MIAMI (WSVN) - Whether it’s through dance, the written word or scientific endeavors, a group of graduating seniors in Miami who received scholarships, are using this opportunity to focus on the future after a difficult and tragic school year.
The students of Miami Northwestern Senior High decided it was time for a new tune: a song of success. 7News cameras captured a group of students rehearsing an elaborate musical number.
Such achievements warm the heart of the school’s officials. “You are the honor students of Miami Northwestern Senior High School, and I want to congratulate each and every single one of you,” said Northwestern Principal Wallace Aristide.
“I want the public to know what Miami Northwestern Senior High School has to offer here,” said Dr. Christina B. Lloyd, the school’s assistant principal.
Whether they’re nurses in training or artists creating, these bright young minds are reaching for their dreams.
But the good happening within these walls is often overshadowed by the bad happening outside of them. During the 2015-16 school year, several Northwestern students were killed on the streets of Miami.
“It’s a tough first, second, nine weeks of school,” said one student as she reflected on three classmates who lost their lives.
Their sudden deaths brought a lot of heartbreak to Northwestern’s halls, but students said, through it all, they never lost hope. “We’ve just learned to go above and go beyond,” said scholarship recipient Kimbriana Prayer.
The students strive to go beyond the heartbreak and above what they see and hear in the news. “We are better than what our community shows us to be,” said scholarship recipient Sara St. Just.
“They’ve lost some of their friends, some of their classmates, but they’ve persevered, they’ve pushed through,” said Northwestern Vice Principal Stephen Papp.
This year, the senior class offered more than $9.5 million in scholarships, and that says a lot. “Our passion for education, and our passion to receive scholarship money and go on to higher heights,” said scholarship recipient Keno Tate.
They are well on their way, learning from the past, but focusing on the future. “‘Cause in life, you’re gonna face obstacles, but it’s how you finish [that matters],” said Tate, “and I feel like we’re finishing very good.”
“It just makes me happy to really know that, through the ups and the downs, that we have stayed together through it all,” said Prayer.
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