Long before Sabrina Gonzalez won The Miami Herald’s 2016 Sliver Knight in the Vocational Technical category for Miami-Dade in May, the former Mater Lakes Academy student was part of the school’s Early Childhood Education program where she grew fond of a special student.
Adrian was stricken with autism and a student of Cub Academy, an on-site pre-school for what is part of the early childhood curriculum, when Gonzalez met him and his family.
She formed a bond with Adrian and his family, and after he finished pre-school, Sabrina wanted to help his parents and others pay for costs for enrolling them into another school.
After learning about his parents’ financial woes to send him to another school for students with special needs and expecting twins, Sabrina started a non-profit called Heroes Miami in 2014 for families with children with autism to assist them financially to cover some of the expenses.
Gonzalez has raised more than $7,000 through a series of fund-raisers and her non-profit has helped lift the strain on parents’ wallets to get the special care their sons and daughters need to get them through school.
Gonzalez graduated from high school in June with honors as a Summa Cum Laude, and already has earned her Associates in Arts degree from Miami-Dade College as part of the Dual Enrollment program and with CDA certification as part of the Early Childhood Education program.
Gonzalez will be attending the University of Florida in the fall.