be involved which ensured that Artsfest would have music, art, culture and a space for their community to sit out with their families on the lawns and take it all in.
Christina knows that age does not determine the impact that can have on one’s community which is why she has started a self-driven project called Play it Forward which would try to alleviate some of the social barriers to learning an instrument. Through this initiative, Christina found instruments beyond repair and approached successful local artists in their area to transform the broken instruments into art that can be auctioned, with the proceeds going to the Greater Miami Youth Symphony and the African Heritage Cultural Arts. These centers would be able to get new instruments and give scholarships for deserving students who reside in the communities in Miami with the highest percentages of lower-income residents.
Numerous awards have been given to Christina to recognize her dedication to giving back. She has won the Palmetto Bay Rotary Club Service Above Self Awards in 2019, the PTSA Service Award in 2019 and 2021.
Of Colombian and Spanish descent, Christina will attend Barnard College, the University of Florida, or Columbia University to study Political Science.
Education
Please select a recipient name to read their bio.
GOLD - Miranda Thomas
Hometown: Pembroke Pines, FL
High School: West Broward High School
Hispanic Heritage: Mexican
Educating the next generation is one of the most important jobs someone can have, and Miranda Thomas is up for the responsibility. This calling was inspired by her mother who would volunteer to help students who needed one-on-one help with reading to catch up to their classmates. The admiration that Miranda has for her mother, the fond memories of childhood where her imagination knew no bounds, and the encouragement of creativity by her teachers to develop and encourage her interests made Miranda confident in deciding her career path.
In the fifth grade as part of her school’s Future Educators of America Miranda volunteered in a kindergarten classroom for a school year. At the end of the year, she was tasked with being in charge of teaching an hour-long lesson to the students. With hours of collaboration with the teacher, Miranda researched ways to not only teach a math lesson to a classroom of kindergartners but do so in a way that would keep those wandering minds focused. Despite describing the process as scary, nerve-wrenching and exciting all at the same time, Miranda was able to prepare, come in and give the lesson flawlessly.
Since then, Miranda has ensured that she is doing everything possible to prepare to become a teacher. In high school, Miranda has been working on her Child Development Associate Certificate where she has taken four year’s worth of classes. In addition, she volunteers every day at her school’s pre-school. While learning from the coursework, Miranda is thrilled that she already has this hands-on experience. Everyday she looks forward to watching the children’s excitement when working with them to teach them a new skill or art project, and teach them more topics such as science and math.
Even outside of school, Miranda takes no breaks when it comes to her future career goals. In the summer, Miranda has been a camp counselor, leading the campers in sports, the arts and dance and has been a student teacher at church for years. At her local library, Miranda volunteered for an entire year in the youth services department. During her leadership term, she was active in role planning and preparing the library activities that they would offer and was also on their teen advisory board.
For those in Miranda’s life that know her, they highlight her many attributes that make her an excellent teacher. She has this passion for helping others and always ensures that she is prepared a lesson but also that the kids are not only having fun but learning along the way. The director of the Youth Ministry at her church notices that she genuinely cares about the well-being of others and goes above and beyond to support and care for those in need. All traits that all those who turn to teaching aspire to have. Miranda is also acutely aware that not all students are the same with some students needing more assistance due to her brother having special needs. With that in mind, Miranda has been learning on her own more about cognitive development and psychology so that she can be better prepared for students with learning abilities and be better able to assist them.
Of Mexican descent, and with an impressive 3.67 GPA, she will be attending Nova Southeastern University, Florida State University, or the University of Central Florida to study Psychology and minor in Early Childhood Education.
High School: West Broward High School
Hispanic Heritage: Mexican
Educating the next generation is one of the most important jobs someone can have, and Miranda Thomas is up for the responsibility. This calling was inspired by her mother who would volunteer to help students who needed one-on-one help with reading to catch up to their classmates. The admiration that Miranda has for her mother, the fond memories of childhood where her imagination knew no bounds, and the encouragement of creativity by her teachers to develop and encourage her interests made Miranda confident in deciding her career path.
In the fifth grade as part of her school’s Future Educators of America Miranda volunteered in a kindergarten classroom for a school year. At the end of the year, she was tasked with being in charge of teaching an hour-long lesson to the students. With hours of collaboration with the teacher, Miranda researched ways to not only teach a math lesson to a classroom of kindergartners but do so in a way that would keep those wandering minds focused. Despite describing the process as scary, nerve-wrenching and exciting all at the same time, Miranda was able to prepare, come in and give the lesson flawlessly.
Since then, Miranda has ensured that she is doing everything possible to prepare to become a teacher. In high school, Miranda has been working on her Child Development Associate Certificate where she has taken four year’s worth of classes. In addition, she volunteers every day at her school’s pre-school. While learning from the coursework, Miranda is thrilled that she already has this hands-on experience. Everyday she looks forward to watching the children’s excitement when working with them to teach them a new skill or art project, and teach them more topics such as science and math.
Even outside of school, Miranda takes no breaks when it comes to her future career goals. In the summer, Miranda has been a camp counselor, leading the campers in sports, the arts and dance and has been a student teacher at church for years. At her local library, Miranda volunteered for an entire year in the youth services department. During her leadership term, she was active in role planning and preparing the library activities that they would offer and was also on their teen advisory board.
For those in Miranda’s life that know her, they highlight her many attributes that make her an excellent teacher. She has this passion for helping others and always ensures that she is prepared a lesson but also that the kids are not only having fun but learning along the way. The director of the Youth Ministry at her church notices that she genuinely cares about the well-being of others and goes above and beyond to support and care for those in need. All traits that all those who turn to teaching aspire to have. Miranda is also acutely aware that not all students are the same with some students needing more assistance due to her brother having special needs. With that in mind, Miranda has been learning on her own more about cognitive development and psychology so that she can be better prepared for students with learning abilities and be better able to assist them.
Of Mexican descent, and with an impressive 3.67 GPA, she will be attending Nova Southeastern University, Florida State University, or the University of Central Florida to study Psychology and minor in Early Childhood Education.
SILVER - Lorena Bonilla
Hometown: Homestead, FL
High School: School for Advanced Studies
Hispanic Heritage: Puerto Rican
Growing up with English as her second language has had a profound impact on Lorena Bonilla and her views on areas in need of improvement in education. When learning English in ESL the diversity of the teachers made Lorena comfortable seeking help and getting clarification due to the patience given to her as she had the added struggle of learning new subjects in a language that at the time she was not as strong in. This history sparked Lorena’s activism in making sure every student has the ability to feel heard despite any language barriers.
In the fifth grade, Lorena was part of her school’s Future Educators Club, which she credits with not only teaching her leadership skills, what happens behind the scenes, but what it takes to not only be a teacher but how to be impactful for students. In the eighth grade, she was a member of Teen Trendsetters which was part of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy and whose mission is to sharpen the reading skills of early education students. Lorena was assigned a mentee and it was her responsibility to ensure that the student read the material, reflected, and answered the corresponding assignment that progressed in difficulty throughout the year. Lorena took her role as a mentor seriously and always tried to ensure that her lessons were a mix of fun while still ensuring that the student was mastering the material. Lorena’s dedication and teaching style did not go unnoticed as she was not only awarded the Mentor of the Year Award, but also given the opportunity to become the Sponsor Advisor at her old middle school as a ninth grader.
Since the fifth grade, she has taken on numerous leadership roles and is currently the Vice President of her school’s Student Government Association. With this role, she is the voice for peers by speaking on their behalf during district board meetings. In addition, she has raised concerns on important issues like that her school lacks the resources on mental health and concerns on homework workload. Another concern Lorena has that while teachers are essential for student learning, resources for parents, in particular non-English speaking parents, are not often there. Next on Lorena’s list to bring up at the Board meetings are ways to bridge this gap. She notes the seriousness of the problem in how this limits teacher and parent communication. This scenario also requires the student to act as the intermediary. To combat this, Lorena suggests a two-pronged approach having the schools offer curriculum for free English classes for parents and resources and programs to educate teachers on how to navigate these language barriers. These measures would ultimately ensure that the student is not only set up the best way with better communication between parent and teacher but without the extra burden of having to play middle-man.
In addition, Lorena is part of the Children’s Trust Youth Advisory Committee where she got to learn leadership skills but to help plan events on increasing children literacy that fell during COVID-19. Their book drive also features readings with the mayor, an event Lorena is pushing to happen more than once a year.
Lorena will not only graduate high school but will also have her associates this year, while maintaining a 4.0 GPA. She will be majoring in Nursing at the University of Florida, the University of Central Florida, or the University of South Florida.
High School: School for Advanced Studies
Hispanic Heritage: Puerto Rican
Growing up with English as her second language has had a profound impact on Lorena Bonilla and her views on areas in need of improvement in education. When learning English in ESL the diversity of the teachers made Lorena comfortable seeking help and getting clarification due to the patience given to her as she had the added struggle of learning new subjects in a language that at the time she was not as strong in. This history sparked Lorena’s activism in making sure every student has the ability to feel heard despite any language barriers.
In the fifth grade, Lorena was part of her school’s Future Educators Club, which she credits with not only teaching her leadership skills, what happens behind the scenes, but what it takes to not only be a teacher but how to be impactful for students. In the eighth grade, she was a member of Teen Trendsetters which was part of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy and whose mission is to sharpen the reading skills of early education students. Lorena was assigned a mentee and it was her responsibility to ensure that the student read the material, reflected, and answered the corresponding assignment that progressed in difficulty throughout the year. Lorena took her role as a mentor seriously and always tried to ensure that her lessons were a mix of fun while still ensuring that the student was mastering the material. Lorena’s dedication and teaching style did not go unnoticed as she was not only awarded the Mentor of the Year Award, but also given the opportunity to become the Sponsor Advisor at her old middle school as a ninth grader.
Since the fifth grade, she has taken on numerous leadership roles and is currently the Vice President of her school’s Student Government Association. With this role, she is the voice for peers by speaking on their behalf during district board meetings. In addition, she has raised concerns on important issues like that her school lacks the resources on mental health and concerns on homework workload. Another concern Lorena has that while teachers are essential for student learning, resources for parents, in particular non-English speaking parents, are not often there. Next on Lorena’s list to bring up at the Board meetings are ways to bridge this gap. She notes the seriousness of the problem in how this limits teacher and parent communication. This scenario also requires the student to act as the intermediary. To combat this, Lorena suggests a two-pronged approach having the schools offer curriculum for free English classes for parents and resources and programs to educate teachers on how to navigate these language barriers. These measures would ultimately ensure that the student is not only set up the best way with better communication between parent and teacher but without the extra burden of having to play middle-man.
In addition, Lorena is part of the Children’s Trust Youth Advisory Committee where she got to learn leadership skills but to help plan events on increasing children literacy that fell during COVID-19. Their book drive also features readings with the mayor, an event Lorena is pushing to happen more than once a year.
Lorena will not only graduate high school but will also have her associates this year, while maintaining a 4.0 GPA. She will be majoring in Nursing at the University of Florida, the University of Central Florida, or the University of South Florida.
BRONZE - Dayanara Diaz
Hometown: Seffner, FL
High School: Brandon High School
Hispanic Heritage: Puerto Rican, Cuban, Dominican & Spanish
Dayanara Diaz knows the impact that teachers have in the minds of the young students in their classroom due to her experience. In these formative years of a child’s life, she knows that they need someone to not only shape their futures but also be able to tend to the students who immigrated to this country like she did. Since then, Dayanara has found numerous ways to be a teacher or mentor to those younger than her. As a freshman in high school, knew the career path she wanted to be on and joined her school’s Childhood Education program right away and has stayed in the program all four years. With this program, Dayanara has been an active participant in the preschool program located at her high school by making lesson plans and coming up with activities to keep the little kids engaged. Besides the Childhood Education program, Dayanara is very active in her high schools Florida Future Educators of America program.
Dayanara ensures that once she has mastered something that she makes sure others learn from her as well. As a black-belt in Tae Kwon Do, Dayanara is able to give beginner lessons to the younger students at her academy. What she enjoys most about the lessons is seeing their little faces beam with pride when they have mastered the beginner’s class and get to move up to the next level. Coupled with her own experience, teaching these Tae Kwon Do classes taught Dayanara how to interact with students of different socio economic and cultural backgrounds. When she travels with her competitive team, she volunteers to help coach and referee the matches of those younger than her. This ties into Dayanara’s future goals in that she hopes to increase Latina representation in the classroom.
Besides Tae Kwon Do, Dayanara has many clubs and actives that keep her busy. She is a member of her high school’s Key Club, National Honor Society, and Fellowship of Christian Students. Dayanara is extremely active in her church where she takes photos for their Creative Team as well as volunteers as part of their Youth Ministry. To tap more into her creative side, she has started her own farmer's market stand where she makes and sells her own crafts.
Of Puerto Rican, Dominican, Cuban and Spanish descent, Dayanara plans to study Elementary Education at the University of South Florida, the University of Central Florida, or Hillsborough Community College.
High School: Brandon High School
Hispanic Heritage: Puerto Rican, Cuban, Dominican & Spanish
Dayanara Diaz knows the impact that teachers have in the minds of the young students in their classroom due to her experience. In these formative years of a child’s life, she knows that they need someone to not only shape their futures but also be able to tend to the students who immigrated to this country like she did. Since then, Dayanara has found numerous ways to be a teacher or mentor to those younger than her. As a freshman in high school, knew the career path she wanted to be on and joined her school’s Childhood Education program right away and has stayed in the program all four years. With this program, Dayanara has been an active participant in the preschool program located at her high school by making lesson plans and coming up with activities to keep the little kids engaged. Besides the Childhood Education program, Dayanara is very active in her high schools Florida Future Educators of America program.
Dayanara ensures that once she has mastered something that she makes sure others learn from her as well. As a black-belt in Tae Kwon Do, Dayanara is able to give beginner lessons to the younger students at her academy. What she enjoys most about the lessons is seeing their little faces beam with pride when they have mastered the beginner’s class and get to move up to the next level. Coupled with her own experience, teaching these Tae Kwon Do classes taught Dayanara how to interact with students of different socio economic and cultural backgrounds. When she travels with her competitive team, she volunteers to help coach and referee the matches of those younger than her. This ties into Dayanara’s future goals in that she hopes to increase Latina representation in the classroom.
Besides Tae Kwon Do, Dayanara has many clubs and actives that keep her busy. She is a member of her high school’s Key Club, National Honor Society, and Fellowship of Christian Students. Dayanara is extremely active in her church where she takes photos for their Creative Team as well as volunteers as part of their Youth Ministry. To tap more into her creative side, she has started her own farmer's market stand where she makes and sells her own crafts.
Of Puerto Rican, Dominican, Cuban and Spanish descent, Dayanara plans to study Elementary Education at the University of South Florida, the University of Central Florida, or Hillsborough Community College.
