Miami Hurricanes football Coach Randy Shannon and Dolphins Hall-Of-Famer Dwight Stephenson took center stage at Miami Central High School on Thursday to honor students who have turned their lives around.
"We really decided to do something special for education. We knew that Miami Central is a struggling school and we felt like we could make a difference here," said Allison Goldberg, one of 18 mentors from Leadership Miami.
The mentors started a program called Team Triple-Threat. And today, their first class graduated, with each student getting a $1,000 scholarship.
"They inspired me to go to college and be in a situation like they're in, where you can have great success," said Marquetta Bivens, a student in the program.
"Without this program, I'd be lost, confused, scared," said Cristian Arango. "Now I'm much more confident."
Arango may have gone to a struggling school, but this fall, he's going to college at Columbia.
Central's proud principal, Doug Rodriguez remarked, "It's exciting to look in their eyes and see that they're not just focused on graduation from high school or college, they're interested in getting their graduate degree, their law degree. I feel like a proud father to see our students like that."
Local
The Leadership Miami mentors are local professionals. Bankers, attorneys, architects and others who give the students real-world skills that they may not get otherwise. Everything from resume writing to balancing a checkbook.
"We have learned from them, they have learned from us. Many of them come from a rough neighborhood and don't have the same opportunities we had," said Goldberg. "We're gonna miss these kids. They've really touched all of us."
