Meet the 2020 Silver Knight winners

2020 AWARDS

After the shooting at her Parkland high school that killed 17 of her classmates and faculty members, she co-wrote a song that helped her community heal, garnering rave reviews from Paul McCartney, Britney Spears and Justin Bieber.

Another started a casserole project in fourth grade to provide home-cooked meals for Miami’s homeless community, and over the next nine years, she and her fellow volunteers have donated over 20,000 casseroles.

Still another organized a one-day summit to teach young people how to organize their communities to effect social and political change, leading one participant to renew his commitment to become the first member of his family to attend college.

And a student concerned about climate change brought reams of data to a South Miami City Commission meeting, helping lead to the passage of a city ordinance requiring new or substantially renovated homes to have solar panels, the first such law in Florida.

These are among the accomplishments of the 30 high school seniors in Miami-Dade and Broward counties who won a Silver Knight Award Thursday evening as part of the 62nd annual Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald program recognizing outstanding high school seniors. In total, 700 students from 103 public and private schools in both counties were nominated.

Each award includes a $2,000 scholarship from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, a Silver Knight statue, an AAdvantage 25,000-mile travel certificate and the Silver Knight medallion presented by American Airlines employees. Another 90 seniors were named honorable mentions; they received a plaque and $500.

Without further ado, meet the 2020 Silver Knight Award winners: