‘There is no limit for you’: 2022 Silver Knight winners sparkle on stage
After two years of virtual ceremonies, tiny Zoom squares featuring the nominees and at-home celebrations, the Miami Herald/el Nuevo Silver Knight Awards returned to the stage to honor Miami-Dade and Broward high school seniors who have excelled in academics, athletics and community service.
The coronavirus pandemic disrupted the Class of 2020 and 2021 celebrations, but on Thursday evening nearly 700 students and their families and friends gathered at the James L. Knight Center in downtown Miami for the 64th annual ceremony — and the excitement was palpable.
At the start of the event, parents, families, teachers and the students themselves erupted in applause to recognize the group of nominees sitting center stage.
In total, 100 public, charter and private schools were represented by students nominated for an award in one of 15 categories, ranging from art and science to world languages, athletics, drama and general scholarship. Between the two counties, there were 30 Silver Knight winners and 90 Honorable Mentions.
READ MORE: Meet the 2022 Silver Knight Winners
“A few things have changed since we were last here in this very auditorium in three years, right?” Bob McFarlin, general manager of the Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald, told the crowd. “We’ve watched you, rooted for you and been amazed by you, amazed at your resilience and tenacity to power on in your high school years to where you are today.”
One of those students was Caroline Nolan of St. Thomas Aquinas High in Fort Lauderdale, who won the Broward Silver Knight in English & Literature. She founded the Foster Friends Club to mentor foster children, focusing on reading so they can pursue their education. After learning that many foster families stopped taking in children during the pandemic, she sprung into action.
To date, the club has more than 190 members who tutor students and organize drives for school supplies, pajamas and personal hygiene items.
And then there was Carlos Morales, the Belen Jesuit Preparatory senior who won a Miami-Dade Silver Knight in Athletics. With the support of his brother, family and friends, he founded the Abuelos Foundation, which connects fixed-income seniors, often isolated, with student volunteers, in memory of his grandmother, who passed away in 2015.
During the pandemic, Morales and the other student volunteers, referred to as “nietos” or grandchildren to the more than 100 seniors, made more than 1,000 deliveries.
Prior to naming the winners, Monica Richardson, executive editor of the Miami Herald, el Nuevo Herald and the Bradenton Herald, encouraged students to ask themselves who helped them get to where they are today, and who offered the support they needed to push through.
“You’re here today, but what helped you get here?” she said, posing the question to students. Be it a tutor, a family member, a coach or a classmate, she told the students to remember “every person, every lesson and every moment that has molded you into the person you are today and are still growing into.”
‘I didn’t expect it’
Before each winner was announced, presenters described to the audience a brief explanation of what the student had achieved. But the little snippet — either about an organization they founded or a project they launched — was sometimes just enough to let students and family members know whose name would be announced.
In some cases, even before their name was announced, the crowd began to scream.
Take Morales, who founded the Abuelos Foundation. Just before his name was called, a group of supporters in the family and friends section stood up and cheered. As he stood on stage with his award, holding back tears, one yelled, “We love you!”
Even the winners weren’t afraid to show their excitement.
Anabelle Figueroa, who won the Miami-Dade Silver Knight in Art, pumped her fists in the air as she ran up the stairs. And once on stage holding her award, the Coral Reef Senior High senior took a selfie with the presenters.
And Bella Neptune Peterson, the Miami-Dade Silver Knight in English & Literature from Gulliver Preparatory, ran down the walkway when their name was called, covering their mouth in shock once onstage.
“When they said LGBTQ, I was like, ‘What?’ ” Peterson told the Herald after the ceremony. “I totally didn’t expect it. I didn’t know what to do with myself. It just feels like all my advocacy paid off. I’m so excited for what the future has to hold, not only for me but for all non-binary youth in the world.”
In the application, Peterson described their quest to educate people about issues facing the trans community, working with the Yes Institute, a nonprofit that works to prevent suicide among youth. They launched a monthly newsletter, TransTalk, which aims to make trans issues more accessible, with an emphasis on activism.
“It’s such an honor,” Peterson said. “This is the perfect end to my senior year. It’s a lot of emotions.”
For Joshua Reaves, who won the Miami-Dade Silver Knight in Drama, the award felt “amazing.”
“I was shaking even before they got to my category,” the senior from Dr. Michael Krop Senior High told the Herald. “We’re all amazing candidates and you hear what other students have done. It gives you a sense of impostor syndrome. So when you succeed, it gives you [that] confidence.”
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Joining a prestigious group
Every year, Silver Knights are recognized for going above and beyond during their four years of high school to make a difference in their communities. Every year, they achieve the extraordinary.
Each of the 30 Silver Knight winners receives a $2,000 scholarship from the Herald Charities Foundation, in addition to a special medallion and the coveted Silver Knight statue. They also receive 25,000 American Advantage miles, good for one round-trip flight in the continental United States, courtesy of American Airlines.
The 90 students who were named Honorable Mentions receive a plaque and a $500 scholarship from the Herald Charities Foundation.
Each category has one winner and three honorable mentions from each county. Broward had 192 nominees from 33 schools and Miami-Dade had 469 nominees from 67 schools.
The winners join a long list of admired past winners. Since the program began in 1959, more than 1,500 students have been honored. Past winners include Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy and Bill Conti, the Oscar-winning composer who wrote the music for the “Rocky” and “Karate Kid’’ films, among other notable names.
A name that was most recently recognized on a national scale is Ketanji Brown Jackson, who earned an Honorable Mention in the Drama category in the 1988 Silver Knights. She graduated from Palmetto Senior High School, where she was a speech and debate superstar. In April, she was confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“Nominees, there is no limit for you,” McFarlin said. “As you turn your tassel and begin your post-high school journeys, there is no stopping you. Having already gotten to this achievement puts you on the right track for success and accomplishment.”
This story was originally published May 26, 2022 at 12:00 AM.
