Silver Knight: CCHS senior nominees

BY MELANIE TAMAYO AND ANABELLA KING

The Silver Knight Awards is a prestigious scholarship program recognizing high school seniors for outstanding community service, sponsored by the Miami Herald. This year, CCHS proudly has 15 nominees, each representing a different category. On March 19, nominees from across South Florida were interviewed by a panel of judges at FIU. In each category, one Silver Knight Award recipient will receive $2,000, and three Honorable Mentions will be awarded $500 each. Winners will be announced at the Silver Knight Awards Ceremony on May 24.

Sienna Duran (DRAMA): “My service project is called Character Matters and it’s one of my favorite things to do because it allows me to teach students all about theatre. I also get to teach the kids skills that they will use for the rest of their lives like responsibility, the golden rule, and so much more. I am so passionate about this project because it allows me to help my community in a way that inspires me.”

Jenavive Quinones (MATH): “My project is helping children in Debate grow strengths in public speaking and voicing their opinions. It’s very important to me in a society that suppresses and silences voices. My favorite part is seeing their face light up and glow when they finish their piece or case to showcase at competition.”

Adrianna Stangle (ATHLETICS): “My project is aimed to break the stigma of mental health issues in athletes. It goes into different research topics related to psychology, and activities at a park that are aimed to help educate people about mental health in sports. My project also focuses on different psychology topics and research. My favorite part about my project is bringing people together and letting them speak up about their experiences, and what they’ve learned.”

Adriana Pena (MUSIC): “I currently co run my church’s children’s choir and actively go to CCD class to teach kids songs and music. I started in the choir at 4 years old and have grown up with it and singing ever since. It’s a big part of my life and something I wish to share and pass on to the kids around me.”

Lily Hirsch (BUSINESS): “My project was my DECA project that I have been doing for 2 years. I hosted a donation drive and volunteer event with the JFS Cupboard and wrote my DECA paper on it to compete with. I made it to internationals both years on that paper. I love being able to help people in need and connect it to my DECA world.”

Austin Jones (SCIENCE) : “My Silver Knight Project is with the Hearts for Kylee foundation which was founded in honor of my sister Kylee who passed away at the age of 4. In my project, I’ve run bandaid drives, toy drives, and donation drives for the cardiac patients at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital.”

Dawn-A’liece Rosier (ART): “My service project is going to teach future generations about aviation and communicating with them through art. It means so much to me to inspire them and see them realize that they can be anything they want.”

London Dernis (ENGLISH): “Through my project, I get to personally pair kids with books that align with their interests in hopes of increasing passions for reading from a young age. My favorite part has been getting to promote it at the city’s annual book swap and working with kids one-on-one to help find books they’ll enjoy.”

Nausheen Zakir (GENERAL): “My Silver Knight project was focused on spreading literacy. Though I’m fortunate to have wide access to books, there are many in our community that don’t, which is why I’ve worked to foster a love for reading through book drives, fundraisers, and educational events both in and outside CCHS. It’s been both empowering and rewarding to see people who haven’t read since childhood rekindle that joy.”

Ellie Roisman (JOURNALISM): “Being able to work on the yearbook since 7th grade has been amazing but having this year’s book be my own project means so much more. My mom was the editor of her senior year book here at cooper so being able to follow in her footsteps and be recognized for the hard work to make the yearbook is something that I will hold to my heart for a long time in the future.”

Liam Gillet (DIGITAL MEDIA): “I’m honored to be nominated for the Silver Knight Award in the Digital & Interactive Media. My project helps students break into game development by providing resources, mentorship, and real world opportunities. Seeing young developers turn their passion into a career has been incredibly rewarding, and being recognized for something that means so much to me is truly special.”

Lola McClure (SOCIAL SCIENCE): “My project is Kindness Couture, a non-profit I started in 2019. We deliver underwear to kids in foster care systems and people in homeless shelters. This project means so much to me because I bring dignity to people experiencing homelessness and children in foster care, and make their lives better with one small thing that nobody really thinks about. I want to make a difference in the lives of people that really need it by providing this necessity for them.”

Amanda Will (VOCATIONAL): “My project involves volunteering as a coach with the Cooper City Optimist Travel Soccer program and working with the next generation of soccer players to help them grow in all aspects of the sport. My favorite part is that I can use my experience to help others, and then they can build off of what I have been able to do. I want these girls to know they can do anything if they put their minds to it.”

Joshua Vempala (SPEECH): “My service project was to educate the next generation of speech and debate students at Pioneer Middle by helping them develop researching, speaking, and argumentative skills to compete at tournaments and be vocal about what they are passionate about.”

Henry Guerrero (WORLD LANGUAGES): I noticed how many people in my school were disconnected from their Hispanic culture. I organized a community service project with the goal of the beautifications of my local spanish church. I fundraised $750 and got 47 volunteers to help get the project done. I loved seeing people come together to help the local spanish community.”