Engineering
Please select a recipient name to read their bio.
GOLD - Alessandra Peña
Hometown: Miami, FL
High School: Gulliver Preparatory
Hispanic Heritage: Cuban
When Alessandra Peña, or as those who are close to her call her Ale, started high school she assumed she would like the engineering track at her high school as it combined two of her middle school interests of math and physics. However, Ale was unprepared for all of the possibilities that engineering would offer as it various areas of focus like biochemical, mechanical, and environmental. She has been a part of Gulliver Preparatory’s robotics competition team for the past four years, and specifically with the mechanical, design and programming sub-teams. Due to Ale’s leadership in her subgroups, and collaboration as team as a whole Ale and her team have been able to win first place in numerous local and regional competitions through their robots.
In Mr. Fayat’s IB Physics HL course he likes to give awards to the students on both academic and non-academic superlatives. Ale was awarded the Pearl Award for the student who has the capabilities to learn from their mistakes and not let them control their attitudes and if they can turn a negative situation into a positive one. This characteristic is rare for anyone, but Mr. Fayat notes that this was consistent with Alee, whether it be a grade or if it took her a bit longer to fully work through the material wouldn’t keep her down but would only motivate her to try harder. This positive attitude was seen outside of the classroom too. When Ale was supposed to take a summer engineering course at MIT but got postponed due to COVID-19, however instead of accepting this was end of her summer plans, Ale looked into other programs. Due to this change, Ale was able to take an online computer engineering course at Harvard. So, while this was not course that Ale was originally planning for her summer, she was able to gain experience in a different form of engineering that she did not have experience with that she would not have considered if it was not for the unforeseen circumstances.
Ale is the President of her school’s Future Society for Women Engineers where she utilizes her Cuban background to connect with these middle school Latinas, especially those who are not yet strong in English. There Ale, is able to expose these students to the possibility of engineering careers in a language in which they are comfortable in so that they can stay engaged and just be familiar face with someone who understands them. Other skills that Ale uses for others benefit was when she combined her robotics and STEM experience, her love for theater and giving back through the Inclusion Theatre Project. Since the sixth grade, she has volunteered and is currently the lead choreographer and stage manager. Most recently, Ale was able to program a performers wheelchair so that he was able to perform on stage without the added struggle of having to manually move himself in the chair. With Ale’s technically skills he was able to solely focus on his singing and acting in which would ultimately be Ale’s friends final show as he succumbed to his long battle with cystic fibrosis shortly after.
With a perfect 4.0 GPA and in the top 10% of her class, Ale will continue her goal to become a mechanical engineer at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard College, or Yale University.
High School: Gulliver Preparatory
Hispanic Heritage: Cuban
When Alessandra Peña, or as those who are close to her call her Ale, started high school she assumed she would like the engineering track at her high school as it combined two of her middle school interests of math and physics. However, Ale was unprepared for all of the possibilities that engineering would offer as it various areas of focus like biochemical, mechanical, and environmental. She has been a part of Gulliver Preparatory’s robotics competition team for the past four years, and specifically with the mechanical, design and programming sub-teams. Due to Ale’s leadership in her subgroups, and collaboration as team as a whole Ale and her team have been able to win first place in numerous local and regional competitions through their robots.
In Mr. Fayat’s IB Physics HL course he likes to give awards to the students on both academic and non-academic superlatives. Ale was awarded the Pearl Award for the student who has the capabilities to learn from their mistakes and not let them control their attitudes and if they can turn a negative situation into a positive one. This characteristic is rare for anyone, but Mr. Fayat notes that this was consistent with Alee, whether it be a grade or if it took her a bit longer to fully work through the material wouldn’t keep her down but would only motivate her to try harder. This positive attitude was seen outside of the classroom too. When Ale was supposed to take a summer engineering course at MIT but got postponed due to COVID-19, however instead of accepting this was end of her summer plans, Ale looked into other programs. Due to this change, Ale was able to take an online computer engineering course at Harvard. So, while this was not course that Ale was originally planning for her summer, she was able to gain experience in a different form of engineering that she did not have experience with that she would not have considered if it was not for the unforeseen circumstances.
Ale is the President of her school’s Future Society for Women Engineers where she utilizes her Cuban background to connect with these middle school Latinas, especially those who are not yet strong in English. There Ale, is able to expose these students to the possibility of engineering careers in a language in which they are comfortable in so that they can stay engaged and just be familiar face with someone who understands them. Other skills that Ale uses for others benefit was when she combined her robotics and STEM experience, her love for theater and giving back through the Inclusion Theatre Project. Since the sixth grade, she has volunteered and is currently the lead choreographer and stage manager. Most recently, Ale was able to program a performers wheelchair so that he was able to perform on stage without the added struggle of having to manually move himself in the chair. With Ale’s technically skills he was able to solely focus on his singing and acting in which would ultimately be Ale’s friends final show as he succumbed to his long battle with cystic fibrosis shortly after.
With a perfect 4.0 GPA and in the top 10% of her class, Ale will continue her goal to become a mechanical engineer at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard College, or Yale University.
SILVER - Sara Kaufman
Hometown: Cooper City, FL
High School: North Broward Preparatory School
Hispanic Heritage: Argentine
Hailing from Cooper City, Florida, this talented Argentine knew that she wanted to be an engineer at the age of nine and she is well on her way to make it a reality. Sara Kaufman has been years ahead of her time in learning to code. In the sixth grade, Sara began teaching herself how to code and progressed to the point that in the eighth grade she was able to compete as part of her school’s science Olympiads competitions in coding. In both middle and high school, Sara’s teammates would turn to her for leadership as she was the captain of both school’s robotics teams where she has competed in all of the FIRST Competitions, MATE ROV tournaments and even a Robot-Drone League.
As a high-school freshman, Sarah was already taking college-level computer science courses. In her other classes, Sara has done numerous projects such as creating bandages that identifies intravenous infiltration and a 3-D printable prosthetic that would only cost the patient $100. This area of study is particularly appealing to her as it combines Sara’s interests of engineering while also ensuring that she is helping those in need. This summer, Sara jumped at the opportunity to shadow at a local biomedical engineering laboratory, cementing her desire to pursue biomedical research. Due to all of the long hours of research and collaboration with students at a local university, Sara was able to present her research on the biomechanics of smooth muscle cells for applications in cardiology along with her undergrad peers at a conference in Washington DC. In addition, Sara has taken on other research and recently began working on tracking human cell remodeling for the use of artificial heart grafts. Besides the already impressive amounts of research on biomedical engineering, Sara has taken numerous IB & AP science and mathematics courses to prepare like IB Design Technology, AP Computer Science A, AP Computer Science Principles, AP Calculus BC, IB Environmental Societies & Systems and IB Biology. In just 2022 alone, Sara has won six awards on her engineering and research prowess to include the Regeneron Biomedical Engineering Special Award, SigmaXi International Forum on Research Excellence, Florida Science Fair Engineering Honorable Mention, Broward County Science Fair Engineering First Place, NCWIT Inspire IT National Honorable Mention and is the NCWIT Inspire IT Regional Winner.
Biomedical engineering innovation is not the only way that Sara has made a difference for those around her. Watching her father lose his battle to colon cancer as a child inspired her to give back to those currently going through chemotherapy. For the past five years through Sara’s nonprofit, Leon’s Roar, Sara and her team will have donated 100 tablets to cancer patients to connect them to the outside world during treatment. After suffering through anxiety herself, Sara wrote a book that has a Hispanic protagonist who finds healthy ways to cope with anxiety. While originally written in English, it has been translated into Spanish and shared with 1,000 schools across Florida, distributed to Hispanic children in emergency immigrant intake centers, therapists offices across the country and even to readers in South America.
Sara will be studying Biomedical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard College, or Boston University.
High School: North Broward Preparatory School
Hispanic Heritage: Argentine
Hailing from Cooper City, Florida, this talented Argentine knew that she wanted to be an engineer at the age of nine and she is well on her way to make it a reality. Sara Kaufman has been years ahead of her time in learning to code. In the sixth grade, Sara began teaching herself how to code and progressed to the point that in the eighth grade she was able to compete as part of her school’s science Olympiads competitions in coding. In both middle and high school, Sara’s teammates would turn to her for leadership as she was the captain of both school’s robotics teams where she has competed in all of the FIRST Competitions, MATE ROV tournaments and even a Robot-Drone League.
As a high-school freshman, Sarah was already taking college-level computer science courses. In her other classes, Sara has done numerous projects such as creating bandages that identifies intravenous infiltration and a 3-D printable prosthetic that would only cost the patient $100. This area of study is particularly appealing to her as it combines Sara’s interests of engineering while also ensuring that she is helping those in need. This summer, Sara jumped at the opportunity to shadow at a local biomedical engineering laboratory, cementing her desire to pursue biomedical research. Due to all of the long hours of research and collaboration with students at a local university, Sara was able to present her research on the biomechanics of smooth muscle cells for applications in cardiology along with her undergrad peers at a conference in Washington DC. In addition, Sara has taken on other research and recently began working on tracking human cell remodeling for the use of artificial heart grafts. Besides the already impressive amounts of research on biomedical engineering, Sara has taken numerous IB & AP science and mathematics courses to prepare like IB Design Technology, AP Computer Science A, AP Computer Science Principles, AP Calculus BC, IB Environmental Societies & Systems and IB Biology. In just 2022 alone, Sara has won six awards on her engineering and research prowess to include the Regeneron Biomedical Engineering Special Award, SigmaXi International Forum on Research Excellence, Florida Science Fair Engineering Honorable Mention, Broward County Science Fair Engineering First Place, NCWIT Inspire IT National Honorable Mention and is the NCWIT Inspire IT Regional Winner.
Biomedical engineering innovation is not the only way that Sara has made a difference for those around her. Watching her father lose his battle to colon cancer as a child inspired her to give back to those currently going through chemotherapy. For the past five years through Sara’s nonprofit, Leon’s Roar, Sara and her team will have donated 100 tablets to cancer patients to connect them to the outside world during treatment. After suffering through anxiety herself, Sara wrote a book that has a Hispanic protagonist who finds healthy ways to cope with anxiety. While originally written in English, it has been translated into Spanish and shared with 1,000 schools across Florida, distributed to Hispanic children in emergency immigrant intake centers, therapists offices across the country and even to readers in South America.
Sara will be studying Biomedical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard College, or Boston University.
BRONZE - Daniel Marconi
Hometown: Atlanta, GA
High School: Druid Hills High School
Hispanic Heritage: Colombian
Daniel Marconi’s calls of “Maquina, maquina” and his love for planes, cars and factories were always the topics of the books that Daniel Marconi would pull for his parents to read to him. Since then, Daniels appreciation for anything encompassing engineering has only grown. Once in high school, Daniel was able to take rigorous courses that aligned with his interest at both the IB and AP level. By the time he graduates, Daniel will have two years of IB Physics 2, AP Calculus AB, IB Math Analytics and Approaches and AP Chemistry under his belt. Besides just a solid engineering foundation through coursework, Daniel has made sure to get numerous hands-on experiences through his current engineering internship that have taken place for the past two summers at Johnson Research and Development battery laboratory. There his days are filled with fixing and assembling the complex machines they utilized. This could include tasks such as ensuring that the structural support was up to par or finding out why the vacuum seal has failed. Either way, Daniel could do it all. His work there impressed his boss, who saw Daniel taking on additional roles with the other scientists there by doing things like mixing and formulating the batteries, which surprised his boss due to the heavy chemistry, materials science, and circulatory nature it entailed. Besides his aptitude for the job, Daniel showed maturity, diligence in doing excellent work, and was able to think critically and work independently. Through the work at Johnson’s, a coworker connected him to a local robotics team that was looking for a mentor in the battery-making component, and Daniel was the right man for the job. Inspired by the members enthusiasm and commitment to the club despite not having as many resources at their disposal as some of the other clubs has motivated Daniel to be a resource and motivator for the club as for as long as they will allow.
Daniel’s dedication to community service can be seen in his long-term commitment to the Boy Scouts where he has earned the prestigious rank of Eagle Scout. To earn this badge, Daniel wanted to play to his strengths and give to a cause he cares about so he constructed a pergola the Clifton Sanctuary Ministries, which is a transition house for men who have been disenfranchised by the community. Daniel was touched by the stories of the men and was proud to help address the issue of polarization of communities. The giving back to those who need a fresh start, or a helping hand is not new to Daniel, as some of his earliest memories were of him and his family at the Sandwich Ministry at his church which would make meals for the unhoused population in Downtown Atlanta. The commitment to servitude blessed Daniel with the mindset for always being thankful for what he does have.
With future goals as a mechanical engineer and a perfect 4.0 GPA, Daniel will be continuing his engineering coursework at Auburn University, the Georgia Institute of Technology, or the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
High School: Druid Hills High School
Hispanic Heritage: Colombian
Daniel Marconi’s calls of “Maquina, maquina” and his love for planes, cars and factories were always the topics of the books that Daniel Marconi would pull for his parents to read to him. Since then, Daniels appreciation for anything encompassing engineering has only grown. Once in high school, Daniel was able to take rigorous courses that aligned with his interest at both the IB and AP level. By the time he graduates, Daniel will have two years of IB Physics 2, AP Calculus AB, IB Math Analytics and Approaches and AP Chemistry under his belt. Besides just a solid engineering foundation through coursework, Daniel has made sure to get numerous hands-on experiences through his current engineering internship that have taken place for the past two summers at Johnson Research and Development battery laboratory. There his days are filled with fixing and assembling the complex machines they utilized. This could include tasks such as ensuring that the structural support was up to par or finding out why the vacuum seal has failed. Either way, Daniel could do it all. His work there impressed his boss, who saw Daniel taking on additional roles with the other scientists there by doing things like mixing and formulating the batteries, which surprised his boss due to the heavy chemistry, materials science, and circulatory nature it entailed. Besides his aptitude for the job, Daniel showed maturity, diligence in doing excellent work, and was able to think critically and work independently. Through the work at Johnson’s, a coworker connected him to a local robotics team that was looking for a mentor in the battery-making component, and Daniel was the right man for the job. Inspired by the members enthusiasm and commitment to the club despite not having as many resources at their disposal as some of the other clubs has motivated Daniel to be a resource and motivator for the club as for as long as they will allow.
Daniel’s dedication to community service can be seen in his long-term commitment to the Boy Scouts where he has earned the prestigious rank of Eagle Scout. To earn this badge, Daniel wanted to play to his strengths and give to a cause he cares about so he constructed a pergola the Clifton Sanctuary Ministries, which is a transition house for men who have been disenfranchised by the community. Daniel was touched by the stories of the men and was proud to help address the issue of polarization of communities. The giving back to those who need a fresh start, or a helping hand is not new to Daniel, as some of his earliest memories were of him and his family at the Sandwich Ministry at his church which would make meals for the unhoused population in Downtown Atlanta. The commitment to servitude blessed Daniel with the mindset for always being thankful for what he does have.
