The unorthodox school year just ended in the Florida Keys, but local organizations are still honoring teachers and students with awards, grants and scholarships.
The Community Foundation of the Florida Keys recently awarded the first-ever Harry and Linda Bryant Fund grant award to Key West High School Spanish teacher Belinda Rodriguez.
Key West native Liz Wooten-Reschke established the fund to honor her late parents for their four decades of community service in the Florida Keys. The annual $1,000 grant celebrates the critical role educators play in our community, according to the Community Foundation.
The foundation also honored nine Key West High School teachers with the David Wolkowsky 2020 Teachers of Merit awards. The awards are given annually on behalf of the late Key West philanthropist and businessman, David Wolkowsky. Administrators at KWHS select the recipients, who go the extra mile in their passion for teaching and dedication to students.
Wolkowsky left a legacy gift upon his death in 2018 to ensure the Teachers of Merit awards are funded for future generations.
Science teacher Donna Tedesco was named the 2020 Teacher of the Year and received $25,000 for her “commitment to excellence that shines through in all areas as she institutes new programs, mentors colleagues and provides schoolwide leadership,” said KWHS Principal Amber Archer Acevedo.
Eight other KWHS Teachers of Merit each received $5,000: Karen Castro (Spanish), Betsy Ford (English), Neda Jackson (student services), Paula Mercer (government and economics), Pat Rech (exceptional student education), Wanda Spencer (counselor), Michael Truhan (math) and Jody Westbrook (social studies).
Many of those teachers had student Divya Navani in one or more of their classes. Navani is heading to Harvard University. A $27,500 scholarship from the Key West Chamber of Commerce will help offset the costs of her goals.
The chamber each year awards the Honor Roll 100/Charley P. and Orsolina Toppino Memorial Scholarship, which is funded by the Toppino businesses and Key West Chamber members.
Navani plans to become a music attorney to represent artists, who, she said, have been negatively impacted by major record labels.
After an internship at local radio station Island 106.9, Navani now has her own radio show that highlights “artists who are underrepresented in the alternative space, like women or Latinos or blacks,” Navani said.
At Harvard, she will major in data analytics, which combines applied math and computing. “Today you can create a digital experience that is incredibly personal,” Navani said. “You can listen to five songs and a program will know who and what interests you.” That undergraduate program will lead to law school.
The Chamber also awarded two $2,000 Gerald “Moe” and Marina Mosher Vocational Scholarships, to Leela Sorbelli, who will major in nursing at The College of the Florida Keys and Jose Pichardo, who will attend fire college in Ocala. The vocational scholarships are named in honor of the late Moe Mosher, a founding partner of Historic Tours of America.
Finally, the chamber’s $1,000 William Appelrouth Scholarships this year go to Leislany Garcia-Montero and Roosevelt Joseph, two members of the KWHS graduating class with a record of outstanding community service.
