2025-2026 School Year
Amarys Paz: Junior – TV Production
“Two other students and I spent the entirety of a school day reporting and interviewing teachers and some students, mostly in technical colleges. That same day, I had to edit a 2-minute video to submit it to Channel 7 by that Friday. I felt a mix of nervousness and excitement. Nervous about the fact that this would be the first official news package at such a young age. And excited for future opportunities that may happen. It means a lot of things for me. During the day, I was able to network with some of the college professors to do projects with them, so definitely more work that I am open to doing. It’s a big thing that I can add to my college portfolio, which is amazing. This can also help me by possibly putting together more pieces again for them.”
Aztil Duarte: Junior – Commercial Arts
“The program I chose is called the Filmmakers Workshop. The application process was a bit tedious because I found the program less than a month before the deadline, so I had to rush to submit everything. I’ve done my research, and apparently, they will treat me like an NYU student and teach me almost every aspect of filmmaking, but I won’t see my schedule until later this month. Being accepted into this program was a dream come true because NYU is the only school I want to go to, and I don’t see anything else in my future but being a student there. This program doesn’t guarantee acceptance, but it’s definitely an opportunity to network and learn much more about the career I want to pursue. It means so much to me- I still can’t believe it. I sometimes wake up and check my application page because I think it’s a joke and that they didn’t actually approve me. Shout out to Ms. Soto, because after seeing my work, she was the one who told me to look into NYU, since they have amazing film programs. Since then, I’ve been obsessed with this school.”
Dwayne Davis: Sophomore – Cambridge Engineering
“I play football for South Broward High School, and I play Defensive end for my team. I got into football because my dad and my whole family love football, and I just wanted to play a sport. My first time playing football was when I was 13, and I played for a park. The main thing I like about football is the physicality and contact of it; it’s a way for me to get my aggression out. What I dislike about football is probably all the conditioning my coach makes us do and all the running. Some other parts I like are when my coaches do 11 on 11 scrimmages for us and when the coaches take us to the weight room.”
Brandon Clark: Sophomore – Information Technology
“Something interesting about my life is when I was in ninth grade I played in an AAU tournament called the Alliance National Championship. In this tournament we won as a team and I averaged 15 points, 5 assists, and 3 rebounds. It was a very fun and funny experience because I won with my teammates. It was also out of town so we traveled on a bus and stuff and had a hotel. I play point guard and shooting guard for my team. I would say my skills grew from this tournament because we had to play and like adapt to the moment which kinda strengthened our bond and trust as a team.”
Ariyana Strickland: Senior – Commercial Arts
“When I got to MLEC in 10th grade, I had moved from online school and I started a small business. At first, it was just among my friends, they were supporting me, my mom was supporting me. It was a very collaborative thing that I was able to start by hitting the ground running with the support of my new friends at MLEC. I make keychains and small pixel characters that people wear on their lanyards, pants, and bookbags. It started small, but eventually the support of the people at this school led to me being able to expand and even start selling on Etsy, make an Instagram, and sell to people all around the world. Starting this business taught me principles in business and also how to better socialize with people and have deeper connections.”