With future goals as a mechanical engineer and a perfect 4.0 GPA, Daniel will be continuing his engineering coursework at Auburn University, the Georgia Institute of Technology, or the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Healthcare & Science
Please select a recipient name to read their bio.
GOLD - Alejandra Abramson
Hometown: Weston, FL
High School: American Heritage School - Broward Campus
Hispanic Heritage: Colombian
Alejandra Abramson’s innovative thinking came from necessity, as her dad’s diabetes would have him riddled with bruises. To combat this, Alejandra came up with the Booboo Gone, a band-aid with Alka-Seltzer inside which when added with water the band-aid would fizz and magically make her dad’s bruises disappear. Since then, Alejandra has been well on her way to achieve her immunology goals. In the sixth grade, she was selected to join her school’s Science Research Department. With this foundation, once in high school, Alejandra was able to jump right into working with genetic modification for autoimmune diseases research. During her freshman and sophomore years, Alejandra patiently waited for opportunities to open up at university labs that had been closed for COVID-19. Finally, during her junior year, her dream of being able to do research at the Materials and Mechanical Engineering lab at Florida International University came to fruition under the leadership of her mentor Dr. Cheng-Yu Lai and an undergraduate student. This was where Alejandra developed a functional nanoparticle capable of delivering targeted treatment to HeLa cells (cervical cancer cells). The importance of Alejandra’s research for cancer treatment breakthrough awarded her the Yale Science and Engineering Award, second place in the University of Florida’s Junior Science and Humanities Symposium and the Florida Junior Academy of Science competition, and first place in Barry University’s Research Symposium. If that were not impressive enough, Alejandra has already published four research papers.
Humans are not the only group that this self-proclaimed “bleeding heart” cares about. Alejandra is extremely active in her American Heritage High school’s Health Occupational Students of America organization which she credits with not only giving her an extensive background on topics like Materials Bioengineering but also Veterinary Science. In the latter category she has competed internationally and is ranked 11th in the world. At home, caring for animals is what Alejandra loves to do, whether it is waking up multiple times a night to feed multiples stray kittens that she found or her volunteer work at Good Karma Pet Rescue, an organization that Alejandra has been volunteering for since the fifth grade. Due to this work, Alejandra was nominated for a service mission in Costa Rica where she helped build and manage temporary animal clinics. The first half of this month-long mission trip was helping spay and neuter dogs and cats of the area to help curb the current unsustainable birth rate, while the second half had Alejandra helping take care of over 1,000 animals in the recovery and care unit.
To say that Alejandra has a lot on her plate is an understatement. Despite grieving the loss of her father only a couple of years ago, Alejandra has maintained a 4.0 GPA with an AP-packed schedule. She is the president of her school's Sigma Xi Scientific Research Honor Society chapter. Besides teaching classes for the younger Science Olympiad students, Alejandra serves as the director of community outreach and the vice president of competition for HOSA. Lastly, this proud Colombiana makes sure the door doesn't close behind her, teaching K-12 foundational mathematics through her work at Mathnasium and training up to 30 of the more novice students at her school in research techniques. This future immunologist will attend the University of Michigan to study Immunology and Infectious Disease Microbiology on a full-ride scholarship.
High School: American Heritage School - Broward Campus
Hispanic Heritage: Colombian
Alejandra Abramson’s innovative thinking came from necessity, as her dad’s diabetes would have him riddled with bruises. To combat this, Alejandra came up with the Booboo Gone, a band-aid with Alka-Seltzer inside which when added with water the band-aid would fizz and magically make her dad’s bruises disappear. Since then, Alejandra has been well on her way to achieve her immunology goals. In the sixth grade, she was selected to join her school’s Science Research Department. With this foundation, once in high school, Alejandra was able to jump right into working with genetic modification for autoimmune diseases research. During her freshman and sophomore years, Alejandra patiently waited for opportunities to open up at university labs that had been closed for COVID-19. Finally, during her junior year, her dream of being able to do research at the Materials and Mechanical Engineering lab at Florida International University came to fruition under the leadership of her mentor Dr. Cheng-Yu Lai and an undergraduate student. This was where Alejandra developed a functional nanoparticle capable of delivering targeted treatment to HeLa cells (cervical cancer cells). The importance of Alejandra’s research for cancer treatment breakthrough awarded her the Yale Science and Engineering Award, second place in the University of Florida’s Junior Science and Humanities Symposium and the Florida Junior Academy of Science competition, and first place in Barry University’s Research Symposium. If that were not impressive enough, Alejandra has already published four research papers.
Humans are not the only group that this self-proclaimed “bleeding heart” cares about. Alejandra is extremely active in her American Heritage High school’s Health Occupational Students of America organization which she credits with not only giving her an extensive background on topics like Materials Bioengineering but also Veterinary Science. In the latter category she has competed internationally and is ranked 11th in the world. At home, caring for animals is what Alejandra loves to do, whether it is waking up multiple times a night to feed multiples stray kittens that she found or her volunteer work at Good Karma Pet Rescue, an organization that Alejandra has been volunteering for since the fifth grade. Due to this work, Alejandra was nominated for a service mission in Costa Rica where she helped build and manage temporary animal clinics. The first half of this month-long mission trip was helping spay and neuter dogs and cats of the area to help curb the current unsustainable birth rate, while the second half had Alejandra helping take care of over 1,000 animals in the recovery and care unit.
To say that Alejandra has a lot on her plate is an understatement. Despite grieving the loss of her father only a couple of years ago, Alejandra has maintained a 4.0 GPA with an AP-packed schedule. She is the president of her school's Sigma Xi Scientific Research Honor Society chapter. Besides teaching classes for the younger Science Olympiad students, Alejandra serves as the director of community outreach and the vice president of competition for HOSA. Lastly, this proud Colombiana makes sure the door doesn't close behind her, teaching K-12 foundational mathematics through her work at Mathnasium and training up to 30 of the more novice students at her school in research techniques. This future immunologist will attend the University of Michigan to study Immunology and Infectious Disease Microbiology on a full-ride scholarship.
SILVER - Valentina Allegra
Hometown: Coral Gables, FL
High School: Riviera Preparatory School
Hispanic Heritage: Dominican
Valentina Allegra’s motivation and dedication to the field of neuroscience has not gone unnoticed. Dr. Coleen Atkins, who works in a traumatic brain injury and Alzheimer’s research group, does not normally take high school students for research, as the training required to master is above what normal high school students can adhere to, but Valentina is no ordinary high school student. While she started with administrative tasks, Valentina quickly impressed Dr. Atkins with how diligent and competent she was with the work given. In fact, she has never seen a high school intern be as productive and bright as Valentina. Valentina was up for the task quickly acclimating to using non-biased stereotypical techniques to measure the hippocampal and cortical atrophy after traumatic brain injury in an Alzheimer’s disease mouse model. This means that she was able to analyze the behavior of mice and rats after being exposed to a possible treatment option. So, while after further tests and article reviews found that Valentina’s work would not be suitable to be applied to humans which was disappointing, she was able to see a project through until completion and was even able to present her findings to her undergraduate and graduate peers. Even though Valentina is younger than her cohort, Dr. Atkins notes that Valentina is in the top four of her current students.
While studying neuroscience, whether it be through her AP Course and Dual Enrollment courses such as the Psychology of Personal Effectiveness and Human Behavior in Criminal Justice, or through her research gaining this knowledge is important to Valentina, as she also wants to be more familiar with the clinical side and in hospital operations. To get this experience, this proactive Dominican shadowed neurologists in an outpatient clinic and in a hospital as an administrative assistant doing behind the scenes prep tasks like calling patients, creating UTI kits, and ensuring patient files are organized. However, for Valentina, nothing can compare to the joy of being able to see the faces of those she is helping such as when she provides music therapy to developmentally disabled adolescents and young adults. Being able to interact with them through music is a nice contrast from her laboratory work, which does not offer her the chance to meet her patients face to face.
Rounding out Valentina’s science background are numerous AP Science courses to include Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Science, and Honors Biomedical Innovations. With all this experience, it is no surprise that Valentina has won numerous awards for her success. In 2021, she won Second Place in the Behavioral Science HOSA, and Third Place in the Forensic Science HOSA in 2022.
Besides healthcare, Valentina is a staunch advocate for criminal justice reform and has been the social media manager for Justice Education Project for three years. At this non-profit, she not only makes Instagram posts, but has also led a webinar with Florida State Senator Jason Pizzao on criminal justice reform, organized book signings and conferences on the intersectionality of artificial intelligence and criminal justice.
Valentina will attend Boston University, Brown University, or the University of Pennsylvania to study Neuroscience.
High School: Riviera Preparatory School
Hispanic Heritage: Dominican
Valentina Allegra’s motivation and dedication to the field of neuroscience has not gone unnoticed. Dr. Coleen Atkins, who works in a traumatic brain injury and Alzheimer’s research group, does not normally take high school students for research, as the training required to master is above what normal high school students can adhere to, but Valentina is no ordinary high school student. While she started with administrative tasks, Valentina quickly impressed Dr. Atkins with how diligent and competent she was with the work given. In fact, she has never seen a high school intern be as productive and bright as Valentina. Valentina was up for the task quickly acclimating to using non-biased stereotypical techniques to measure the hippocampal and cortical atrophy after traumatic brain injury in an Alzheimer’s disease mouse model. This means that she was able to analyze the behavior of mice and rats after being exposed to a possible treatment option. So, while after further tests and article reviews found that Valentina’s work would not be suitable to be applied to humans which was disappointing, she was able to see a project through until completion and was even able to present her findings to her undergraduate and graduate peers. Even though Valentina is younger than her cohort, Dr. Atkins notes that Valentina is in the top four of her current students.
While studying neuroscience, whether it be through her AP Course and Dual Enrollment courses such as the Psychology of Personal Effectiveness and Human Behavior in Criminal Justice, or through her research gaining this knowledge is important to Valentina, as she also wants to be more familiar with the clinical side and in hospital operations. To get this experience, this proactive Dominican shadowed neurologists in an outpatient clinic and in a hospital as an administrative assistant doing behind the scenes prep tasks like calling patients, creating UTI kits, and ensuring patient files are organized. However, for Valentina, nothing can compare to the joy of being able to see the faces of those she is helping such as when she provides music therapy to developmentally disabled adolescents and young adults. Being able to interact with them through music is a nice contrast from her laboratory work, which does not offer her the chance to meet her patients face to face.
Rounding out Valentina’s science background are numerous AP Science courses to include Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Science, and Honors Biomedical Innovations. With all this experience, it is no surprise that Valentina has won numerous awards for her success. In 2021, she won Second Place in the Behavioral Science HOSA, and Third Place in the Forensic Science HOSA in 2022.
Besides healthcare, Valentina is a staunch advocate for criminal justice reform and has been the social media manager for Justice Education Project for three years. At this non-profit, she not only makes Instagram posts, but has also led a webinar with Florida State Senator Jason Pizzao on criminal justice reform, organized book signings and conferences on the intersectionality of artificial intelligence and criminal justice.
Valentina will attend Boston University, Brown University, or the University of Pennsylvania to study Neuroscience.
BRONZE - Michelle Rodriguez
Hometown: Wesley Chapel, FL
High School: Land O' Lakes High School
Hispanic Heritage: Cuban
Doing good deeds is admirable in any situation, but it’s even more so when these actions are done when you believe that no one is watching. The counselor of Land O’ Lakes High School highlights Michelle Rodriguez’s kindness as one of her best attributes. In just one example, she highlights that as a counselor who would have lunch monitor duty, she would often have to stick around after the lunch hour and clean up all the mess the students didn’t throw away. When Michelle noticed what her classmates were doing, she began to quietly help clean up the mess as well. This deed was done without being asked nor seeking praise. Not only that, but as a testament to how Michelle’s peers view her, is that the counselors started noticing that after Michelle began helping with the clean-up other students soon began to follow her lead. Doing something to make someone else’s day better or easier are reasons that we are confident Michelle is perfect to be a future doctor.
Going into the healthcare field requires a lot of sacrifice and this profession demands a lot for those who go down this path, and Michelle is up for the task. During her time volunteering at a cardiologist office, Michelle learned the importance of not only being able to care for others but the importance of bedside manner and optimism but making the patient comfortable. A good doctor is not just one that can treat a patient’s ailment but can earn their trust and make a patient's stressful and scary experience less so even when having to deliver bad news. This attitude Michelle carried with her. Whether it be at the cardiologist office or the animal shelter where she has been volunteering, she always makes sure to give her time and attention to those who need it the most. The sacrifices of time and energy for their dream and profession is already something that Michelle is familiar with as she is used to preparing with her team for the Florida State HOSA competition in Orlando. Running off of four hours of sleep, having several meetings a week for the past few months, late nights and missed weekends were all coming down to this. In the end, it was worth it as Michelle and her team took first place in the Public Health Competition for their presentation on dental hygiene. As they won their category at the state level, Michelle and her team even got to compete at the international level. Besides the months of research experience through HOSA, Michelle has her IB diploma and has her schedule filled with IB, AP, in the science and math arena. One of these math courses being so rigorous and notoriously challenging, that only ten seniors have opted to take it. The challenge of IB Higher Level Math: Analysis and Approached did not deter Michelle, as she took the class and aced it maintaining her current perfect 4.0 GPA.
Besides leading by a quiet example, Michelle holds numerous leadership positions in the clubs, National Honor Society and in the IB Student Steering Committee, a group made to bring students together while navigating what is best for the majority of the students overall.
This talented Cubana will be staying local and attending the University of Florida, the University of South Florida, or the University of Miami to study Biology.
High School: Land O' Lakes High School
Hispanic Heritage: Cuban
Doing good deeds is admirable in any situation, but it’s even more so when these actions are done when you believe that no one is watching. The counselor of Land O’ Lakes High School highlights Michelle Rodriguez’s kindness as one of her best attributes. In just one example, she highlights that as a counselor who would have lunch monitor duty, she would often have to stick around after the lunch hour and clean up all the mess the students didn’t throw away. When Michelle noticed what her classmates were doing, she began to quietly help clean up the mess as well. This deed was done without being asked nor seeking praise. Not only that, but as a testament to how Michelle’s peers view her, is that the counselors started noticing that after Michelle began helping with the clean-up other students soon began to follow her lead. Doing something to make someone else’s day better or easier are reasons that we are confident Michelle is perfect to be a future doctor.
