Special ceremony honors students from Miami-Dade County Public Schools’ 5000 Role Models of Excellence Program

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – More than 100 graduating seniors from Miami-Dade County Public Schools were honored in a special ceremony for their commitment to education.

The 104 young men are mentees in the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Program. Many of them come from disadvantaged homes and neighborhoods. Now all of them are going to move forward and become mentors themselves.

“With 5000 role models I’ve been able to achieve so many things with the community,” said Joseph Thomas, a Senior at Miami Northwestern High School.

Thomas is graduating from Miami Northwestern Senior High school, where he’s also student class president. He will be headed to Jackson State for College and is incredibly proud of the work he and his peers have done in the program.

“We’re all from different schools so it just brings the culture back into Miami-Dade County Public Schools where we can graduate and have this sense of community, a sense of brotherhood, that we can do well with each other,” said Thomas.

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Nelson Adams is a physician and mentor. He has worked with the mentoring program since its inception.

“They are here today actually celebrating their success. They’re about to graduate from high school, many are going on to higher education, some are seeking jobs,” said Adams.

He said Wednesday’s event is just as much about praising these young men for their hard work, as it is preparing them for what’s next.

“Though we have mentored what is being instilled in them is the requirement that they too are now mentors, they are role models. There are an ocean of young people looking up to them,” said Adams.

Of the 104 students, 22 of them are going to Universities and Colleges, some of them are going to the military, others will become first responders.

According to the program’s website, the program serves approximately 8,000 students in 105 schools, including 37 Elementary, 24 Middle, 33 Senior High, and 11 K-8 Centers in Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS). The expansion program in Pinellas County Schools serves more than 500 students in 20 middle and senior high school chapters, and in 2015-2016 Duval County Public Schools opened another 10 chapters. Over 6,000 volunteers dedicate their time and resources to the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project.

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For more information about the 5000 Role Models Program, click on this link.