HML student featured on NBC 6 SWAG series

Hialeah Miami Lakes High School (HML) senior Denisse Pino is certainly a Student Working At Greatness (SWAG). She was recently featured in the education series of that name by NBC 6. Reporter Ari Odzer interviewed Pino regarding her life experiences and her plans for the future.
It has been a very successful four years for Pino at HML. During that time, she has never missed a day of school, she has achieved a 4.99 weighted GPA, she has been inducted in to the school’s National Honor Society and she has served as captain of HML’s JROTC.
What makes these accomplishments so significant is the fact that throughout her life, Pino and her mother have experienced extreme economic hardship, often having to move from one apartment to another, staying in shelters or temporarily staying with friends, while also dealing with limited funds for food and basic necessities.
It was not until her senior year that Pino reached out to HML’s trust counselor Odalys Acosta about her situation. Since that time, Pino has discovered that there are programs available to help homeless students achieve success. MDCPS project upstart has provided funds for her senior activities as well as clothing and even toiletries. HML maintains a food bank for students who may need to take food for the weekend. When asked how she was able to maintain such a level of success while dealing with such hardships, Pino states that “it was sheer will power and a desire for a better future.”
Pino has been accepted to the engineering program at University of Central Florida (UCF), where her tuition fees will be waived. She has also earned the Bright Futures scholarship, which will assist with living expenses while at school.
Additionally, she will enter UCF in the fall with 17 college courses already under her belt through a combination of advanced placement and dual enrollment classes taken at HML. Pino feels certain that her leadership experiences with the HML JROTC will help her get a part time job during her college years, as well as provide for a solid professional foundation once she graduates.