Going into the healthcare field requires a lot of sacrifice and this profession demands a lot for those who go down this path, and Michelle is up for the task. During her time volunteering at a cardiologist office, Michelle learned the importance of not only being able to care for others but the importance of bedside manner and optimism but making the patient comfortable. A good doctor is not just one that can treat a patient’s ailment but can earn their trust and make a patient's stressful and scary experience less so even when having to deliver bad news. This attitude Michelle carried with her. Whether it be at the cardiologist office or the animal shelter where she has been volunteering, she always makes sure to give her time and attention to those who need it the most. The sacrifices of time and energy for their dream and profession is already something that Michelle is familiar with as she is used to preparing with her team for the Florida State HOSA competition in Orlando. Running off of four hours of sleep, having several meetings a week for the past few months, late nights and missed weekends were all coming down to this. In the end, it was worth it as Michelle and her team took first place in the Public Health Competition for their presentation on dental hygiene. As they won their category at the state level, Michelle and her team even got to compete at the international level. Besides the months of research experience through HOSA, Michelle has her IB diploma and has her schedule filled with IB, AP, in the science and math arena. One of these math courses being so rigorous and notoriously challenging, that only ten seniors have opted to take it. The challenge of IB Higher Level Math: Analysis and Approached did not deter Michelle, as she took the class and aced it maintaining her current perfect 4.0 GPA.
Besides leading by a quiet example, Michelle holds numerous leadership positions in the clubs, National Honor Society and in the IB Student Steering Committee, a group made to bring students together while navigating what is best for the majority of the students overall.
This talented Cubana will be staying local and attending the University of Florida, the University of South Florida, or the University of Miami to study Biology.
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GOLD - Ricardo Fernandes Garcia
Hometown: Orlando, FL
High School: Orlando Science High School
Hispanic Heritage: Venezuelan, Colombian & Portuguese
Venezuela has a rich culture full of innovative artistic minds like Carlos Cruz-Diez, Jesus Rafeal Soto, and Pedro Leon Zapata all who tell a story and highlight their culture through their installations, sculptures, and murals. Fellow Venezuelan artist Ricardo Fernandes Garcia also uses his art to tell his story, depict an emotion, and highlight his culture. This note is important to Ricardo, as it’s a way to cement his culture into something that can live forever while also highlighting diverse cultures and bridging communities.
Jessica Garrity the AP Art teacher at Orlando Science High School, knows a thing or two about talented artists as she has taught not only this AP course for the past three years but also taught college-level students confidently states that Ricardo is the “most extraordinary student” that she’s come across. He has taken numerous courses with her such as AP 2D Art & Design, and AP Drawing, where he scored a perfect “5” on both test a feat which only 10% and 14% of test takers can achieve. He is currently in AP 3D Art & Design and is dong well so far. Besides excelling at the AP level, Ricardo is a two times Scholastic Art & Writing Awards Silver Key Winner and two-time honorable mention winner and won First Place in the Turkish Olympiad in the Short Movie Category
Art and other humanities are often underfunded in schools, and this becomes particularly challenging at a STEM school like Ricardo’s. In order to help promote a culture of art at this school that will exist after he graduates, Ricardo has been quintessential in forming his school’s Photography Club and National Art Honor Society. In the later, Ricardo was voted Vice President his junior year but this year was selected to be president. A role that he takes very seriously as he strives to make not only the club better but the school as a whole as well. He has taken it upon himself to create PowerPoints before each weekly meeting that includes notable current events where the club is assisting and other goals. During the meetings he not only spearheads the committees for activations like school decorations and events but also fundraisers, as the art department is currently not funded. On the personal level, Ricardo is always encouraging the other members to use their work to convey their emotions and view their craft as an extension of their voice. He believes in their talent, often letting the members know about compiling their own portfolios and submitting them for competitions such as the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. For the younger peers, Ricardo started volunteering at the non-profit Career Aid for Young Immigrants and Refugees. As a teacher for fifteen elementary school students, for the end of year project, Ricardo assisted as they wrote and illustrated their own short stories, which were published as CAFYIR’s Big Book of Stories on Amazon. Since the return to in-person learning, Ricardo has been essential in the traveling in-person workshops in schools where they play educational games and delve into more serious topics such as career planning.
To prepare for his future career in architecture, Ricardo will be furthering his education at the University of Florida, the University of Central Florida, or Harvard College.
High School: Orlando Science High School
Hispanic Heritage: Venezuelan, Colombian & Portuguese
Venezuela has a rich culture full of innovative artistic minds like Carlos Cruz-Diez, Jesus Rafeal Soto, and Pedro Leon Zapata all who tell a story and highlight their culture through their installations, sculptures, and murals. Fellow Venezuelan artist Ricardo Fernandes Garcia also uses his art to tell his story, depict an emotion, and highlight his culture. This note is important to Ricardo, as it’s a way to cement his culture into something that can live forever while also highlighting diverse cultures and bridging communities.
Jessica Garrity the AP Art teacher at Orlando Science High School, knows a thing or two about talented artists as she has taught not only this AP course for the past three years but also taught college-level students confidently states that Ricardo is the “most extraordinary student” that she’s come across. He has taken numerous courses with her such as AP 2D Art & Design, and AP Drawing, where he scored a perfect “5” on both test a feat which only 10% and 14% of test takers can achieve. He is currently in AP 3D Art & Design and is dong well so far. Besides excelling at the AP level, Ricardo is a two times Scholastic Art & Writing Awards Silver Key Winner and two-time honorable mention winner and won First Place in the Turkish Olympiad in the Short Movie Category
Art and other humanities are often underfunded in schools, and this becomes particularly challenging at a STEM school like Ricardo’s. In order to help promote a culture of art at this school that will exist after he graduates, Ricardo has been quintessential in forming his school’s Photography Club and National Art Honor Society. In the later, Ricardo was voted Vice President his junior year but this year was selected to be president. A role that he takes very seriously as he strives to make not only the club better but the school as a whole as well. He has taken it upon himself to create PowerPoints before each weekly meeting that includes notable current events where the club is assisting and other goals. During the meetings he not only spearheads the committees for activations like school decorations and events but also fundraisers, as the art department is currently not funded. On the personal level, Ricardo is always encouraging the other members to use their work to convey their emotions and view their craft as an extension of their voice. He believes in their talent, often letting the members know about compiling their own portfolios and submitting them for competitions such as the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. For the younger peers, Ricardo started volunteering at the non-profit Career Aid for Young Immigrants and Refugees. As a teacher for fifteen elementary school students, for the end of year project, Ricardo assisted as they wrote and illustrated their own short stories, which were published as CAFYIR’s Big Book of Stories on Amazon. Since the return to in-person learning, Ricardo has been essential in the traveling in-person workshops in schools where they play educational games and delve into more serious topics such as career planning.
To prepare for his future career in architecture, Ricardo will be furthering his education at the University of Florida, the University of Central Florida, or Harvard College.
SILVER - Marymar Coca
Hometown: Miami, FL
High School: Miami Arts Studio 6-12 @ Zelda Glazer
Hispanic Heritage: Cuban
Marymar Coca attributes her love of dancing not only due to her Cuban roots and heritage but by her mother playing classical music to her when she was still in her mother’s belly. Even as a toddler, Marymar has always been captivated by dance, if the television was on cartoons she would cry as the loud sounds and visuals would distress her; however, one day Swans Lake Ballet was on and little Marymar sat so still and was entranced by the performance in front of her. Since that day, every Wednesday when a ballet was on, she would watch and move with the ballerinas on her screen.
Growing up in Cuba, dancing “les viene en la sangre”, whether it be the guaguanco, salsa, merengue, mozambique as it is common there that even those who have not been taught that style of dance just know how to move their feet and body once the music starts playing. For Marymar, her formal dance training began when she was just four years old at the Lizt Alfonso Dance Cuba studio where she mastered ballet and the flamenco. Since moving to the United States continuing to dance is a lifeline that Marymar feels to her home and roots in Cuba. This connection is so deep, that in 2020 Marymar made the difficult decision to leave the medical-based magnet school that she had tested into for the Musical Theater Magnet art school that she currently attends. During her sophomore year, the school was selected to be the first high school to ever perform the musical, On Your Feet, which shows the story of the life and rise to fame of Gloria and Emilio Estefan and Marymar was cast as one of the featured dancers. She perfected her salsa all summer long before her junior year to prepare and once school began, would practice five hours a day. What was supposed to be a sold out two-night show only was extended to be performed at Sraz Center for the Performing Arts in March where the talented performers got two standing ovations. Due to popular demand, in the spring, her high school was asked to put the show again and was sold out for all four shows. The highlight for Marymar was on the last night the real Gloria and Emilio Estefan showed up to watch.
At the Inspire Dance Company, Marymar trains for hours Monday-Saturday in Jazz, Contemporary, Hip Hop and Ballet. Despite the long hours practicing and rehearsing, Marymar has full schedule with other priorities. She has a part-time job working retail to afford her dance studio and has over 700 hours of community service. Her service hours coming from numerous sources such as donating goods for We Care Chemo Kits, making motivational posters, and a summer at dance studios where she was in charge of the 3-6 year old’s dance lessons. At school, she has a 4.0 GPA with numerous AP courses and is active in numerous clubs such as Marine Environmental Club, Mental Health Club, MAS Respect Club and MAS Awareness. She is also the President for the Health Information Project, and inducted into three honor societies and on the Musical Theatre Magnet Class Board.
In the top 10% of her class, Marymar will attend Chapman University, Pace University, or Boston Conservatory at Berklee to study Dance.
High School: Miami Arts Studio 6-12 @ Zelda Glazer
Hispanic Heritage: Cuban
Marymar Coca attributes her love of dancing not only due to her Cuban roots and heritage but by her mother playing classical music to her when she was still in her mother’s belly. Even as a toddler, Marymar has always been captivated by dance, if the television was on cartoons she would cry as the loud sounds and visuals would distress her; however, one day Swans Lake Ballet was on and little Marymar sat so still and was entranced by the performance in front of her. Since that day, every Wednesday when a ballet was on, she would watch and move with the ballerinas on her screen.
Growing up in Cuba, dancing “les viene en la sangre”, whether it be the guaguanco, salsa, merengue, mozambique as it is common there that even those who have not been taught that style of dance just know how to move their feet and body once the music starts playing. For Marymar, her formal dance training began when she was just four years old at the Lizt Alfonso Dance Cuba studio where she mastered ballet and the flamenco. Since moving to the United States continuing to dance is a lifeline that Marymar feels to her home and roots in Cuba. This connection is so deep, that in 2020 Marymar made the difficult decision to leave the medical-based magnet school that she had tested into for the Musical Theater Magnet art school that she currently attends. During her sophomore year, the school was selected to be the first high school to ever perform the musical, On Your Feet, which shows the story of the life and rise to fame of Gloria and Emilio Estefan and Marymar was cast as one of the featured dancers. She perfected her salsa all summer long before her junior year to prepare and once school began, would practice five hours a day. What was supposed to be a sold out two-night show only was extended to be performed at Sraz Center for the Performing Arts in March where the talented performers got two standing ovations. Due to popular demand, in the spring, her high school was asked to put the show again and was sold out for all four shows. The highlight for Marymar was on the last night the real Gloria and Emilio Estefan showed up to watch.
At the Inspire Dance Company, Marymar trains for hours Monday-Saturday in Jazz, Contemporary, Hip Hop and Ballet. Despite the long hours practicing and rehearsing, Marymar has full schedule with other priorities. She has a part-time job working retail to afford her dance studio and has over 700 hours of community service. Her service hours coming from numerous sources such as donating goods for We Care Chemo Kits, making motivational posters, and a summer at dance studios where she was in charge of the 3-6 year old’s dance lessons. At school, she has a 4.0 GPA with numerous AP courses and is active in numerous clubs such as Marine Environmental Club, Mental Health Club, MAS Respect Club and MAS Awareness. She is also the President for the Health Information Project, and inducted into three honor societies and on the Musical Theatre Magnet Class Board.
In the top 10% of her class, Marymar will attend Chapman University, Pace University, or Boston Conservatory at Berklee to study Dance.
BRONZE - Jose Solorzano
Hometown: Palmetto Bay, FL
High School: Coral Reef Senior High School
Hispanic Heritage: Nicaraguan
While prideful of the contributions of Latinos to music, Jose Solorzano often sees that they are often antiquated with genres such as reggaeton and not with his passion of classical music. As an avid musician in many different avenues, whether it be piano either solo or ensemble, percussionists, French horn, Jose does it all. In his first love of the piano, Jose has been recognized with the Superior Piano Solo- Florida State Solo and Ensemble of both 2021 and 2022. Being able to play so many instruments has allowed him the opportunity to perform at Coral Reef Senior High School’s Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Marching Band, and their Symphony Orchestra. This resume makes Jose one of the most active members of the Visual and Performing Arts Academy, which besides music also includes the choral, drama, dance and art students. Due to his versatility, Jose has been able to play for each of the performing stands; concerts for band and orchestra, and productions for chorus, drama and dance. In addition, Jose is the Tri-M Music Honors Society Activities Officer.
Jose has found ways to incorporate his love for music in the ways that he gives back to his community. So far, he has amassed over 1,000 community service hours, which is no small feat. These hours came in a multitude of ways such as events where he is in the pit orchestras, community shows, recruitment events, and district and state level assessments. Besides events where Jose gives back by physically playing music, he also does so as the Public Relations Coordinator for the Pinecrest City Music Project. This minor-run organization is made up of about twenty dedicated students who aim to bring after-school music programming to local elementary and middle schools as well as host their annual ArtsFest. In his role Jose was the sole liaison between the organization and the venue, Pinecrest Gardens. The event had over 1,000 attendees and featured numerous concerts and jazz ensembles, one was even a string ensemble from legally blind students. Inclusivity is important to Jose so he was thrilled to see more Latinos and LGBTQ+ play such as huge part of the event that not only featured and allowed for disabled musicians to play but had sensory art exhibits for disabled youth specifically.
Science has been a huge interest for Jose, and he has made sure to include advanced courses into his schedule. He has taken both of the academically challenging AP environmental science and AP biology, active in several clubs including the Science National Honors Society and the Fairchild Challenge. Mastering those topics, Jose has also had the opportunity to have real lab experience and has been able to assist with inquiry-based laboratory experiments. Jose’s inquisitive mind and his ability to not only comprehend but analyze and assimilate the various concepts in the classroom and lab have impressed his AP teachers. So far Jose has accumulated enough AP credits to be awarded the AP Scholar with Distinction, and awarded the National Hispanic Recognition program, and for his community service efforts the Tulane University Book Award.
Next year Jose will study Marine Science and Oceanography at the University of Miami, the University of Florida, or Florida International University.
