• Student Diversity Leadership Conference | National Association of Independent Schools (November 2023)
• National Youth Leadership Institute | National Summer Learning Association (July 2023)
• "Breakthroughs and Bridges" Student Leadership Program | Breakthrough Miami and Football Unites (December 2022 and April 2023)
• Youth Advisory Committee "Leadership and Legislative Trip" | The Children's Trust of Miami-Dade (March 2023)
• "Youth Reimagine After School" Conference | Every Hour Counts (December 2022)
• National Youth Leadership Institute | National Summer Learning Association (July 2022)
• Outward Bound Student Leadership Expedition | Ransom Everglades School (May 2022)
• "Inspiring Change" Student Leadership Academy | Breakthrough Miami and Football Unites (June 2021)

Selected by the Ransom Everglades (RE) administrators to be one of the six student leaders to represent our school at the National Association of Independent Schools at the 2023 Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC) in St. Louis, MO (November 29 - December 2).

SDLC is a multiracial, multicultural gathering of student leaders from eligible independent high schools across the U.S. and abroad. SDLC focuses on self-reflecting, forming allies, and building community.

During the agenda-packed four-day event, my fellow RE cohort members and I enjoyed attending in-depth sessions that focused on developing cross-cultural communication skills, designing effective strategies for social justice practice through dialogue and the arts, and learning the foundations of allyship and networking principles.

On January 16th, we had the opportunity to participate in an all-school assembly to share our experience attending SDLC. We outlined the major takeaways learned about the best practices for creating a truly inclusive environment on our campus, whereby the diverse backgrounds of each member of the student body are valued and respected, and the constructive thoughts and opinions of these students are encouraged.

To learn more about the NAIS Student Diversity Leadership Conference, visit the link below:

https://www.nais.org/pocc/sdlc/

- BACK TO TOP - 

Selected to represent the Afterschool Alliance Youth Ambassador Program at the National Summer Learning Association’s “National Youth Leadership Institute” held in Washington, DC on the campus of American University during National Summer Learning Week. 40 high school student leaders from across the country were in attendance.

The institute highlighted to leaders, policymakers and the media - on a national level - the importance of investing in exemplary organizations and also showcased the impact of high-quality summer learning programming in helping close the achievement gap and develop student leaders in every community throughout our country.

As a second-year attendee at the institute, I was designated as a Counselor-in-Training and provided the opportunity to co-lead a training workshop session titled “Learning Challenges and Inclusivity”. This interactive workshop, designed for parents and after-school program coordinators, discussed the various types of learning challenges that some youth must overcome during educational programming as well as provided tips on how to create more inclusive learning environments for all youth program participants.

During each day of the institute, the students attended workshops on leadership, team building, social-emotional learning and advocacy. We also attended a presentation at the U.S. Department of Education and participated in a "Hill Day", where we visited our respective state senators and lobbied for increased funding of after-school programs.

To learn more about the National Summer Learning Association, visit the link below:

https://www.summerlearning.org/

- BACK TO TOP - 

Selected as a local student leader to participate in the "2022-23 Breakthroughs and Bridges" program held at the University of Miami and Florida International University.

The program, sponsored by the Breakthrough Miami and Football Unites organizations, enables communities to break through barriers to allow for meaningful connections and the achievement of common goals by building bridges of understanding.

Anthony Teague, MPA and Emani Jerome, MPA of Bridge Builders 305 led the selected group of high school student leaders - representing numerous high schools across Miami-Dade County - through two, day-long, in-depth sessions that examined the history of Miami and the prevailing socio-economic issues residents are facing across the various communities within the city.

The sessions provided the students with the opportunity to elevate their critical thinking abilities on a macro and micro level as well as learned the value of utilizing social and emotional learning skillsets when addressing issues of cultural, political and socioeconomical differences.

