Every year, a handful of exceptional students across Miami-Dade and Broward County are chosen amongst their peers to represent their high school in one of the 15 categories to gain the coveted Miami Herald Silver Knight award through their dedication to community service. 

    These are the Class of 2025 Silver Knight nominees:

Daisy Stein – General Scholarship

     In an effort to make financial literacy accessible and engaging for the next generation, Stein wrote “Scouts Allowance,” a financial literacy book to teach children the importance of money management. She took her mission of promoting childhood education one step further by partnering with the Miami-Dade Social Studies Department to create lesson plans that are set to be put in the school curriculum for students grades K-2.

Francine Saye – Athletics

     Playing for Krop’s Volleyball, Soccer and Badminton teams, Saye’s life has revolved around sports since she was little. She is president of Mu Alpha Theta, the National Honor Society, the Class of 2025 Committee and the Cadena Club. Strongly believing that every woman should have equal access to menstrual products, she works with Cadena to help underprivileged women access products that might be too expensive. On top of distributing supplies, Cadena also hosts workshops that help women sew their own reusable pads and receive education on women’s health.

Finn Stewart – Music

     Stewart plays trombone and viola in the band magnet and dedicates most of his community service through being GSA’s co-president. He helps GSA organize events like Trans Day of Remembrance, educating students and honoring the lives of transgender individuals who have died due to targeted violence. The club also holds Ally Day and Day of Silence to raise awareness about LGBTQ bullying.

“Since freshman year, GSA has been a safe space for me to connect with other kids who have the same goal and understanding,” Stewart said.

Nia Simpson – Vocational/Technical

     Simpson is deeply involved in her school community, serving as president of SGA. The summer before her junior year, Simpson started the nonprofit “Compassionists” with fellow nominee Sean Bah. The project focuses on providing important necessities to the homeless by donating hygiene products and food through organized drives. Her inspiration for the project comes from her firsthand experience with homelessness, making this project have a deep personal connection for her.

Sean Bah – Business

     Over the past four years, Bah has been focused on his career endeavors, his latest being the launch of his e-commerce LLC “Be Known.” Through “Be Known,” Bah sells wellness products and e-commerce tips, using the profits to fund his nonprofit “Compassionists.” Through also working with the North Miami Chamber of Commerce, he has gained networking experience and is currently supporting their project of bringing Wi-Fi into underserved regions of Gambia.

Yadlie Joseph – World Languages

     Joseph is the president of the French Club and French Honor Society, while also being a former AP French tutor. Beyond her passion for language, she also launched “YouthMed Connect,” a program aimed at inspiring more students to pursue careers in medicine, a cause that she feels is vital for the future.

“Right now, we have a shortage of medical professionals. It’s important that we try to encourage more students into the profession for the sake of humanity,” Joseph said.

Ilay Shkori – Math

     Shkori has always had a passion for numbers, leading him to start “Finance for All,” a financial literacy program that promotes financial education to high school students through presentations. He runs the program with fellow nominee Aarin Singh and through their efforts giving presentations across the country, they have been able to reach over a thousand high school students.

“There’s a severe lack of financial education in my community,” Shkori said. “It’s important that there are people out there providing that information as kids go into college and start their adult lives.”

Aarin Singh – Speech

     Singh brings his love for speech into every role he takes on, whether that be as president of Model UN and Chess Club, co-president of FBLA or running his organization, “Finance for All.” Other than doing presentations, “Finance for All” also offers online courses and consultations, utilizing social media to spread their message worldwide.

“I realized nobody was really filling that gap of being that person who provides students with financial advice, so I thought I should be the one to take action,” Singh said.

Veronica Halfen – Art

     Halfen is a member of the art magnet and has taken many different art classes throughout high school. Drawing from her passion for art and her personal struggles with diabetes, she created her children’s book, “From My Eyes” which was designed for children at the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital with type 1 diabetes. Each newly diagnosed child is gifted the book as a way to help them in navigating the diagnosis process and reassure them through a difficult time.

“Sitting on my hospital bed extremely overwhelmed, I knew I had to find a way to make this diagnosis less terrifying for other kids like me,” Halfen said.

Simja Haratz – Social Science

     Haratz is the president of Key Club and Happiness and Wellbeing Club, which is where she does her community service. As the leader of Happiness and Wellbeing, she helps organize Lily’s Walk, an annual school-wide event where students donate toward Lily’s Wellness, an organization that gives back to people diagnosed with cerebral palsy. This year, Key Club also made 600 bookmarks to give to the Miami-Dade Library for underprivileged kids to use.

Clara Benzaquen – English

     President of the English Honor Society, Benzaquen has used her passion for research to collaborate with the University of Miami, creating a program that attempts to foster a supportive and inclusive environment for students with disabilities. Her initiative goes beyond traditional academic support, mainly focusing on helping these students connect with each other and build a meaningful community.

“I have family members that are disabled so my reason behind creating the program was so students like them could have a space that they feel welcomed and thrive in,” Benzaquen said.

Maia Gueron – Science

     President of the National Honor Society, Gueron started an ongoing project during the summer of her junior year in which she uses her love for crocheting to make a difference within her community and the environment. In her project, she collects thousands of used plastic bags and turns them into yarn by cutting each bag into strips with the help of clubs around Krop. Afterward, the strips are crocheted together to make lightweight sleeping mats that she donates to the homeless.