High School: Coral Reef Senior High School
Hispanic Heritage: Nicaraguan
While prideful of the contributions of Latinos to music, Jose Solorzano often sees that they are often antiquated with genres such as reggaeton and not with his passion of classical music. As an avid musician in many different avenues, whether it be piano either solo or ensemble, percussionists, French horn, Jose does it all. In his first love of the piano, Jose has been recognized with the Superior Piano Solo- Florida State Solo and Ensemble of both 2021 and 2022. Being able to play so many instruments has allowed him the opportunity to perform at Coral Reef Senior High School’s Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Marching Band, and their Symphony Orchestra. This resume makes Jose one of the most active members of the Visual and Performing Arts Academy, which besides music also includes the choral, drama, dance and art students. Due to his versatility, Jose has been able to play for each of the performing stands; concerts for band and orchestra, and productions for chorus, drama and dance. In addition, Jose is the Tri-M Music Honors Society Activities Officer.
Jose has found ways to incorporate his love for music in the ways that he gives back to his community. So far, he has amassed over 1,000 community service hours, which is no small feat. These hours came in a multitude of ways such as events where he is in the pit orchestras, community shows, recruitment events, and district and state level assessments. Besides events where Jose gives back by physically playing music, he also does so as the Public Relations Coordinator for the Pinecrest City Music Project. This minor-run organization is made up of about twenty dedicated students who aim to bring after-school music programming to local elementary and middle schools as well as host their annual ArtsFest. In his role Jose was the sole liaison between the organization and the venue, Pinecrest Gardens. The event had over 1,000 attendees and featured numerous concerts and jazz ensembles, one was even a string ensemble from legally blind students. Inclusivity is important to Jose so he was thrilled to see more Latinos and LGBTQ+ play such as huge part of the event that not only featured and allowed for disabled musicians to play but had sensory art exhibits for disabled youth specifically.
Science has been a huge interest for Jose, and he has made sure to include advanced courses into his schedule. He has taken both of the academically challenging AP environmental science and AP biology, active in several clubs including the Science National Honors Society and the Fairchild Challenge. Mastering those topics, Jose has also had the opportunity to have real lab experience and has been able to assist with inquiry-based laboratory experiments. Jose’s inquisitive mind and his ability to not only comprehend but analyze and assimilate the various concepts in the classroom and lab have impressed his AP teachers. So far Jose has accumulated enough AP credits to be awarded the AP Scholar with Distinction, and awarded the National Hispanic Recognition program, and for his community service efforts the Tulane University Book Award.
Next year Jose will study Marine Science and Oceanography at the University of Miami, the University of Florida, or Florida International University.
Public Service & Social Justice
Please select a recipient name to read their bio.
GOLD - Jenny Rodriguez
Hometown: Covington, GA
High School: Newton College and Career Academy
Hispanic Heritage: Colombian
Jenny Rodriguez’s experience of growing up was marked by having to go up against racism and other barriers that her family faced, being low-income, and being first-generation herself. Being Colombian in Georgia, Jenny would often find herself as the only Latina in her classes. Due to this she would not only suffer from lack of representation, friends with mutual culture and background, but not having the benefit of open and clear communication between her parents and teacher and other school resources that her peers had. Jenny has made it her mission to close the resource gap that she and her family experienced. Whether it be the educational communication gap she experienced at school, or the racism her dad experienced which resulted in him not getting the medical attention and other resources he needed, or even closing the wealth gap, which leaves many in this country unable to afford the necessities for survival; Jenny is hoping for a more equitable society.
In the past year alone, Jenny has been awarded numerous accolades for her work in public service and social justice. She was awarded Newton Gen Z 20 Leaders of Tomorrow and was asked to speak at Stacy Abrams Rally in Newton County. Highlighting her own experience, Jenny is a leader in defending underserved minority communities by heightened efforts to eradicate language barriers, pushing for more cultural awareness, and expanding resources given to the underprivileged. She is a staunch advocate for defending the defenseless and fights for their rights at numerous organizations. At the non-profit TaylorMade Foundation, which ensures that high school students are not barred from normal high school experiences due to financial restrictions, Jenny is in charge of not only spreading the word and finding students who would benefit from this organization but collecting dresses and suits that are inclusive in styles and size. At the organization, Emory Cares, Jenny has spent countless hours wrapping presents and supplies for foster children. At a law firm where Jenny works, she not only helps with reports on car accidents but has even assisted in the bigger cases involving issues such as ETO exposure which affects cancer levels in the areas in the immediate area of factories. One of the most important roles Jenny has at the law firm is empowering Latinos and other underrepresented groups to fight for their rights regardless of immigration status and taking away the fears they may have. At Amigos Unidos, Jenny is not only the head tutor but promotes the learning of second languages for inclusivity and has been instrumental in organizing Hispanic Awareness events, book readings where the books are read in both English and in Spanish, tutored ESOL students and has donated 250 books. At her school, Jenny has created opportunities where students showcase their Hispanic heritage through meaningful customs such as dance, music, and literature.
In her work inside and outside of school, Jenny holds leadership positions in all of them whether it be FBLA, her school’s board, NHS Latino Student Union, or NCAA. With an already filled resume of leadership and service, Jenny will attend Emory University, Harvard College, or Georgia State University to study Political Science.
High School: Newton College and Career Academy
Hispanic Heritage: Colombian
Jenny Rodriguez’s experience of growing up was marked by having to go up against racism and other barriers that her family faced, being low-income, and being first-generation herself. Being Colombian in Georgia, Jenny would often find herself as the only Latina in her classes. Due to this she would not only suffer from lack of representation, friends with mutual culture and background, but not having the benefit of open and clear communication between her parents and teacher and other school resources that her peers had. Jenny has made it her mission to close the resource gap that she and her family experienced. Whether it be the educational communication gap she experienced at school, or the racism her dad experienced which resulted in him not getting the medical attention and other resources he needed, or even closing the wealth gap, which leaves many in this country unable to afford the necessities for survival; Jenny is hoping for a more equitable society.
In the past year alone, Jenny has been awarded numerous accolades for her work in public service and social justice. She was awarded Newton Gen Z 20 Leaders of Tomorrow and was asked to speak at Stacy Abrams Rally in Newton County. Highlighting her own experience, Jenny is a leader in defending underserved minority communities by heightened efforts to eradicate language barriers, pushing for more cultural awareness, and expanding resources given to the underprivileged. She is a staunch advocate for defending the defenseless and fights for their rights at numerous organizations. At the non-profit TaylorMade Foundation, which ensures that high school students are not barred from normal high school experiences due to financial restrictions, Jenny is in charge of not only spreading the word and finding students who would benefit from this organization but collecting dresses and suits that are inclusive in styles and size. At the organization, Emory Cares, Jenny has spent countless hours wrapping presents and supplies for foster children. At a law firm where Jenny works, she not only helps with reports on car accidents but has even assisted in the bigger cases involving issues such as ETO exposure which affects cancer levels in the areas in the immediate area of factories. One of the most important roles Jenny has at the law firm is empowering Latinos and other underrepresented groups to fight for their rights regardless of immigration status and taking away the fears they may have. At Amigos Unidos, Jenny is not only the head tutor but promotes the learning of second languages for inclusivity and has been instrumental in organizing Hispanic Awareness events, book readings where the books are read in both English and in Spanish, tutored ESOL students and has donated 250 books. At her school, Jenny has created opportunities where students showcase their Hispanic heritage through meaningful customs such as dance, music, and literature.
In her work inside and outside of school, Jenny holds leadership positions in all of them whether it be FBLA, her school’s board, NHS Latino Student Union, or NCAA. With an already filled resume of leadership and service, Jenny will attend Emory University, Harvard College, or Georgia State University to study Political Science.
SILVER - Maxton Torres
Hometown: Miami, FL
High School: Belen Jesuit Preparatory School
Hispanic Heritage: Honduran & Cuban
Being knowledge about politics and the political process is not enough for Maxton Torres, he wants to ensure that those around him are also able to make educated choices for themselves. To prepare, Maxton has been competing on the speech and debate team since he was in the eighth grade which not only allows him to gain valuable experience in public speaking, be an influential orator, but be knowledgeable on a wide array of topics and be able to make an influential argument. Maxton’s talent in debate has allowed for him to compete and win at not only the varsity level but the national level as well. To focus even more on political issues specifically, Maxton joined Congressional Debate and has been named their captain. In order to ensure that he was as prepared as possible, Maxton would make sure to research the bills and topics prior to each session so that he would be well-versed as in Congressional Debate one needs to master the art of bureaucratic game ship where polling, deal making, and advocating for certain policy decisions are all part of the game.
Taking the lessons and foundation from congressional debate, Maxton when researching legislation was drawn to issues regarding transportation in that there has been a continual decline in highway funding and a serious need or funding for public transportation due to high airline emissions. To get more involved, Maxton reached out to Miami Riders Alliance a student-founded transit advocacy group. This connection further cemented his desire to make a change. Through analyzing voting histories and public statements, Maxton was able to compile a report on not only where the mayoral candidates stood on the issues on transportation but also on location, costs, and timelines of transportation expansion plans for buses and rails. This work not only allowed for voters to be more informed on issues that impact them directly but holds political officials more accountable due to the transparency of Maxton’s report.
Over the summer, Maxton was selected to be one of the 30 high school students from across the country to attend the 6-day Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Program. There he got a deep-dive into mentoring and workshops into topics such as activism, entrepreneurship, financial literacy and how to be an effective leader for meaningful change as Latinos. One of the days, they even got the opportunity to speak to representatives and senators on policy.
With an inevitable future in politics on the horizon for Maxton, he plans to study Public Policy at Stanford University, Princeton University, or Yale University.
High School: Belen Jesuit Preparatory School
Hispanic Heritage: Honduran & Cuban
Being knowledge about politics and the political process is not enough for Maxton Torres, he wants to ensure that those around him are also able to make educated choices for themselves. To prepare, Maxton has been competing on the speech and debate team since he was in the eighth grade which not only allows him to gain valuable experience in public speaking, be an influential orator, but be knowledgeable on a wide array of topics and be able to make an influential argument. Maxton’s talent in debate has allowed for him to compete and win at not only the varsity level but the national level as well. To focus even more on political issues specifically, Maxton joined Congressional Debate and has been named their captain. In order to ensure that he was as prepared as possible, Maxton would make sure to research the bills and topics prior to each session so that he would be well-versed as in Congressional Debate one needs to master the art of bureaucratic game ship where polling, deal making, and advocating for certain policy decisions are all part of the game.
Taking the lessons and foundation from congressional debate, Maxton when researching legislation was drawn to issues regarding transportation in that there has been a continual decline in highway funding and a serious need or funding for public transportation due to high airline emissions. To get more involved, Maxton reached out to Miami Riders Alliance a student-founded transit advocacy group. This connection further cemented his desire to make a change. Through analyzing voting histories and public statements, Maxton was able to compile a report on not only where the mayoral candidates stood on the issues on transportation but also on location, costs, and timelines of transportation expansion plans for buses and rails. This work not only allowed for voters to be more informed on issues that impact them directly but holds political officials more accountable due to the transparency of Maxton’s report.
Over the summer, Maxton was selected to be one of the 30 high school students from across the country to attend the 6-day Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Program. There he got a deep-dive into mentoring and workshops into topics such as activism, entrepreneurship, financial literacy and how to be an effective leader for meaningful change as Latinos. One of the days, they even got the opportunity to speak to representatives and senators on policy.
With an inevitable future in politics on the horizon for Maxton, he plans to study Public Policy at Stanford University, Princeton University, or Yale University.
BRONZE - Taylor Perez
Hometown: Miami, FL
High School: Miami Arts Studio 6-12 @ Zelda Glazer
Hispanic Heritage: Mexican, Puerto Rican, & Cuban
The National Honor Society Sponsor at Miami Arts Studio says what makes Taylor Perez one of the most impressive students she has come across is not the fact that she has a 4.0 unweighted GPA, in the top 1% of her graduating class and a rigorous academic schedule consisting of AP, Honors Advanced Gifted, and Dual Enrollment courses but instead is her dedicated commitment of service to others. In the first three years at the school Taylor has logged over 900 hours in various activations such as the Help Haiti Drive and the Save the Children Chapter at her school of which Taylor is the President and Founder. Under her leadership and direction, Miami Arts Studio’s Save The Children Chapter was recognized as one of the top ten STC Clubs in the nation and Taylor specifically recognized with the Save the Children Action Network Leadership Award for her dedication to fighting injustice and disparities that children face worldwide. In the beginning the club, they would just create social media posts for awareness on child hunger, but they have grown to letter writing parties to local representatives on the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act and coordinating guest speakers from the International Solidarity for Human Rights. In the group, Taylor is not only able to draw attention and educate on serious issues that are occurring domestically and abroad but can see directly how her actions can make an immediate impact on those in need.
Closer to home, most of Taylor’s advocacy and service hours have come from her work at Study Buddies of Miami which ensures that all students in the area are able to get access to tutoring at no-cost. Initiatives like these are important to Taylor as resources like tutoring for a student’s education should not have a financial barrier to entry. At the immigration law firm where Taylor has spent two summers opened her eyes to the legal gaps that leave Hispanics and other immigrants unprotected, something that Taylor has been fighting to close since that first summer. Taylor’s fight for justice can also be seen not only in the organizations where she leads but in her participation in mock trial and the courses that she has chosen to take with her law magnet program. At the AP and Dual-enrollment level, Taylor has already mastered the concepts of U.S. Government and Politics, Introduction to Criminal Justice and Criminology as she finds that those are areas that are not equitable to everyone, with different outcomes being dependent on factors outside the individuals ‘s control.
High School: Miami Arts Studio 6-12 @ Zelda Glazer
Hispanic Heritage: Mexican, Puerto Rican, & Cuban
The National Honor Society Sponsor at Miami Arts Studio says what makes Taylor Perez one of the most impressive students she has come across is not the fact that she has a 4.0 unweighted GPA, in the top 1% of her graduating class and a rigorous academic schedule consisting of AP, Honors Advanced Gifted, and Dual Enrollment courses but instead is her dedicated commitment of service to others. In the first three years at the school Taylor has logged over 900 hours in various activations such as the Help Haiti Drive and the Save the Children Chapter at her school of which Taylor is the President and Founder. Under her leadership and direction, Miami Arts Studio’s Save The Children Chapter was recognized as one of the top ten STC Clubs in the nation and Taylor specifically recognized with the Save the Children Action Network Leadership Award for her dedication to fighting injustice and disparities that children face worldwide. In the beginning the club, they would just create social media posts for awareness on child hunger, but they have grown to letter writing parties to local representatives on the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act and coordinating guest speakers from the International Solidarity for Human Rights. In the group, Taylor is not only able to draw attention and educate on serious issues that are occurring domestically and abroad but can see directly how her actions can make an immediate impact on those in need.
