Coral Gables High senior Nabi Ferra has almost a thousand community service hours, many earned from feeding the homeless. He goes to Overtown with a friend and his dad to hand out sandwiches and fruit.
“I just kept going and it became a part of my routine,” Ferra said. “He [his friend’s dad] goes to the same place each week. The same people tend to go and he’s very close to them.”
Ferra also spends a lot of time with his own father, who is a firefighter working at a station in downtown Miami. He goes to the station on a regular basis to hang out and help.
“I see how they work on a call,” he said.
One of the advantages of volunteering with the fire department is learning about the duties of the paramedics.
“I really have an interest in medicine,” he said. “I like to ride with the paramedics so I can see that side of things. I’ve already been exposed to it and it helps me out.”
When he is not volunteering outside of school, he is doing plenty of community service through school. He is president of Key Club, a service club sponsored by Kiwanis. The Gables Key Club was recognized by Kiwanis for rapid growth in membership.
“We had the largest increase in members from 2011 to 2012,” Ferra said.
Plans for this year call for Key Club to work with Habitat for Humanity. He has helped Habitat in the past with his family.
“We’ve helped build structures for the houses; we’ve done yard work,” Ferra said. “I think I started out when I was 15.”
He also is a member of the National Honor Society, Gables Earth and Future Business Leaders of America.
Sports has been a part of his high school career. In ninth grade he was on the track team and he also has been on the varsity tennis team
“This year I hope to be in varsity water polo,” he said.
Ferra is looking at colleges in the northeast such as Boston College, Brown and Tufts. He’s also considering Duke, Tulane, UF and UM.
“I’m pretty sure I want to be a dermatologist,” Ferra said.
— Linda Rodriguez Bernfeld
