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Christian at the University of Miami for the Miami Montage Program.

Before I transferred to Miami Senior High, I attended Hialeah Gardens High School where I was surrounded by friends I’d grown up with my entire life. While there, my siblings influenced me into joining clubs like the Key Club, Bible club, and marching band. I also took an active role in sports, which ranged from badminton to track and field. At the end of 9^th grade, my siblings and I decided to join my oldest brother at Miami High, where I vowed to continue to be an active student in my new school.

From Gladiator to Stingray

When I switched schools, I left all my friends behind with the promise of seeing them again. When the time came to choose my classes at Miami High, I was astonished to see the wide variety of courses available to me. I picked the classes that piqued my interest and would go on to shape my high school career.

Sophomore year was the beginning of all my activities. I joined the Million-Dollar marching band, Interact, Anime Nation, the Miami High Times and the Thespian club. I attended band camp over the summer with my siblings, where I felt welcomed and instantly embraced by the band with open arms. It was one of my first glimpses of the community that Miami High offers to students. By the end of sophomore year, I was already determined to join as many clubs as possible in order to get the most out of my high school experience.

Interact

  I joined Interact my sophomore year, and it was the best decision I ever made. The services I attended gave me the opportunity to give back to my community and interact with new people. My first homecoming parade was breathtaking, and walking with Interact made all the difference as I felt part of something much bigger than myself. By the time my second Homecoming rolled around, I was in full Interact mode, staying up late nights to help with banners, endless practice for the skits, running to school incredibly early, and making the best memories.

My best memory was during my final Interact banquet when they announced that I had made it into the Interact Hall of Fame and won the Senior award. There are no words I could conjure up to express my gratitude to this club for allowing me to shape and change other people’s lives through service. At the same time, I realized that not only did I change other people’s lives, but they also changed mine, for the better. Another highlight was becoming Mr. Miami High while representing Interact my senior year; it

was a moment of pure accomplishment.

The Miami High Times

   I joined The Miami High Times my sophomore year because being a journalist reminded me of Superman’s alter ego Clark Kent. More importantly, it was something I had always believed would improve my writing and propel me to be more social. I was only proven right; I have transcended into a great journalist and writer thanks to my journalism teacher Dr. DeNight. My first story was a personality profile about my drum major at the time, and it is still praised today.

My junior year I became a layout editor and started to work more on graphics and do more photography work with online editor-in-chief at the time, Jose Hernandez. I learned a lot as I was being groomed for the position of graphics editor, which was a demanding task. I handle many of the photos that come in and help others with creating, editing and publishing photos. My biggest story had to be about a Miami High alumnus named Fernando Rivero; it took the most amount of time and dedication to finish the story, and I felt satisfied to tell his story truthfully.

My favorite memory from journalism was getting accepted into the Miami Montage program at the University of Miami. I attended workshops where we practiced videography and photography, and then applied those skills on the streets of Miami by recording interviews on diverse topics.

Sports

Even when I transferred schools, my love for track never stopped. I joined the Miami High team and continued to training to lower my running times and better my ability. There was always something about running that set me free. Running gave me clarity and relieved stress like nothing else. I then went on to join cross country, the bowling team, and did wrestling from junior year to senior year.

My favorite memory is from track and field, when I ran my final event my freshman year at Districts. It was the 4 by 4, and I was the only one willing to run it. Even though we were ultimately disqualified, it didn’t stop my teammates from cheering my name with pride. It taught me we can only grow from our failures with perseverance and resilience.

Clubs and Activities

Being heavily involved in already so many things, it would have been crazy to imagine joining another club, right? That is what many people say; however, I decided to partake in every club I could. Being the 2^nd Vice President for the Aware club and the Thespian club means I partake in every acting production in school and environmental cleanups. I am also a member of multiple honor societies like the English, Science, National, Mu Alpha Theta, Law and Leadership.

Advice

  The only advice I will share with you, my fellow Stings, is this: do everything you have ever thought about, dreamt about, or simply try something you never saw yourself doing. The biggest regret that I learned from my family of alumni is that they regret not doing more or not enough.

Even if only once, try something new with open arms because before you know it, it will be over. Some of the greatest moments happen unexpectedly, if you just give yourself more opportunities to explore the world around you. There is never a dull moment in Miami High, and it’s nostalgic to see how fast it flies by.