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Silver Knight Nominees Attain Excellence

Get to know Scheck Hillel's 2023 nominees for the Miami Herald Silver Knight Awards! This is one of the nation’s most highly regarded student awards programs. Our nominees stand out for their dedicated pursuit of excellence in their award categories and in their consistent, long-term involvement in social causes. Mazal tov to all!

Samuel Attias  
Award Category: Business
Service Project: Digital Graphic Designer for Friendship Circle
Internship: Junior Analyst at Private Equity Firm
Honors, Awards & Recognition:
Tulane University College Book Award
Jaime and Raquel Gilinski Hillel Ambassador   
National Honor Society
AP Scholar
Quote:  
During my internship, I conducted an in-depth market study of the Houston rental market, which I presented to the entire acquisitions team. I also conducted a survey of the nearby competition for multi-family properties. Other intangible benefits were the times when I was simply listening to phone calls between the brokers, investors, and bankers; kind of like a sponge, soaking everything in.
 
Natalie Esquenazi 
Award Category: Art
Service Project: Community Building After Natural Disasters - NOCAP  
Honors, Awards & Recognition:
National Art Honor Society  
Jaime and Raquel Gilinski Hillel Ambassador    
Quote:
Without my love for art, I would not have been able to find my love
for helping others. I have used these passions to run the National Art Honor Society, where I guide my classmates in assisting the community with their incredible artistic talents.

Meitalia Factor
Award Category: Vocational Technical
Service Project: Neighborhood Farms 4-H Club Founder, Volunteer Head and Web Developer
Honors, Awards & Recognition:
2023 National Honorable Mention of the NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing
AP Scholar With Distinction  
Wesleyan Book Award  
Independent Schools of South Florida Star Award Recipient  
National Computer Science Honor Society  
Rho Kappa National History Honor Society  
National Honor Society  
National Science Honor Society 
Scheck Hillel Merit Scholar 
Quote:
I want to combine computing and farming in my career, using sensors, programming systems, and engineering to improve crop yields and farm efficacy in order to tackle food insecurity at its root.  

Joelle Kirsch (New York University)
Award Category: Science
Service Project: Girls Building STEAM Enrichment Programs
Honors, Awards & Recognition:
National Honor Society
Mu Alpha Theta Math Honor Society
National English Honor Society
Bryn Mawr College Book Award
Quote:
Scheck Hillel STEAM After School Program is what inspired me to pursue a degree in Computer Science. As a woman in STEM, I feel pride in inspiring the next generation of STEAM students who will definitely change the world.

Abraham Klainbaum 
Award Category: Math
Service Project: Hurricane Relief for Honduras
Honors, Awards & Recognition:
National Honor Society Memberships: Honor, Science, History, English, Economics  
American Psychological Association Award 
Northwestern University Book Award  
Quote:
Our world is made up of an infinite number of events, which combined, give each individual their own unique experience. As a puzzle, moments merge to create the life we have. Without one there cannot be the other: one decision brings the next. That is what Mathematics is based on: different individual variables being combined to yield a solution.

Jamie Kurzer (Duke University)
Award Category: General Scholarship
Service Project: Teacher/Choreographer at Prime Dance Company
Honors, Awards & Recognition:
Scheck Hillel Merit Scholar 
Jaime and Raquel Gilinski Hillel Ambassador
National Merit Commended Scholar 
College Board National Hispanic Recognition Award
AP Scholar with Distinction
University of Pennsylvania College Book Award
American Psychological Association (APA) Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools (TOPSS) Academic Achievement in Psychology Certificate
National Honor Society
Quote:
Scheck Hillel has been an incredible outlet for me to explore my academic interests and challenge myself. Throughout my high school career, I believe I have successfully pushed myself to reach my full potential in both my classes and other academic endeavors.

Dalia Saba 
Award Category: Music/Dance
Service Project: Performances of The Nutcracker for Special Audiences
Honors, Awards & Recognition:
Scheck Hillel Merit Scholar 
National Honor Society 
Brown University College Book Award
College Board National Hispanic Recognition Award
Quote:
By dancing for audiences throughout Miami-Dade and Broward, I hope that I am able to touch someone's heart with ballet by filling their mind with music and captivating their eyes with dance. Out of the thousands of people I have performed for, if I only changed one person's life, I would be glad.

Asher Sochaczewski 
Award Category: Social Science
Service Projects: Volunteer, Florida Right to Clean Water; Climate Education Advocate, Schools for Climate Action.
Honors, Awards & Recognition:
University of Oregon Stamps Scholarship Semi-Finalist  
Princeton Service award from The Princeton Club of South Florida  
The Cleo Institute Certified Climate Speaker  
Jewish Youth Climate Movement Certificate  
Science National Honors Society  
Rho Kappa National Social Studies Honor Society 
National Honor Society  
Quote:
I am passionate about environmental activism because I feel like it's one of the greatest issues to ever face humanity. I am also passionate about political activism because, for climate change to be tackled, we need policy change. I am someone who’s very family-oriented, so when I first learned about the climate crisis, I thought about how it would affect my family.

Moises Sutton
Award Category: Athletics 
Service Project: COVID Data Tracking for Mexico’s Jewish Community
Honors, Awards & Recognition:
Computer Science Honor Society  
Mu Alpha Theta Mathematics Honor Society
National Honor Society
National Economics Honor Society 
National Science Honor Society
National English Honor Society
Quote:
What really inspires me to keep playing the many sports that I do is the impact that I have on my teammates. I am always willing to give advice to younger players in order to see them improve. I am also a role model; I use my level of status in the team to influence my teammates to become better for the community when they are off the field.
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