For years, Miami Palmetto Senior High has nominated seniors for the esteemed Miami Herald Silver Knight Award. This is one of the most prestigious awards offered in Miami-Dade County, recognizing students’ notable impact on the community. The Silver Knight Award is offered in 15 categories: Art, Athletics, Business, Drama, English and Literature, General Scholarship, Journalism, Mathematics, Music and Dance, Digital and Interactive Media, Science, Social Science, Speech, Vocational-Technical and World Languages.
Nominees are selected from all over Miami-Dade and Broward County, but there are only 30 winners and around 90 honourable mentions. A Silver Knight recipient receives a $2,000 scholarship, an American Airlines medallion and a Silver Knight state. An honorable mention earns a $500 scholarship and an engraved plaque.
The selection process is run by Advanced Placement Literature and Composition teacher and Silver Knight Coordinator Andrea Spivak, with assistance from College Assistance Program Advisor Linda Dwyer. Many students may have service projects, but it is their job to pick the one or two students to nominate per section.
Over the next week, The Panther will break down each MPSH Silver Knight Nominee and their projects, accomplishments and motivations that pushed them to fight for this award. Check The Panther daily to meet the 2025-26 Silver Knight Nominees from MPSH.
ART: Madison Berlowe
Berlowe’s project is centered around one of the most significant places in her life: Howard Drive Elementary. Berlowe runs two projects at the school — tutoring second through fifth graders as well as a beautification project in which she adds her artwork to different areas of the school.
“My grandma taught at Howard Drive, my dad and his siblings went [there] and then I went with my brother and now my little cousin goes [there], so I’ve always wanted to give back to them since they’ve been in my family for such a long time,” Berlowe said.
For Berlowe, all of her inspiration comes from her family, ranging from her choice to volunteer at Howard Drive to her passion for art, which is closely reflected in her projects. Berlowe explained how her great-grandfather, whom she looks up to very much, was an artist, and how the endless stories about him inspired her to create touching murals for the school. She even chose to paint on the pre-kindergarten building because her little cousin is there, allowing him to see the mural as he arrives each morning.
“I always want to do something fun and creative for the kids, especially since I’m [working with] an elementary school, so I always try to make it something they can be interactive with,” Berlowe said. “For my mural, I did the ABCs on it so they have the whole alphabet, and it’s right by the pre-k building. I felt like it was perfect to have. They’re now learning the alphabet, so they can do stuff with that.”
Berlowe’s engaging murals have even grown the school’s population, with Berlowe stating that after she began her beautification project, she has seen a rise in enrollment for the school.
“When I started doing my project, I heard that enrollment was low. Since doing my project, I have seen the enrollment go up because the principal recently informed me that they’re [going to be the first school in the district to have] a three-year-old pre-k program,” Berlowe said. “I feel like my mural, because it’s on the pre-k building, I felt like that really helped bring in new students and helped the enrollment.”
Though Berlowe is off to college soon, her aspirations do not stop her from staying connected to her projects that shaped her past few years of high school.
“I have been doing my project since ninth grade, the beautification part. And then last year, for junior year, I started doing my tutoring project,” Berlowe said.
She has brought many others into the tutoring program, leaving it to them to pursue it when she leaves. As for the beautification project, Berlowe said that she plans to do art whenever she returns to Miami and hopes to continue leaving her mark on Howard Drive. Her efforts reflect a legacy built not only on what she accomplished but also on what she has set in motion.
