Stories written by Linda Rodriguez Bernfeld

It’s not always easy to find a place for kids who love to dance and move to music, but don’t want to take ballet. There is an alternative to traditional dance studio located in the Falls Warehouse District. It is called SimpCity, and bills itself as a non-traditional dance studio. “Beside the fact that we [...]

Local filmmaker Brad Bernstein has created a documentary called Far Out Isn’t Far Enough: The Tomi Ungerer Story about a famed children’s book author/illustrator who climbed to the top of the industry but his work in erotica killed his children’s book career. “Basically, essentially he lost all the publishing contracts in the U.S. The erotica [...]
Improv is being used to help business people overcome their fear of speaking in front of groups. Carey Kane, founder of Improv Yourself Communications, is offering workshops and classes to help companies train their employees in better presentation skills. “We teach professional how to think better on their feet,” Kane said. “We also teach them [...]
Improv is being used to help business people overcome their fear of speaking in front of groups. Carey Kane, founder of Improv Yourself Communications, is offering workshops and classes to help companies train their employees in better presentation skills. “We teach professional how to think better on their feet,” Kane said. “We also teach them [...]

Jasmine Johnson is the Gulliver Prep nominee for the Silver Knight in the Art category. She has been studying art since she was an eighth grader and now, as a senior, she’s taking the Higher Level Art class in the International Baccalaureate program. As an artist, Johnson says she prefers to work with traditional methods. [...]

Senior Dianne Garriga is a thespian and vice president of Coral Gables High Troupe 476. She also is vice president of the Drama Club. As a member of the troupe, Garriga goes to competitions. Those who score a superior or excellent for their acting are eligible to go on the state competition. Garriga took part [...]

Coral Gables High senior Josue Guevara is very involved in extracurricular activities. He is a board member of Interact, a service club that does a variety of projects, including a Thanksgiving food drive that he led this year. “We motivate. We tell kids, if you want to lend a hand, you can donate canned food. [...]

Coral Gables High senior Amanda Cabrera has more than 600 community service hours. Many of the hours came from volunteering at Miami Children’s Hospital. “I started in the summer going into 10th grade,” Cabrera said. “I did paperwork. I answered phone calls.” Later, she switched to the childcare area. “The daycare was for children whose [...]

Palmetto High School senior Gabriella Montes is the Silver Knight nominee in Athletics. Montes plays golf and tennis for Palmetto, serving as captain of the tennis team and co-captain of the golf team. This year the golf team did well, winning Districts and moving on to the Regional Tournament. Individually, Montes had an exceptional District [...]

Carolina Saverin is the Palmetto High School Silver Knight nominee in Drama. Saverin, a senior, has accumulated more than 1,400 service hours for her work in drama alone and she says she earned another 1,500 hours for other activities. “I’m a part of a corporation called Miami Children’s Theater and I constantly perform in their [...]

For the past five years, Gulliver Academy senior Connor Kuci has spent many hours working at the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis. “I worked at the rehabilitation lab looking at the mechanics of how they increase motor function in the arms and legs of people who are in wheelchairs,” he says. “It was purely voluntary. [...]

Myungyi Son is the Palmetto High Silver Knight nominee for Music. Son plays piano and flute, and has been a member of the marching band, the symphonic band, the pit orchestra and the full orchestra. She also is an accomplished pianist. “I received superior evaluations in the Musically Advanced Division at the Federation Music Festival,” [...]

Nicholas Gonzalez is the Palmetto High School Silver Knight nominee in Business. Asenior, he says he was tapped for the honor because of his high grades in business classes, his Outstanding Junior Business Award and his participation in DECA. “It’s a business club and it focuses on helping you develop business skills,” Gonzalez says. “I [...]

Catherine Levy is the Ransom Everglades School Silver Knight nominee in the category of Music. Levy, a senior, says music has shaped her life, allowed her to travel and given her many exciting adventures. Those adventures began when she was in the fifth grade and joined the Miami Children’s Chorus. “With the Miami Children’s Chorus, [...]