Town, Education Advisory Board Celebrate Education at 2024 Awards of Excellence Presented by Headquarter Toyota

May 13, 2024

Miami Lakes, FL – In this spirit and tradition of celebrating educational achievement, the Town of Miami Lakes and its Education Advisory Board were excited to host the Annual Awards of Excellence for 2024, presented by Headquarter Toyota.

Award winners, who were nominated by fellow students and faculty, were:

STEM: Matilda Velazco Pryce (8th Grade)
Local Advocacy: Carolina Poretti (8th Grade)
Business: David Manuel Gonzalez Batista (8th Grade)
Journalism: Roselyn Navarro (11th Grade)
Athletics: Sarymar Rivera (12th Grade)
Community Hero: Zoe Venturino (8th Grade) and Natalie Alguera (12th Grade)
English & Literature: Lola Llaneza (5th Grade) and Kenya Maddox (8th Grade)
Fine Arts: Ashley Perez (8th Grade) and Hannah Mesa (12th Grade)
Outstanding Educator of the Year: Alejandro Fuenmayor, Bob Graham Education Center Music Teacher

Also recognized at the May 9 event was the retirement of seven Miami Lakes teachers & faculty members, each presented with a proclamation from Mayor Manny Cid. Recognized retirees were:

Eberne Etienne, Miami Lakes Educational Center
John Moffi, Miami Lakes Educational Center
Jay Flinchum, Barbara Goleman Senior High School
Mercedes Paigo, Barbara Goleman Senior High School
Dr. Myralene Binns, Bob Graham Education Center
Vanessa Coburn, Bob Graham Education Center
Kimberly Ottaviani, Bob Graham Education Center
Isel Valdes, Miami Lakes K-8 Center

The Miami Lakes Future Leaders Scholarship was awarded to two senior students in Miami Lakes and presented with the scholarships by Andrea Graham Rechichi, Vice President of Customer and Corporate Relations at The Graham Companies. The two winners were Nicholas Lebena and Hannah Mesa.

As part of the ceremony, the Town’s Youth Activities Task Force also recognized the winner of the inaugural Youth Leadership Award, Ashley Bu, which seeks to reward a student for their outstanding academic and volunteering achievement.

Thank you to the sponsors of this event, allowing for families of youth and educators to enjoy an evening of academic celebration: Headquarter Toyota, Galloway Logistics, LLC, Layer 8 Solutions, LLC, The EPIC Foundation, MHC Construction, Specialty Smiles Orthodontics, and Virtutem Populo.

View more photos from the event here.