Closer to home, most of Taylor’s advocacy and service hours have come from her work at Study Buddies of Miami which ensures that all students in the area are able to get access to tutoring at no-cost. Initiatives like these are important to Taylor as resources like tutoring for a student’s education should not have a financial barrier to entry. At the immigration law firm where Taylor has spent two summers opened her eyes to the legal gaps that leave Hispanics and other immigrants unprotected, something that Taylor has been fighting to close since that first summer. Taylor’s fight for justice can also be seen not only in the organizations where she leads but in her participation in mock trial and the courses that she has chosen to take with her law magnet program. At the AP and Dual-enrollment level, Taylor has already mastered the concepts of U.S. Government and Politics, Introduction to Criminal Justice and Criminology as she finds that those are areas that are not equitable to everyone, with different outcomes being dependent on factors outside the individuals ‘s control.
Sports & Fitness
Please select a recipient name to read their bio.
GOLD - Lucas Mous
Hometown: Weston, FL
High School: Cypress Bay High School
Hispanic Heritage: Colombian
Four times a week, rain or shine, you can find Weston, Florida resident, Lucas Mous, on a field hockey pitch playing what he describes as “the most incredible game ever,” field hockey. For years, this young Latino of Colombian descent has been dedicated to honing his craft, practicing for a minimum of 16 hours a week. Field hockey, he says, keeps him balanced, focused on his team, and performing at his best at all times.
Nearing ten years of experience under his belt, Lucas has been playing field hockey for most of his life. Since 2014, he has been serving as co-captain of the Weston Field Hockey Club and amassing an impressive number of achievements in the sport, including, and by far not limited to: contributing to Team Stars U16 becoming the 2021 Field Hockey Junior Men's National Champions, winning first place at the 2021 Cal Cup Tournament while playing for Florida United Field Hockey U16 and second while playing for the U18 team, becoming a runner up in the 2022 Canadian Field Hockey Junior National Champion while playing with Team Ontario Field Hockey U18, and becoming an Olympic level athlete after earning a spot in Team USA Junior Men’s Field Hockey U18 earlier this year and being part of the U16 team for two years.
What makes this impressive athlete stand out from among other athletes of his caliber, is that as invested as he is in his sport and the success of his teams, he translates and mirrors the same commitment in all his pursuits. Lucas is not just a beast on the field; he is also a beast in the classroom, rocking a 3.88 unweighted GPA through a rigorous academic schedule while completing Cambridge University's Advanced International Certificate of Education program.
Currently, Lucas leads the Cypress Bay High School Aviation Club, serving as its vice president and also served as its treasurer, and aerial expert and has worked to inspire fellow airplane aficionados at his school to learn about aviation throughout his high school career. Dedicated to giving back, he also leads an elementary school drone club, where he shares his knowledge of drones and aviation with younger aerospace enthusiasts. He completed his Private Pilot’s license last summer and is currently working through his instrument rating, multi-engine and commercial pilot licenses as a goal for completion in 2023.
This exceptional student-athlete will attend Ohio State, Penn State, or Embry-Riddle University in the fall. He plans to pursue a major in Aerospace Engineering and minors in Aeronautical and Mechanical Engineering.
High School: Cypress Bay High School
Hispanic Heritage: Colombian
Four times a week, rain or shine, you can find Weston, Florida resident, Lucas Mous, on a field hockey pitch playing what he describes as “the most incredible game ever,” field hockey. For years, this young Latino of Colombian descent has been dedicated to honing his craft, practicing for a minimum of 16 hours a week. Field hockey, he says, keeps him balanced, focused on his team, and performing at his best at all times.
Nearing ten years of experience under his belt, Lucas has been playing field hockey for most of his life. Since 2014, he has been serving as co-captain of the Weston Field Hockey Club and amassing an impressive number of achievements in the sport, including, and by far not limited to: contributing to Team Stars U16 becoming the 2021 Field Hockey Junior Men's National Champions, winning first place at the 2021 Cal Cup Tournament while playing for Florida United Field Hockey U16 and second while playing for the U18 team, becoming a runner up in the 2022 Canadian Field Hockey Junior National Champion while playing with Team Ontario Field Hockey U18, and becoming an Olympic level athlete after earning a spot in Team USA Junior Men’s Field Hockey U18 earlier this year and being part of the U16 team for two years.
What makes this impressive athlete stand out from among other athletes of his caliber, is that as invested as he is in his sport and the success of his teams, he translates and mirrors the same commitment in all his pursuits. Lucas is not just a beast on the field; he is also a beast in the classroom, rocking a 3.88 unweighted GPA through a rigorous academic schedule while completing Cambridge University's Advanced International Certificate of Education program.
Currently, Lucas leads the Cypress Bay High School Aviation Club, serving as its vice president and also served as its treasurer, and aerial expert and has worked to inspire fellow airplane aficionados at his school to learn about aviation throughout his high school career. Dedicated to giving back, he also leads an elementary school drone club, where he shares his knowledge of drones and aviation with younger aerospace enthusiasts. He completed his Private Pilot’s license last summer and is currently working through his instrument rating, multi-engine and commercial pilot licenses as a goal for completion in 2023.
This exceptional student-athlete will attend Ohio State, Penn State, or Embry-Riddle University in the fall. He plans to pursue a major in Aerospace Engineering and minors in Aeronautical and Mechanical Engineering.
SILVER - Nicolas Nadal
Hometown: Miami, FL
High School: Immaculata-La Salle High School
Hispanic Heritage: Puerto Rican & Cuban
Having one’s own flag on their chest and able to represent their “patria” on an international stage is an achievement that all athletes can only dream about. This goal was what pushed Nicolas Nadal to try as hard as he has to make this dream a reality. For Nicolas this honor is particularly rewarding as he not only gets to honor the home that he left in 2014 but one that has experienced so much devastation over the years. For him there is no better way to give back. Being such a small territory, and one so filled with pride, any level of athletic accomplishment is celebrated by the whole island. A noticeable difference than from the US where certain sports or events fly more under the radar. Nicolas has been rowing competitively for the past seven years and has been a member of the Puerto Rican Rowing Federation since 2019. Nicolas has placed fourth and fifth in the Junior Pan-American Game Qualifiers for Puerto Rico. In 2022, Nicolas was selected to participate in the Central & Pan-American Game Qualifiers and the Junior World Championships. That year Nicolas was also a local, state, regional, and national champion medalist. This year, Nicolas is training for the Junior and Senior World Championships and has his eyes on an Olympic run in either 2024 or 2028. In the meantime, Nicolas will be competing at the prestigious Georgetown University and will be a part of their rowing team.
In order to give back to the sport that has given Nicolas so much he makes sure to be of service to others. On paper, Nicolas may only have 125 accredited service hours, but he does a lot more for the rowing community that goes uncounted. He started his own rowing non-profit, so a lot of his time goes into finding and improving the equipment, teaching younger kids the basics and mastery of rowing and even speaking on behalf of his rowing club at city hall meetings. All of this dedication to the sport of rowing, and athletics in general was sparked by his father who encouraged him to not only find ways to stay active but to always try his best. This support, Nicolas accredits for his success and the opportunities that he has been awarded.
Despite so many hours of being on the water, Nicolas has been able to excel and maintain a rigorous course load. Some of the challenging courses that he has taken at the Advanced Placement level have included Spanish Language, AP Language, AP Literature, AP American Government, AP Calculus AB, AP Research and AP Seminar. At the dual-enrollment level at a local university, Nicolas has taken Principles to Management, International Business, Introduction to Entrepreneurship, and Small Business Management. Nicolas plans to continue on this business career trajectory by majoring in Business at Georgetown University.
High School: Immaculata-La Salle High School
Hispanic Heritage: Puerto Rican & Cuban
Having one’s own flag on their chest and able to represent their “patria” on an international stage is an achievement that all athletes can only dream about. This goal was what pushed Nicolas Nadal to try as hard as he has to make this dream a reality. For Nicolas this honor is particularly rewarding as he not only gets to honor the home that he left in 2014 but one that has experienced so much devastation over the years. For him there is no better way to give back. Being such a small territory, and one so filled with pride, any level of athletic accomplishment is celebrated by the whole island. A noticeable difference than from the US where certain sports or events fly more under the radar. Nicolas has been rowing competitively for the past seven years and has been a member of the Puerto Rican Rowing Federation since 2019. Nicolas has placed fourth and fifth in the Junior Pan-American Game Qualifiers for Puerto Rico. In 2022, Nicolas was selected to participate in the Central & Pan-American Game Qualifiers and the Junior World Championships. That year Nicolas was also a local, state, regional, and national champion medalist. This year, Nicolas is training for the Junior and Senior World Championships and has his eyes on an Olympic run in either 2024 or 2028. In the meantime, Nicolas will be competing at the prestigious Georgetown University and will be a part of their rowing team.
In order to give back to the sport that has given Nicolas so much he makes sure to be of service to others. On paper, Nicolas may only have 125 accredited service hours, but he does a lot more for the rowing community that goes uncounted. He started his own rowing non-profit, so a lot of his time goes into finding and improving the equipment, teaching younger kids the basics and mastery of rowing and even speaking on behalf of his rowing club at city hall meetings. All of this dedication to the sport of rowing, and athletics in general was sparked by his father who encouraged him to not only find ways to stay active but to always try his best. This support, Nicolas accredits for his success and the opportunities that he has been awarded.
Despite so many hours of being on the water, Nicolas has been able to excel and maintain a rigorous course load. Some of the challenging courses that he has taken at the Advanced Placement level have included Spanish Language, AP Language, AP Literature, AP American Government, AP Calculus AB, AP Research and AP Seminar. At the dual-enrollment level at a local university, Nicolas has taken Principles to Management, International Business, Introduction to Entrepreneurship, and Small Business Management. Nicolas plans to continue on this business career trajectory by majoring in Business at Georgetown University.
BRONZE - Sebastian Suarez
Hometown: Doral, FL
High School: Ronald W. Reagan Doral Senior High School
Hispanic Heritage: Colombian & Peruvian
For this Peruvian native, whenever he steps onto the ice, he wants to play well not only for the name on the back but for the logo on the front. Playing for his both school team and club team has Sebastian Suarez practicing four days a week, and a game every weekend. This much rink time has allowed for Sebastian to be dominating on the ice since he was five years old, and he was invited and received a scholarship to play for the u-14 AA Golden Wolves. In high school, Sebastian started playing for the Miami Toros where he was integral in leading them to the state tournament all three years. In his junior year he was the number one in goals and points out of the Miami-Dade County and is hoping for a repeat this year. His skills on the rink and his leadership led to him being announced as the Miami-Dade captain in 2022. In addition, Sebastian was able to represent his grandfather’s Cuban heritage at the Amerigol, an international hockey tournament, for team Caribbean. While team Caribbean end up losing in the finals to team Puerto Rico, Sebastian was honored to be able to play the sport that he loves with those who look like him and to compete against other South Americans as hockey is not as popular there when compared to their northern neighbor.
As a five-year-old, Sebastian remembers the hockey lessons at the Kendall Ice Arena and has stayed in touch with several of his coaches. This arena means a lot to Sebastian, and he has volunteered during the summer at 8 am teaching young kids how to skate. What Sebastian likes about this program sponsored by the Florida Panthers, is that it teaches the kids to skate without having to purchase all of the expansive equipment. This initiative means a lot to Sebastian who remembers the sacrifices his mom made for him to be able to play. During his time there, Sebastian makes sure to not only help the young student learn the fundamentals of skating but to be the first to lend a helping hand when they have fallen and encouragement to keep trying.
Sebastian’s mom has credited hockey to his schooling as it has taught him the importance of time management and hard work. He has taken courses in part with both the AICE Program, which is run through the prestigious Cambridge University as well as Dual enrollment courses. While excelling in all of his courses, his passion lies in mathematics and Sebastian is well on its way after already mastering college equivalent courses of AICE Mathematics & Probability and Statistics 1 and DE: Mathematics for Liberal Arts 2. He will build on his already strong foundation at the University of Florida, University of Central Florida, or Florida International University to study Civil Engineering.
High School: Ronald W. Reagan Doral Senior High School
Hispanic Heritage: Colombian & Peruvian
For this Peruvian native, whenever he steps onto the ice, he wants to play well not only for the name on the back but for the logo on the front. Playing for his both school team and club team has Sebastian Suarez practicing four days a week, and a game every weekend. This much rink time has allowed for Sebastian to be dominating on the ice since he was five years old, and he was invited and received a scholarship to play for the u-14 AA Golden Wolves. In high school, Sebastian started playing for the Miami Toros where he was integral in leading them to the state tournament all three years. In his junior year he was the number one in goals and points out of the Miami-Dade County and is hoping for a repeat this year. His skills on the rink and his leadership led to him being announced as the Miami-Dade captain in 2022. In addition, Sebastian was able to represent his grandfather’s Cuban heritage at the Amerigol, an international hockey tournament, for team Caribbean. While team Caribbean end up losing in the finals to team Puerto Rico, Sebastian was honored to be able to play the sport that he loves with those who look like him and to compete against other South Americans as hockey is not as popular there when compared to their northern neighbor.
As a five-year-old, Sebastian remembers the hockey lessons at the Kendall Ice Arena and has stayed in touch with several of his coaches. This arena means a lot to Sebastian, and he has volunteered during the summer at 8 am teaching young kids how to skate. What Sebastian likes about this program sponsored by the Florida Panthers, is that it teaches the kids to skate without having to purchase all of the expansive equipment. This initiative means a lot to Sebastian who remembers the sacrifices his mom made for him to be able to play. During his time there, Sebastian makes sure to not only help the young student learn the fundamentals of skating but to be the first to lend a helping hand when they have fallen and encouragement to keep trying.
Sebastian’s mom has credited hockey to his schooling as it has taught him the importance of time management and hard work. He has taken courses in part with both the AICE Program, which is run through the prestigious Cambridge University as well as Dual enrollment courses. While excelling in all of his courses, his passion lies in mathematics and Sebastian is well on its way after already mastering college equivalent courses of AICE Mathematics & Probability and Statistics 1 and DE: Mathematics for Liberal Arts 2. He will build on his already strong foundation at the University of Florida, University of Central Florida, or Florida International University to study Civil Engineering.
Sustainability (Green)
Please select a recipient name to read their bio.
GOLD - Gabriel Villar
Hometown: Miami, FL
High School: Christopher Columbus High School
Hispanic Heritage: Cuban & Nicaraguan
The plans that Gabriel Villar has for a more sustainable future expand far beyond just his local community but throughout the Caribbean, other continents and even to the international space station. Gabriel’s passion for finding green solutions was originally sparked by some of his coursework and has led to him being tasked with creating innovative solutions. As a freshman, Gabriel had the opportunity to intern at the Fortune 500 company, MasTec. There he got to do a rotation at different specialties in the organization, such as marketing, finance, engineering, and sustainability, the latter opening his eyes to the fact that environmental jobs can also be in the corporate space.
