South Florida students, ages 7 and 8, to perform at Disney World

A group of students, ages 7 and 8, from South Florida Music’s Performance Group were recently invited to perform Jan. 4 at Walt Disney World in Orlando — making them among the youngest musicians invited to perform at the famed theme park.

South Florida Music aims to provide comprehensive and age-appropriate music education for children in South Florida to help students reach their full potential through music. All 27 students have participated in two-hour rehearsals, in addition to their weekly piano classes, to prepare to represent South Florida as they perform on the Waterside Stage.

The students will be led by several directors, including Joy Galliford, Alaina Loreno and Karen Flanary, as they perform both Disney and classical compositions, songs and dances. Student performers include Jose Espinosa, Marco Andrés Pravia, Renzo Sebastian Perez, Ethan Alexander Rios, Matthew del Rey, Jonathan Li, Domenico Stasi, Anand Ram Melwani, Santiago Perez, Sophia Isabella Pardo, Marina Aurelia Hicks, Raul Fernandez-Calienes, Thomas Kellogg, Natasha Ariza, Arianna Mercado-Acosta, Felix Wolcott, Isabella Griffith, Emma Marie Mathason, Emilie Obregon, Mackenna Turso, Roberto Risso, Charlotte Tanner, Gabriella Espinosa, Amanda Lynn Rodriguez, Sophia Isabella Vidal, Elizabeth Ferrer and Nicolai Cristian Lee-Williams.

“Our Disney performers are ready to sing and play their pianos with musicality and energy,” said Galliford. “The South Florida Music Performance Group is extremely proud of their efforts.”

Ransom Everglades School

Veronica Chua, a 2013 alumni of Ransom Everglades School, is the first student from the Georgia Institute of Technology selected to join the prestigious Schwarzman Scholars Program.

Chua went to Atlanta to enroll in Emory University’s and Georgia Tech’s dual-degree program, which offers undergraduates the opportunity to earn a bachelor’s degree from Emory College of Arts and Sciences in just three years followed by an engineering degree from Georgia Tech in two years.

Now as a 2018 graduate from Georgia Tech’s H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, she will jump start her master’s degree with funding from the Schwarzman Scholars Program to study for a year at Beijing’s Tsinghua University.

“I chose industrial engineering because it unlocked the answers to my questions and satisfied my natural curiosity. It represented the perfect fit of applying quantitative and qualitative skills in a real-world context,” Chua said. “Industrial engineering creates value in virtually any industry — it’s all about repairing and improving upon existing systems. The possibilities are endless, and that is what fuels my excitement about the field.”

Chua will finish all requirements for the program in 2020.

School for Advanced Studies

Noa Sohn, a junior at the School for Advanced Studies, was recognized by Do the Right Thing Miami for his ongoing community service project to restore the Lincoln Memorial Park Cemetery in Downtown Miami.

Do the Right Thing Miami is an organization that aims to recognize and reward local youths for their accomplishments and good deeds through various unique partnerships with local law enforcement agencies in Miami-Dade.

Noa started his project to honor the African American war veterans killed in Iraq, Afghanistan, Korea, and Vietnam by beautifying the cemetery. He received several prizes from the Do the Right Thing Miami committee for his efforts, including a free trip to Washington, D.C., and a tablet. He was honored during a recent ceremony held at the Miami Police Academy.

This story was originally published December 26, 2018 at 3:53 PM.