Carnival Foundation Awards Four-Year College Scholarships to 16 South Florida High School Students

MIAMI (March 18, 2014) — Carnival Foundation, in partnership with the Miami HEAT NBA basketball team and Florida Prepaid College Foundation, presented 16 South Florida students with four-year college scholarships Friday, March 14, during halftime at the HEAT basketball game against the Denver Nuggets.

The students currently participate in the “Carnival Scholarship and Mentoring Program,” an innovative workplace program sponsored by Carnival and the Miami HEAT, in partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Miami, that pairs a student with an employee mentor from Carnival. Prior to entering high school and participating in the Carnival Scholarship and Mentoring Program, the students attended the HEAT Academy, an after-school enrichment program for at-risk elementary-age youth.

“It’s a competitive program, and we are extremely proud of these students who worked hard to earn their scholarship,” said Linda Coll, director of Carnival Foundation. “Without the scholarships, many of our students would not be able to afford to go to college, and we’re honored to make their dreams of furthering their education come true.”

The 2014 scholarship recipients by school:

Booker T. Washington
Damas Petit; Estefania Sierra

Coral Gable Senior High School
Nathaly Fierro; Kelley Rendon

Hialeah Miami Lakes
Olivia Napoles

Mast Academy
Gricelda Ramos

Miami Central Senior High School
Catrell Mcnair

Miami Edison Senior High School
Cindy Oliver; Travis Peterkin

Miami Norland Senior High School
Rakisha Perry

Miami Northwestern Senior High School
Bervely Armand; Roxan Smith

North Miami Senior High
Sabrina Severe

William H. Turner Technical High School
Rose Abel; Mayara Olivares; Lisa St. Philus

In addition to receiving the scholarship, students were presented with a new Dell laptop computer to support their studies.

The scholarships, purchased by Carnival Foundation, were handed out at center court by Coll, with a congratulatory handshake given to each student by Micky Arison, chairman of Carnival Corporation. Miami-Dade Superintendent of Schools Alberto Carvalho and representatives from Florida Prepaid College Foundation, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Miami and the HEAT, including former HEAT star center and current Vice President of Player Programs Alonzo Mourning, were on hand to acknowledge the students.

For the past 12 years, Carnival has purchased Project STARS scholarships from Florida Prepaid College Foundation, representing a collective value of more than $2 million. The Florida Prepaid College Foundation scholarship covers the cost of tuition for two years at a Florida college followed by two years at a Florida public university. This is the fifth year Carnival’s scholarship recipients have matriculated into college.

For more information visit www.carnivalfoundation.com.