Last year, Gabriel was selected as one of thirty-five students in a cohort from around the world to be a Climate Fellow for Stanford University’s Climate Change Fellowship Program. In the program, each student develops sustainability programs that better the environment and can be implemented in their home, school, and surrounding community. Gabriel also had the opportunity to be the Lead Student Researcher for their Grow Beyond Earth study with his school’s science program and NASA. The research aimed to determine which conditions led to the most effective growth strategies in space. Gabriel planted various radish samples under several different lighting factors to conduct his experiment. At the end of the experiment, Gabriel was tasked with presenting his research to NASA scientists to further develop the agricultural techniques in the International Space Station. In addition, he has been working with the Fairchild Botanical Gardens on various research projects.
Gabriel has been eager to take on leadership roles. He has been named one of the 31 global Governors, where he is the Governor of the Florida district of the Key Club, which includes not only Florida but Turks & Caicos, and the Cayman Islands. This role often involves his outreach and coordination on a global scale and as his district’s representative on the International Council, meaning that he is the liaison between the members and the International Board. With this platform, he promoted diversity initiatives and actively planned large-scale service and fundraising efforts. One of his main focuses in this role has been looking into the intersectionality of mental health and climate crises, especially those in marginalized communities.
In partnership with Key Club International and UNICEF, Gabriel has helped work on the implementation of the Start Strong Zambia project, which raised two million dollars in donations to create innovative community centers across southeastern Zambia. Not only will these “Isankas” create a safe learning space for youth but also training facilities for healthcare providers and community-based volunteer groups in a sustainable building. Closer to home, Gabriel is also president of his school’s recently revived Environmental Club, where the International Beach Clean-up project he participated in was featured on the news as it had collected over 2,700 pounds of trash.
He will attend the University of North Carolina and Duke University under the Robertson Leadership Program Scholarship and will study Environmental Health Sciences.
High School: Christopher Columbus High School
Hispanic Heritage: Cuban & Nicaraguan
The plans that Gabriel Villar has for a more sustainable future expand far beyond just his local community but throughout the Caribbean, other continents and even to the international space station. Gabriel’s passion for finding green solutions was originally sparked by some of his coursework and has led to him being tasked with creating innovative solutions. As a freshman, Gabriel had the opportunity to intern at the Fortune 500 company, MasTec. There he got to do a rotation at different specialties in the organization, such as marketing, finance, engineering, and sustainability, the latter opening his eyes to the fact that environmental jobs can also be in the corporate space.
Last year, Gabriel was selected as one of thirty-five students in a cohort from around the world to be a Climate Fellow for Stanford University’s Climate Change Fellowship Program. In the program, each student develops sustainability programs that better the environment and can be implemented in their home, school, and surrounding community. Gabriel also had the opportunity to be the Lead Student Researcher for their Grow Beyond Earth study with his school’s science program and NASA. The research aimed to determine which conditions led to the most effective growth strategies in space. Gabriel planted various radish samples under several different lighting factors to conduct his experiment. At the end of the experiment, Gabriel was tasked with presenting his research to NASA scientists to further develop the agricultural techniques in the International Space Station. In addition, he has been working with the Fairchild Botanical Gardens on various research projects.
Gabriel has been eager to take on leadership roles. He has been named one of the 31 global Governors, where he is the Governor of the Florida district of the Key Club, which includes not only Florida but Turks & Caicos, and the Cayman Islands. This role often involves his outreach and coordination on a global scale and as his district’s representative on the International Council, meaning that he is the liaison between the members and the International Board. With this platform, he promoted diversity initiatives and actively planned large-scale service and fundraising efforts. One of his main focuses in this role has been looking into the intersectionality of mental health and climate crises, especially those in marginalized communities.
In partnership with Key Club International and UNICEF, Gabriel has helped work on the implementation of the Start Strong Zambia project, which raised two million dollars in donations to create innovative community centers across southeastern Zambia. Not only will these “Isankas” create a safe learning space for youth but also training facilities for healthcare providers and community-based volunteer groups in a sustainable building. Closer to home, Gabriel is also president of his school’s recently revived Environmental Club, where the International Beach Clean-up project he participated in was featured on the news as it had collected over 2,700 pounds of trash.
He will attend the University of North Carolina and Duke University under the Robertson Leadership Program Scholarship and will study Environmental Health Sciences.
SILVER - Emilia Fiebel
Hometown: Hollywood, FL
High School: Sheridan Technical High School
Hispanic Heritage: Brazilian
Some of Emilia Fiebel’s earliest memories are of when she would accompany her dad to work as a marine mechanic where she would watch him fix boats and replace parts. Her favorite part would come afterwards when they got to take the boats out to test which meant that she got to snorkel and hear her dad’s stories of growing up in Jupiter, Florida. The stories would spark her love for the ocean, and marine life but also the importance of conservation. Eager for any and all opportunities on the subject, Emilia became involved in organizations that focus on educating the community like Oceana, Surfrider, the Marine Environmental Education Center, and Saving Ocean Life. Her leadership and expertise in the area have earned her spots on numerous youth councils such as Gulf of Mexico Youth Advisory Council, The Climate Initiative, GOM Youth Climate Summit, EarthEcho, International Water Challenge Ambassador, UN Ocean Decade, and Free Our Seas Youth Council. With all of these youth councils she has participated in person or virtually in over 50 environmental conventions and has even presented at Algalita POPS Youth Summit in San Diego, Harvard’s C-CHANGE Summit in Boston and the Climate Reality Summit in Houston. Additionally, she has earned fully funded spots at sustainability intensives such as the Audubon Canyon Ranch Youth Program, UF Florida Youth Institute and the World Food Prize World Youth Institute. After leaving these opportunities, Emilia comes home with not only more knowledge but an action plan that she wants to immediately implement in her school and community. At her school, Emilia started the Food Waste Recovery Initiative, which collects food for food banks therefore eliminating good food going to landfills and greenhouse gasses but also solving the problem of food insecurity all from attending the FYI UF Program.
With all of this experience, Emilia wants to share her knowledge of ways to protect the environment. She was tapped by both the Marine Environmental Education Center and EarthEcho to lead a project for World Water Monitoring Day. As she is her school's study body president, she encouraged her classmates to come out for the beach clean-up she was organizing. There she gave all of the volunteer’s pickers and net-bags to collect trash on the shoreline while also teaching them how to monitor the ocean water using EarthEcho Water Testing Kits and why monitoring the water is so important. Once the data was collected, she showed them how to input the information online for analysis. At the end of the successful day, they had collected hundreds of pounds of trash with many individuals coming up asking about when the next clean-up day would be and how could they get their own testing kit. Other times, Emilia is out helping plant mangrove trees which is beneficial to the environment in that it not only provides shelter to numerous marine life absorbs CO2, but acts as a barrier to decrease the devastating impact hurricanes have on coastal communities.
With plans to study International Relations and Environmental Science with a minor in Entomology, Emilia will attend the University of Florida, the University of Central Florida, or Florida International University in the fall.
High School: Sheridan Technical High School
Hispanic Heritage: Brazilian
Some of Emilia Fiebel’s earliest memories are of when she would accompany her dad to work as a marine mechanic where she would watch him fix boats and replace parts. Her favorite part would come afterwards when they got to take the boats out to test which meant that she got to snorkel and hear her dad’s stories of growing up in Jupiter, Florida. The stories would spark her love for the ocean, and marine life but also the importance of conservation. Eager for any and all opportunities on the subject, Emilia became involved in organizations that focus on educating the community like Oceana, Surfrider, the Marine Environmental Education Center, and Saving Ocean Life. Her leadership and expertise in the area have earned her spots on numerous youth councils such as Gulf of Mexico Youth Advisory Council, The Climate Initiative, GOM Youth Climate Summit, EarthEcho, International Water Challenge Ambassador, UN Ocean Decade, and Free Our Seas Youth Council. With all of these youth councils she has participated in person or virtually in over 50 environmental conventions and has even presented at Algalita POPS Youth Summit in San Diego, Harvard’s C-CHANGE Summit in Boston and the Climate Reality Summit in Houston. Additionally, she has earned fully funded spots at sustainability intensives such as the Audubon Canyon Ranch Youth Program, UF Florida Youth Institute and the World Food Prize World Youth Institute. After leaving these opportunities, Emilia comes home with not only more knowledge but an action plan that she wants to immediately implement in her school and community. At her school, Emilia started the Food Waste Recovery Initiative, which collects food for food banks therefore eliminating good food going to landfills and greenhouse gasses but also solving the problem of food insecurity all from attending the FYI UF Program.
With all of this experience, Emilia wants to share her knowledge of ways to protect the environment. She was tapped by both the Marine Environmental Education Center and EarthEcho to lead a project for World Water Monitoring Day. As she is her school's study body president, she encouraged her classmates to come out for the beach clean-up she was organizing. There she gave all of the volunteer’s pickers and net-bags to collect trash on the shoreline while also teaching them how to monitor the ocean water using EarthEcho Water Testing Kits and why monitoring the water is so important. Once the data was collected, she showed them how to input the information online for analysis. At the end of the successful day, they had collected hundreds of pounds of trash with many individuals coming up asking about when the next clean-up day would be and how could they get their own testing kit. Other times, Emilia is out helping plant mangrove trees which is beneficial to the environment in that it not only provides shelter to numerous marine life absorbs CO2, but acts as a barrier to decrease the devastating impact hurricanes have on coastal communities.
With plans to study International Relations and Environmental Science with a minor in Entomology, Emilia will attend the University of Florida, the University of Central Florida, or Florida International University in the fall.
BRONZE - Sofia Aranda
Hometown: Miami Beach, FL
High School: School for Advanced Studies - Wolfson
Hispanic Heritage: Argentine
As a sixth grader and Miami resident, Sofia Aranda was horrified when she learned about the Pacific Garbage Patch, which is three miles wide and one mile deep, but was offered some solace when she heard that there were efforts in place trying to curb ocean pollution. Eager to come up with her own solution, she began her own research into ocean pollution and created her own prototype of the Sea Bin project which had been started by two Australian surfers that would collect garbage in boating marinas. Since then, Sofia has been continuously working on this project with her mentor Dr. Gwendolyn Foote where she has competed in two science fairs in the environmental engineering category. As she grew older, the prototypes would become more advanced being able to pick up common pollutants such as Styrofoam and discarded fishing nets and bits of plastic while living the aquatic wildlife unharmed. These efforts have earned second and third place regional awards. She was a National Science Merit Award Winner in 2017, won an Engineering Fair and SECME awards in 2018, and was the Global Impact Challenge Winner in 2022.
The organization, Dream in Green, prepares students who are passionate in green initiatives the opportunity not only to learn more about environmental issues and to connect with mentors but to tackle monthly environmental challenges and real-world tasks. One of the challenges was researching and planning the process for getting solar panel on their schools. While Sofia went into this project thinking it would be one of the easier tasks, she ran into some roadblocks. This project required the students to be able to figure out how many panels were needed, cost per panel while dealing with gaps in information as they would not have the blueprints. To circumvent this problem, Sofia relied heavily on Google Maps and other aerial views.
Sofia holds numerous leadership roles inside and outside of school. She is the treasurer for both the Environmental Club and Women of Tomorrow, and is Captain of the Bowling Team. Outside of school she co-Founded Lending a Hand, which for the past four years has been conducting collection drives for clothes, diapers, school supplies, shoes and toys to be distributed to local Miami orphanages. Sofia was so successful in collecting items that all the donated items needed to be picked up weekly to make space for more items.
With a special interest in the intersection of environmental science and business, she hopes to be able to evaluate the relationship between socioeconomic status and environmental problems by analyzing social stratification. Sofia will be attending the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Miami, or the University of Florida to study Environmental Studies.
High School: School for Advanced Studies - Wolfson
Hispanic Heritage: Argentine
As a sixth grader and Miami resident, Sofia Aranda was horrified when she learned about the Pacific Garbage Patch, which is three miles wide and one mile deep, but was offered some solace when she heard that there were efforts in place trying to curb ocean pollution. Eager to come up with her own solution, she began her own research into ocean pollution and created her own prototype of the Sea Bin project which had been started by two Australian surfers that would collect garbage in boating marinas. Since then, Sofia has been continuously working on this project with her mentor Dr. Gwendolyn Foote where she has competed in two science fairs in the environmental engineering category. As she grew older, the prototypes would become more advanced being able to pick up common pollutants such as Styrofoam and discarded fishing nets and bits of plastic while living the aquatic wildlife unharmed. These efforts have earned second and third place regional awards. She was a National Science Merit Award Winner in 2017, won an Engineering Fair and SECME awards in 2018, and was the Global Impact Challenge Winner in 2022.
The organization, Dream in Green, prepares students who are passionate in green initiatives the opportunity not only to learn more about environmental issues and to connect with mentors but to tackle monthly environmental challenges and real-world tasks. One of the challenges was researching and planning the process for getting solar panel on their schools. While Sofia went into this project thinking it would be one of the easier tasks, she ran into some roadblocks. This project required the students to be able to figure out how many panels were needed, cost per panel while dealing with gaps in information as they would not have the blueprints. To circumvent this problem, Sofia relied heavily on Google Maps and other aerial views.
Sofia holds numerous leadership roles inside and outside of school. She is the treasurer for both the Environmental Club and Women of Tomorrow, and is Captain of the Bowling Team. Outside of school she co-Founded Lending a Hand, which for the past four years has been conducting collection drives for clothes, diapers, school supplies, shoes and toys to be distributed to local Miami orphanages. Sofia was so successful in collecting items that all the donated items needed to be picked up weekly to make space for more items.
With a special interest in the intersection of environmental science and business, she hopes to be able to evaluate the relationship between socioeconomic status and environmental problems by analyzing social stratification. Sofia will be attending the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Miami, or the University of Florida to study Environmental Studies.
Technology
Please select a recipient name to read their bio.
GOLD - Sarah Dufays
Hometown: Davie, FL
High School: American Heritage School in Broward
Hispanic Heritage: Colombian
While still in high school, Sarah Dufays has managed to get one of the most renowned certificates in the cybersecurity industry, the Certified Ethical Certification. To accomplish mastering legal hacking, a test that is usually only open to those with degrees and a minimum of two years work experience, Sarah accomplished in only one semester. She had to read and memorize over 4,000-page textbook and know how to hack and defend any system, and attend weekly five-hour lessons. In the two months before the test, Sarah would study for three hours a day. Besides all the coursework in learning hacking practices, Sarah has found technical ways to put her love for problem solving into use. With coursework ranging from computer science, programming, machine leaning, cybersecurity and defense, app development, data architecture, Sarah had done it all while receiving 5s on the AP tests and an A+ average on all coursework. With all of the coursework taken, she is proficient in ten languages, numerous hackathon competition wins, and has even earned mentorships at Microsoft and Intuit who were impressed with her wins at change-maker competitions. Her projects for these competitions dealt with reducing the carbon footprint in Southern Florida. She has successfully completed a six-week onsite internship for ALTEN which is one of the Top 3 globally in engineering services in Paris. In school, Sarah has been recognized as most outstanding student in her AP Calculus class, and her honors AI & Machine Learning classes, was the National Center for Women & IT SFL Winner, placed second in FL and sixth in the US for FBLA’s IT competition.
