Silver Knight Awards Results 2024

The 66th Annual Silver Knight Award ceremony, hosted annually by The Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald, was held on May 23 at the James L. Knight Center. Seven Belen Jesuit seniors were nominated for the coveted award, which recognizes outstanding high school seniors for their unselfish service to their school and community.

Armando González ‘24 won the Silver Knight in Vocational Technical and Nicholas León ‘24 won Honorable Mention in Social Science.

“I couldn’t be prouder of the young men nominated for the Silver Knight,” said Principal José E. Roca ‘84. “I join our community in congratulating Armando for winning and  Nicholas for being recognized as an honorable mention recipient. Their dedication and passion for service exemplify the magis and serve as an inspiration to the student body.”

Belen’s Silver Knight Coordinator, Mrs. Claudia Basso, summed up their service.

Armando founded “Save our Soles'' to provide free foot care, shoes, and socks to the homeless residents of Chapman Partnership. Armando began his volunteer work with Chapman at a young age. The summer entering his junior year, Save our Soles began with the idea of finding local podiatrists who would provide free foot care exams to the residents of Chapman, and upon completion of the exams, the patients would receive a free pair of shoes. He was awarded a grant from Miami-Dade County for his project worth $100,000, partnered with Barry University’s Podiatry School to offer students clinical hours for their service to Chapman, and finally partnered with Dick’s Sporting Goods and Adidas to bypass their bulking policies. As of today, Armando has helped over 2,000 homeless residents receive the proper foot care they need and has filed up to four more grants to keep the organization growing. 

Nicholas was nominated for his work with the nonprofit organization Ducks Unlimited, a 501(c)3 dedicated to conserving, preserving, and managing wetlands across North America. In 2021, he founded the South Florida Chapter of Ducks Unlimited to spread awareness across the state and ensure South Florida’s ecosystems are conserved for generations to come. Nicholas joined forces with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation organization and began taking groups of high school students to local clean-ups. So far, his South Florida Chapter has recruited approximately 140 members and has raised over $110,000, resulting in over 450 acres of wetland conservation across the United States. In addition to his volunteer work with Ducks Unlimited, Nicholas volunteers at the Bay of Pigs Museum, where he helps organize documents. He also learns the history behind the Bay of Pigs by talking to veterans and studying the exhibits. 

Congratulations to Belen’s other nominees on a job well done:

According to the Miami Herald, 788 high school seniors from 77 Miami-Dade and 29 Broward public, charter and private schools were nominated by their schools for this year’s awards. In addition to the 30 winners — 15 each in Miami-Dade and Broward — 90 other students were named Honorable Mentions. The winners receive a $2,000 scholarship from the Herald Charities Foundation and 25,000 AmericanAdvantage miles, good for one round-trip ticket in the continental U.S., courtesy of American Airlines. They also receive a medallion and a Silver Knight statue. The Honorable Mentions receive a $500 scholarship and an engraved plaque.

Click here to watch the Silver Knight Ceremony. If you’d like more information about the Silver Knight program, contact Mrs. Basso at cbasso@belenjesuit.org.