The City of Homestead and the Offices of Mayor and Council are proud to recognize Daimiris Garcia for her Silver Knight Award nomination for the 2014 school year. Daimiris, 17, is a senior at South Dade Senior High School and has been a distinguished member of the Mayor’s Youth Council since 2012. The Youth Council, under the guidance and tutelage of Councilwoman Patricia Fairclough, is an ideal setting for ambitious, high-performing students with a penchant for public service.
The Miami Herald Silver Knight Award is one of the nation’s most highly regarded student awards programs. The purpose of this Awards program is to recognize outstanding students who have not only maintained good grades but have also unselfishly applied their special knowledge and talents to contribute significant service to their schools and communities. The Silver Knight Awards program was instituted at The Miami Herald in 1959 by John S. Knight, past publisher of The Miami Herald, founder and editor emeritus of Knight-Ridder Newspapers and 1968 Pulitzer Prize winner.
Daimiris is being recognized for her over 600 hours of community service in mathematics tutoring for the kids in the after school program at Modelo Park. In addition, she also volunteered in the administrative offices, helped keep the park clean and served as a chaperone for park organized field trips.
The Cuban-born student boasts a 3.8 GPA and, after graduating in June, will be enrolled as a freshman at the University of Florida where she will be majoring in Political Science. She aspires to one day have a fulfilling career in the State Department or the United Nations. She cites, as some of her fondest memories as a member of the Youth Council, the trip to Washington D.C where she paid a visit to Congressman Joe Garcia and the satisfaction of helping make this year’s Chili-Cook Off a huge success.
Said Councilwoman Fairclough, “Daimiris will most certainly be missed be me and her council mates. I hope and believe that the skills she was able to hone as an exemplary member of the youth council will serve her along her journey down the path of public service. We wish her the very best.”