In her school and community, Sarah is a trailblazer for the STEM community. She is the president of her school’s pre-professional program, which boasts an impressive 120+ membership and has created her school’s Computer Science Honor Society where they have raised thousands of dollars to buy computers and hotspots in low-income communities. She has even founded her own non-profit, Compisvity, which ensures under-represented communities are able to learn to code and program. There they give biweekly lessons in Java. Sarah even organized a summer camp for those visually impaired and are taught computer science fundamentals. In addition, she spearheaded and engineering and computer science camp where the lessons are taught in Spanish to make language one less barrier to entry for learning STEM. In her free time, Sarah finds ways to make STEM more equitable. She made her own website which provides information that addresses the issue of diversity and the importance of inclusion on under-represented comminutes, wrote a machine learning algorithm that analyzed HR databases and offered recommendations on ways to improve those businesses DEI’, and AI language model that is capable of detecting language bias in its performance record. To further cement her dedication to reaching out to connect marginalized individuals to STEM, she is the president of the South Florida Chapter of Coder Gals, the sponsorship manager for STEM/Warrior Hacks where she is responsible for recruiting judges and mentors from different organizations and organize hackathons and workshops, and also found time to raise $120,000 in prizes from sponsorships.
She will attend the University of Florida, the Georgia Institute of Technology, or the Massachusetts Institute of Technology next year and study Computer Science.
High School: American Heritage School in Broward
Hispanic Heritage: Colombian
While still in high school, Sarah Dufays has managed to get one of the most renowned certificates in the cybersecurity industry, the Certified Ethical Certification. To accomplish mastering legal hacking, a test that is usually only open to those with degrees and a minimum of two years work experience, Sarah accomplished in only one semester. She had to read and memorize over 4,000-page textbook and know how to hack and defend any system, and attend weekly five-hour lessons. In the two months before the test, Sarah would study for three hours a day. Besides all the coursework in learning hacking practices, Sarah has found technical ways to put her love for problem solving into use. With coursework ranging from computer science, programming, machine leaning, cybersecurity and defense, app development, data architecture, Sarah had done it all while receiving 5s on the AP tests and an A+ average on all coursework. With all of the coursework taken, she is proficient in ten languages, numerous hackathon competition wins, and has even earned mentorships at Microsoft and Intuit who were impressed with her wins at change-maker competitions. Her projects for these competitions dealt with reducing the carbon footprint in Southern Florida. She has successfully completed a six-week onsite internship for ALTEN which is one of the Top 3 globally in engineering services in Paris. In school, Sarah has been recognized as most outstanding student in her AP Calculus class, and her honors AI & Machine Learning classes, was the National Center for Women & IT SFL Winner, placed second in FL and sixth in the US for FBLA’s IT competition.
In her school and community, Sarah is a trailblazer for the STEM community. She is the president of her school’s pre-professional program, which boasts an impressive 120+ membership and has created her school’s Computer Science Honor Society where they have raised thousands of dollars to buy computers and hotspots in low-income communities. She has even founded her own non-profit, Compisvity, which ensures under-represented communities are able to learn to code and program. There they give biweekly lessons in Java. Sarah even organized a summer camp for those visually impaired and are taught computer science fundamentals. In addition, she spearheaded and engineering and computer science camp where the lessons are taught in Spanish to make language one less barrier to entry for learning STEM. In her free time, Sarah finds ways to make STEM more equitable. She made her own website which provides information that addresses the issue of diversity and the importance of inclusion on under-represented comminutes, wrote a machine learning algorithm that analyzed HR databases and offered recommendations on ways to improve those businesses DEI’, and AI language model that is capable of detecting language bias in its performance record. To further cement her dedication to reaching out to connect marginalized individuals to STEM, she is the president of the South Florida Chapter of Coder Gals, the sponsorship manager for STEM/Warrior Hacks where she is responsible for recruiting judges and mentors from different organizations and organize hackathons and workshops, and also found time to raise $120,000 in prizes from sponsorships.
She will attend the University of Florida, the Georgia Institute of Technology, or the Massachusetts Institute of Technology next year and study Computer Science.
SILVER - Kevin Chafloque
Hometown: Palmetto, FL
High School: Southeast High School
Hispanic Heritage: Peruvian
For Kevin Chafloque, summer vacations meant long days at the library while his mom was at work, due to the educational programs they would often host. It did not take long for Kevin to be hooked by their Mad Science Workshops or the robot building or video games they offered. In the sixth grade, Kevin quickly joined his school’s Technology Student Association and has been a member ever since. The club’s gave Kevin competition experience in animatronics, robotics, website design and even data science. When he became an officer and team lead for the club, he led them to winning at the state and national level.
Kevin has often made opportunities for himself, when his school did not offer AP Computer Science A he went and found an extra class online to take so that he could learn the martial, similarly he also took a Computer Science course offered by the University of Pennsylvania through their Engineering Summer Academy. The following year, Kevin became a Yale Young Global Scholar where he attends the Solving Global Challenges sessions where they tackle diverse issues set forth by the United Nations Sustainability Goals. The topics can range from gene editing to the climate crisis. Being challenged is something that Kevin enjoys and finds this challenge in a business class that he is currently taking which requires him to come up with design and develop a product to put on the market. Using Xcode and utilizing his experience in his advanced math courses like AP Computer Science A, AP Calculus AB & BC, Applied Engineering 1,2,3,4, IB Physics, and IB Math Analysis and Approaches; Kevin took the lead in the development of the app designed to help high school seniors make their college decision. This app would start by having the users take a test that would gauge their preferences on factors such as academics, social, and location and then present options in a dating profile format to keep it fresh and relatable to the target audience. With Kevin continuing to work on the app design and marketing, they are hoping to have their app in the app store soon.
Kevin has numerous competition wins and recognitions under his belt to include First Place in the Technology Student Association Drone Event, AP Scholar with distinction, Data Science and Analytics finalist, Sunshine State Scholar- FL STEM Achievement Award, TSA System Control Technologies Second Place and is currently a National Merit Semifinalist. The latter where he is the only finalist in the entire Manatee County. All of these awards and accolades are meaningful for Kevin, who wants to increase diversity in STEM fields. Hoping for a more representative field in the future to inspire younger students, that there is a space for them in STEM. This sentiment is particularly important for Kevin as he remembers growing up the racist comments other students would say that he was destined for a career in landscaping or questioning the citizenship status of his parents. Meeting his engineering uncle in Peru for the first time in middle school, was the encouragement that Kevin needed that there was indeed a space for him in STEM and being Latino was not a detriment but made him unique. With a 4.0 unweighted GPA, Kevin will be attending Stanford University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or Duke University to study Computer Science and minor in Mechanical Engineering.
High School: Southeast High School
Hispanic Heritage: Peruvian
For Kevin Chafloque, summer vacations meant long days at the library while his mom was at work, due to the educational programs they would often host. It did not take long for Kevin to be hooked by their Mad Science Workshops or the robot building or video games they offered. In the sixth grade, Kevin quickly joined his school’s Technology Student Association and has been a member ever since. The club’s gave Kevin competition experience in animatronics, robotics, website design and even data science. When he became an officer and team lead for the club, he led them to winning at the state and national level.
Kevin has often made opportunities for himself, when his school did not offer AP Computer Science A he went and found an extra class online to take so that he could learn the martial, similarly he also took a Computer Science course offered by the University of Pennsylvania through their Engineering Summer Academy. The following year, Kevin became a Yale Young Global Scholar where he attends the Solving Global Challenges sessions where they tackle diverse issues set forth by the United Nations Sustainability Goals. The topics can range from gene editing to the climate crisis. Being challenged is something that Kevin enjoys and finds this challenge in a business class that he is currently taking which requires him to come up with design and develop a product to put on the market. Using Xcode and utilizing his experience in his advanced math courses like AP Computer Science A, AP Calculus AB & BC, Applied Engineering 1,2,3,4, IB Physics, and IB Math Analysis and Approaches; Kevin took the lead in the development of the app designed to help high school seniors make their college decision. This app would start by having the users take a test that would gauge their preferences on factors such as academics, social, and location and then present options in a dating profile format to keep it fresh and relatable to the target audience. With Kevin continuing to work on the app design and marketing, they are hoping to have their app in the app store soon.
Kevin has numerous competition wins and recognitions under his belt to include First Place in the Technology Student Association Drone Event, AP Scholar with distinction, Data Science and Analytics finalist, Sunshine State Scholar- FL STEM Achievement Award, TSA System Control Technologies Second Place and is currently a National Merit Semifinalist. The latter where he is the only finalist in the entire Manatee County. All of these awards and accolades are meaningful for Kevin, who wants to increase diversity in STEM fields. Hoping for a more representative field in the future to inspire younger students, that there is a space for them in STEM. This sentiment is particularly important for Kevin as he remembers growing up the racist comments other students would say that he was destined for a career in landscaping or questioning the citizenship status of his parents. Meeting his engineering uncle in Peru for the first time in middle school, was the encouragement that Kevin needed that there was indeed a space for him in STEM and being Latino was not a detriment but made him unique. With a 4.0 unweighted GPA, Kevin will be attending Stanford University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or Duke University to study Computer Science and minor in Mechanical Engineering.
BRONZE - Angela Luca
Hometown: Sunny Isles Beach, FL
High School: Alonzo and Tracy Mourning Senior High
Hispanic Heritage: Argentine
Angela Luca’s hermano has been her role model for as long as she can remember. He was the one who taught her to surf, mentored her during her tennis tournaments, and has helped on her path of learning to code.
Due to necessity, as Angela would extensively research ways to heal her reoccurring tennis injuries led to her interest in sports medicine, athlete prosthetics and regenerate medicine. This fascination was further narrowed down and led to her wanting to learn all she can on bio medical engineering. Being able to find this interest in biomedical engineering independently of her brother, who is now majoring in biomedical engineering is particularly meaningful for Angela. On her learning to code journey, a skill she will need for biomedical engineering, she was pleasantly surprised by her Introduction to Computer Programming. There she learned the Alice3 program, which reminded her of when first starting a video game where the game has you design and dress a character. This showed Angela that coding requires creativity and not just the programming. Finding avenues to be creative is important to Angela, and with programming she can combine her strength regarding all things math and algorithms with her naturally artistic side. With this combined skill set, Angela has put in copious amounts of hours coding during her job as a programming teacher at Code Ninjas, the GirlsWhoCode program, and hours of watching The Coding Train tutorials on YouTube. All of this foundation gave Angela the courage to enter a coding competition despite her self-doubt in feeling that she was still a novice. After four months of coding, Angela was proud to submit her work of her virtual self-portrait in the Code/Art Code Yourself Coding Competition. While proud of herself on completing the task, Angela was elated to hear her name announced as the competition winner. This experience taught her that it’s good to get out of your comfort zone and take on projects that make you nervous and scared, and insecure. While wins and successes are motivating, Angela has also learned how losses are humbling and are necessary in life.
From coding, Angela has received the U of Rochester Xerox Innovation & Info Tech Award, Outstanding Intro to Microcomputing Student, National Merit Commended Student, AP Scholar with Distinction, and the Miami Herald Silver Knight Science Nominee, and that was all in the last year. In addition, she was her high school’s first full-time Dual enrollment student where most of her classes were advanced mathematics, or programming courses.
Angela’s second home is at the tennis courts, where she spent the past three summers, and five hours a week during the school year volunteering as a tennis coach for 5-12 year old’s. What Angela enjoys most about her time there is the effort to change the narrative on what it means to be a tennis player, with the club having many diverse and eager students. With this club, Angela aims to ease the financial burdens that tennis has.
This Argentine coder, will be majoring in Biomedical Engineering next fall at Cornell University, the University of Michigan, or the University of Florida.
High School: Alonzo and Tracy Mourning Senior High
Hispanic Heritage: Argentine
Angela Luca’s hermano has been her role model for as long as she can remember. He was the one who taught her to surf, mentored her during her tennis tournaments, and has helped on her path of learning to code.
Due to necessity, as Angela would extensively research ways to heal her reoccurring tennis injuries led to her interest in sports medicine, athlete prosthetics and regenerate medicine. This fascination was further narrowed down and led to her wanting to learn all she can on bio medical engineering. Being able to find this interest in biomedical engineering independently of her brother, who is now majoring in biomedical engineering is particularly meaningful for Angela. On her learning to code journey, a skill she will need for biomedical engineering, she was pleasantly surprised by her Introduction to Computer Programming. There she learned the Alice3 program, which reminded her of when first starting a video game where the game has you design and dress a character. This showed Angela that coding requires creativity and not just the programming. Finding avenues to be creative is important to Angela, and with programming she can combine her strength regarding all things math and algorithms with her naturally artistic side. With this combined skill set, Angela has put in copious amounts of hours coding during her job as a programming teacher at Code Ninjas, the GirlsWhoCode program, and hours of watching The Coding Train tutorials on YouTube. All of this foundation gave Angela the courage to enter a coding competition despite her self-doubt in feeling that she was still a novice. After four months of coding, Angela was proud to submit her work of her virtual self-portrait in the Code/Art Code Yourself Coding Competition. While proud of herself on completing the task, Angela was elated to hear her name announced as the competition winner. This experience taught her that it’s good to get out of your comfort zone and take on projects that make you nervous and scared, and insecure. While wins and successes are motivating, Angela has also learned how losses are humbling and are necessary in life.
From coding, Angela has received the U of Rochester Xerox Innovation & Info Tech Award, Outstanding Intro to Microcomputing Student, National Merit Commended Student, AP Scholar with Distinction, and the Miami Herald Silver Knight Science Nominee, and that was all in the last year. In addition, she was her high school’s first full-time Dual enrollment student where most of her classes were advanced mathematics, or programming courses.
Angela’s second home is at the tennis courts, where she spent the past three summers, and five hours a week during the school year volunteering as a tennis coach for 5-12 year old’s. What Angela enjoys most about her time there is the effort to change the narrative on what it means to be a tennis player, with the club having many diverse and eager students. With this club, Angela aims to ease the financial burdens that tennis has.
This Argentine coder, will be majoring in Biomedical Engineering next fall at Cornell University, the University of Michigan, or the University of Florida.