To learn more about Breakthrough Miami and Football Unites, visit the links below:

https://breakthroughmiami.org/ | https://www.miamidolphins.com/community/footballunites

- BACK TO TOP -  

Selected as one of 40 members of the Children's Trust of Miami-Dade Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) from the six regional sites across Miami-Dade County to attend the annual "Leadership and Legislative Trip" to the capital in Tallahassee during Florida Children's Week. The YAC members met with state legislators, attended legislative sessions, and participated in special trainings with key political figures to learn about the roles of leadership and advocacy in policymaking.

To learn more about the Children's Trust of Miami-Dade, visit the link below:

https://www.thechildrenstrust.org/

- BACK TO TOP -

Selected to represent the state of Florida and Breakthrough Miami at the "Youth Reimagine Afterschool" event in Chicago, Illinois from December 2-4, 2022.

Every Hour Counts in partnership with Youthprise - along with the generous support of the Mott Foundation - provided the opportunity for 60 student leaders from across the country to join afterschool experts in discussing proposals from six communities that detail the creation of youth-led spaces that promote equity and justice, foster participation and inclusion, instill understanding and respect for differences as well as supports young peoples' skill development.

Through design thinking, peer learning and networking, this event identified best practices to authentically engage youth in program development and help design the future of high-quality after-school initiatives. 

To learn more about Every Hour Counts, Youthprise and the Mott Foundation, visit the links below:

https://www.everyhourcounts.org/ | https://youthprise.org/ | https://www.mott.org/ 

- BACK TO TOP - 

Selected as a student leader to represent Breakthrough Miami at the inaugural convening of the National Youth Leadership Insititute hosted by the National Summer Learning Association on the campus of American University in Washington, DC from July 11-15th.

The National Youth Leadership Institute was part of the celebration of National Summer Learning Week and convened 40 student leaders from across the country.

The institute highlighted to leaders, policymakers, and the media, on a national level, the importance of investing in exemplary organizations - like Breakthrough Miami - and also showcased the impact of high-quality summer learning programming in helping close the achievement gap and develop student leaders in every community throughout our country.

During each day of the National Youth Leadership Institute, I had the chance to participate in engaging, hands-on activities related to different themes such as social-emotional learning, academic success, arts, health and fitness, service and leadership.

My fellow student leaders and I also had the opportunity to:

- Experience, share and learn “Best Practices” from expert partners.

- Develop new leadership and advocacy skills.

- Build and grow positive new relationships with peers and mentors.

- Explore and tour Washington DC and its monuments.

- Meet with staff from local Congressional offices during “Hill Day”.

- Meet national leaders from the White House and the U.S. Department of Education, Dr. Miquel Cardona.

To learn more about the National Summer Learning Association, visit the link below:

https://www.summerlearning.org/

- BACK TO TOP -

50 of my fellow Ransom Everglades School sophomore (Class of 2024) classmates and I completed our Outward Bound trip to Pisgah National Forest in North Carolina. This trip is a longstanding and cherished tradition at our school and teaches the principles of leadership, teamwork and resourcefulness.

Typically, the Outward Bound experience occurs during freshman year and the destination entails an almost week-long excursion to the outermost islands in the Florida Everglades. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our class trip was canceled. Fortunately, the school administrators were able to reschedule our trip and selected the 500,000 acres of Pisgah National Forest as our destination.

During the five-day trip, we hiked through the mountainous terrain, camping at different sites nightly - during both dry and rainy conditions - and spent a day whitewater rafting down the French Broad River.

To learn more about the Ransom Everglades Schools, visit the link below:

https://www.ransomeverglades.org/

- BACK TO TOP -

Selected as one of the high school students for the inaugural Breakthrough Miami and Football Unites "Inspiring Change" Student Leadership Academy, which focused on developing scholars into leaders prepared to build a better world for themselves and others through leadership development workshops, presentations by industry executives and a variety of field trips.

To learn more about Breakthrough Miami and Football Unites, visit the links below:

https://breakthroughmiami.org/ | https://www.miamidolphins.com/community/footballunites

- BACK TO TOP -