Jasmine “Jazz” Fernandez, daughter of Abel and Karen Fernandez of Miami Lakes, has graduated at the top of her class at Ringling College of Art & Design in Sarasota. She received her BFA in Motion Design with high honors and was also named the Trustee Scholar, the highest honor a student can receive at Ringling.Fernandez is a former resident of Miami Lakes and attended Miami Lakes Elementary, Miami Lakes Middle School and...

American Airlines donated $40,000 to St. Thomas University in honor of American Airlines vice president Marilyn DeVoe, who is retiring after 39 years with the airline.DeVoe, a lifelong advocate for education, has served as vice president since 2010.Her relationship with STU started 17 years ago, when she worked with the school’s president Monsignor Franklyn Casale to build a vocational school in Haiti called Haiti Tec. It was built by...

Ryan Campos, a 10th grade-student at Barbara Goleman Senior High, served as Miami Lakes honorary Mayor for a Day on June 24 at Town Hall. He was selected by Mayor Michael Pizzi for his various engagements in community service including as a member of the Miami Lakes Youth Center Council. Campos checked out the Mayor’s chair on the dais and then visited the Mayor’s office.“The first thing I did was visit the Police Department...

Baseball players who graduated from local schools were taken in last month’s MLB amateur draft, the first step of fulfilling a lifelong dream of playing in the pros. University of Miami and former Mater Academy outfielder Willie Abreu was selected by the Colorado Rockies in the sixth round of the draft.  As a  junior, Abreu registered a .283 batting average, 127 hits, 75 RBI  and seven home runs.He was named to the...

Spanish Lake Elementary fifth grade teacher, Lesley Caraballo, implemented a new program at the school in an effort to link graduates to graduating seniors at Miami-Dade County schools who also attended SLE. The school first opened its doors in 2007 and with the launch of this program seniors have returned to their alma mater to speak about their experiences and plans after graduation. The program took place the last week of...