Belen Jesuit Preparatory School

11 Silver Knight Nominees Announced

Milagros Zequeira | Silver Knight Coordinator
Eleven students from Belen Jesuit Preparatory School have been nominated for a 2017 Silver Knight, which are community service awards given by The Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald.
  • Art: Carlos Machado
  • Athletics: Patrick Maher
  • Drama: Oscar Berlanga
  • English: Andres Balcazar
  • General Scholarship: Esteban Guio
  • Mathematics: Jovier Jimenez
  • Music and Dance: Nicolas Aguilar
  • Science: Andres Pinate
  • Social Science: Alejandro Smith
  • Speech and Debate: Kevin Simauchi
  • World Languages: Jorge Miro-Quesada.
 
What does it take to become a nominee? Seniors in good standing must possess a minimum unweighted 3.2 GPA and a strong commitment to service throughout their high school years. In addition, they must demonstrate excellence in one of the 15 possible categories, which include academic subject areas, as well as athletics, business, speech and debate, and others.  Students in the General Scholarship category must be a well-rounded individual in the top 1 or 2% of their class. 
 
“We are proud to recognize our talented Silver Knight Nominees whose outstanding academic achievements and selfless commitment to service have positively impacted our school and community,” said Mr. Jose E. Roca, principal. "These students have worked very hard for this recognition and we wish them all the best as they move forward in the competition."
 
Nominated students must fill out an extensive application, which also includes substantiation of their service endeavors, and complete an interview in-person with 3 judges who are experts in that student's category. Students must then wait until mid-May to find out who has won a Silver Knight or one of 3 honorable mentions in that category. Winners receive a statuette of the silver knight, a medal that can be worn at graduation, a $2,000 scholarship and an airline ticket for a flight in the continental U.S. Honorable mentions receive a plaque and a scholarship check for $500. 
 
The Silver Knight Awards ceremony will be held at the James L. Knight Center on May 17. The identities of the 30 Silver Knights (15 in Miami Dade County & 15 in Broward County) and 90 Honorable Mentions (45 in Miami Dade County & 45 in Broward County) are revealed at the ceremony.
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BELEN JESUIT PREPARATORY SCHOOL
500 SW 127th Avenue, Miami, FL 33184
phone: 305.223.8600 | fax: 305.227.2565 | email: webmaster@belenjesuit.org
Belen Jesuit Preparatory School was founded in 1854 in Havana, Cuba by Queen Isabel II of Spain.  The task of educating students was assigned to the priests and brothers of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits), whose teaching tradition is synonymous with academic excellence and spiritual discipline.  In 1961, the new political regime of Cuba confiscated the School property and expelled the Jesuit faculty.  The School was re-established in Miami the same year, and over the next decade, continued to grow.  Today, Belen Jesuit sits on a 30-acre site in western Dade County, only minutes away from downtown Miami.