LIVE: Watch the Miami Herald/el Nuevo Herald Silver Knight Awards
Not yet out of the pandemic, the 63rd Annual Silver Knight Awards will be livestreamed on Thursday evening to safely give outstanding Miami-Dade and Broward high school seniors the recognition they deserve.
A countdown to the ceremony honoring the winners and honorable mentions in 15 categories — including math, science, art and music — will begin at 6:30 p.m. The countdown will feature a montage of well wishes from high school principals, Silver Knight coordinators at the schools and Miami Herald sponsors of the prestigious event.
The livestream can be found at miamiherald.com/silverknight as well as on the Miami Herald’s Facebook page and YouTube channel: https://www.facebook.com/miamiherald/ and https://www.youtube.com/user/MiamiHerald/
The event will be recorded live from Confetti & Fog FX, a Hialeah video production studio. Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald President Nancy Meyer will deliver the opening remarks. Monica Richardson, executive editor of the Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald and McClatchy Florida regional editor, and Rick Hirsch, managing editor of the Miami Herald, will present the awards to the students.
“I’m excited, I’m humbled,” Meyer said. “They’re standout students.”
She said she planned on congratulating the seniors not only on their achievements but for overcoming challenges brought on by COVID-19 over the past year and a half. “It’s remarkable and admirable.”
Each of the 15 categories has one winner and three honorable mentions from each county. Miami-Dade has 406 nominees and Broward has 213 nominees. The 619 students represent 65 Miami-Dade schools and 34 Broward schools, both public and private.
All nominees for the awards go through a rigorous application process including interviews with a series of experts in the respective fields. Those interviews were held from March 8-11 for Broward nominees and April 12-15 for Miami-Dade nominees.
The Silver Knight Award comes with a $2,000 scholarship, a statue, an AAdvantage 25,000-mile travel certificate and an American Airlines medallion. Honorable mentions will receive a $500 scholarship and an engraved plaque.
Former Miami Herald publisher John S. Knight started the program in Miami in 1959 to honor high school seniors who excelled in academics, athletics and community service.
Previous notable Silver Knight Award winners have included:
▪ Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon, who won the Silver Knight in Science in 1982 as a Palmetto High senior.
▪ William Conti, the Oscar-winning composer who wrote the music for the “Rocky” and “Karate Kid’’ films, among others, won the Silver Knight in Music in 1959 as a North Miami High senior.
▪ Frances Cook, a career Foreign Service officer who was the former U.S. ambassador to the Sultanate of Oman and the Consul General in Egypt, won the Silver Knight in Social Sciences in 1963, representing South Dade High.
▪ Ted Hendricks, the former University of Miami star defensive end who played 15 seasons in the NFL before being inducted into the Hall of Fame, won the Silver Knight in Athletics as a Hialeah High senior in 1965.
This year, despite the restrictions mandated by the pandemic, at least one school is making the best out of an unusual time: Our Lady of Lourdes Academy is hosting an on-campus watch party for the nominees, their parents and school staff to make the night special.
This story was originally published May 19, 2021 at 6:30 AM with the headline "LIVE: Watch the Miami Herald/el Nuevo Herald Silver Knight Awards."