Class President’s grades, charity work rewarded with Silver Knight win
Miami, Florida – At a lavish awards ceremony held on Wednesday, May 18, 2016 at the James L. Knight Center in downtown Miami, Mater Lakes senior Sabrina Gonzalez took home the Silver Knights Award in the Vocational Technical category.
The Miami Herald Silver Knight Awards is one of the nation’s most highly regarded student awards programs. It recognizes outstanding students who have maintained good grades and have also unselfishly applied their special knowledge and talents to contribute significant service to their schools and communities. Students may be nominated in 15 categories: Art, Athletics, Business, Drama, English & Literature, General Scholarship, Journalism, Mathematics, Music and Dance, New Media, Science, Social Science, Speech, Vocational-Technical and World Languages. Each school may nominate one student per category.
Sabrina Gonzalez is part of the Early Childhood Education program at Mater Lakes Academy, a public charter middle and high school located in Miami Dade County. She grew very fond of a particular student and their family while he was part of “Cub Academy,” an on-site pre-school that is part of the early childhood curriculum. This student, who is autistic, was leaving the pre-school to attend another school for students with special needs, unfortunately the school was costing the parents several thousands and they were expecting twins. Knowing the struggles the parents were going through, Sabrina decided to start a non-profit, Heroes Miami, Inc. in August 2014, for families that have children with autism to assist them financially to cover some of the expenses that cannot afford. Through her non-profit organization, Sabrina has raised over $7,000 through several fundraising events.
“Sabrina is not only graduating with honors as a Summa Cum Laude graduate in June, but she also recently earned an Associates in Art degree s from Miami-Dade College as part of the Dual Enrollment program and with the CDA certification as part of the Early Childhood Education program,” said Rene Rovirosa, Mater Lakes Principal. She is also President of Class of 2016 and involved in several organizations on campus including the Key Club and the National Honor Society. Sabrina will be attending the University of Florida Fall 2016.
About Mater Lakes: Mater Lakes Academy is a Miami-Dade County Public Charter School, with students enrolled in 6th – 12th grade. Mater Lakes Academy has been open since the 2006-2007 academic school year. For more information, visit the school’s website at www.materlakes.org.
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Mater Lakes Academy
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