Pace High School theology teacher Nelson Bonet received the 2016 Cervantes Educator of the Year Award at a ceremony at Nova Southeastern University on October 25. The award comes after Bonet was chosen as Pace’s Teacher of the Year back in August.
Bonet has taught theology at Pace for nearly a decade, but his contribution to the school goes even further than in the classroom. For the past several years, Bonet has led the Tons of Love food drive, where thousands of pounds of food are donated by Pace students, faculty, family, and the Pace community at large to benefit the hungry both locally and abroad. This year’s drive, which is still ongoing, has collected over a ton of food, with most of it going towards the Hurricane Matthew relief effort in Haiti.
In addition to the food drive, Bonet moderates the Respect Life Club and the Pace Mission Club, which regularly works with Feeding South Florida to provide food for hungry locals. He is also responsible for moderating and organizing Koinonia and Antioch, the Pace freshmen and sophomore retreats.
“I am humbled by receiving such a prestigious award,” said Bonet. “I would like to thank God and my family for supporting me to live out and teach about my faith. I would also like to thank my principal, the administration and my colleagues for being part of this award that has been bestowed on me.”