ENGLISH LITERATURE: Ruby Pelz
Senior and Silver Knight English Literature nominee Ruby Pelz created Resources for Resilience in her sophomore year of high school, aiming to assist people who are struggling with mental health challenges.
“In 10th grade, I did a drive where I donated clothes, toys and games to Nicklaus Children’s Hospital inpatient behavioral unit, and that was to make the kids’ very scary experiences less scary,” Pelz said. “And then last year, I donated journals, pens and textured stickers for anxiety to the Homestead Correctional Facility for women in prison.”
Pelz feels a strong connection and takes pride in her project, as it serves those who are less fortunate and looking for ways to cope with any struggles they are encountering, providing them with support, guidance and a sense of hope. This reflects her own values as well as her personal commitment to making a difference.
“The most rewarding part is that the women in prison signed [the journals I donated to them] with notes. They were so grateful, and seeing the difference I made in people’s lives firsthand was amazing,” Pelz said.
The idea for her initiative came from seeing people in her community facing mental health issues, which encouraged her to initiate a positive change. Her experiences showed her how many individuals suffer in silence, which motivated her to create a platform where they can feel understood.
Pelz believes that it is crucial to continue building her project to reach more people who struggle with mental health challenges, both in her local community and in her future college. After high school, Pelz intends to continue running her project and donate to various organizations that require resources that Resources for Resilience can aid them with.
“I would like to continue expanding my project; I have created an Instagram. I post little mental health tips that I think are helpful, and wherever I go for college, I will hopefully bring [Resources for Resilience] there as well,” Pelz said.
Pelz spent significant time choosing a name for her project. She sought a unique name that would represent her and engage her audience. Pelz uses alliteration with the letter of her first name, Ruby, to subtly indicate the person behind Resources for Resilience.
“To be resilient, you need to be able to have access to the resources, so the name was sort of perfect,” Pelz said.
One of Pelz’s primary goals in Resources for Resilience is to serve as a voice for the voiceless.
“I want to stand up for people who don’t have a voice. So I like to think I was giving them a voice,” Pelz said.
GENERAL SCHOLARSHIP: Rodrigo Duran
Miami Palmetto Senior High senior and Silver Knight General Scholarship nominee Rodrigo Duran has founded numerous organizations and created initiatives to have a lasting impact on the community and beyond.
One of his biggest initiatives, amoeba.education, is an artificial intelligence platform that aids teachers and educators, such as Advanced Placement World History teacher Julianne Farkas, in scoring papers and creating more functional, concentrated tests.
“[Amoeba] started off by solving how you can grade open-ended assessments automatically. And now it’s more focused on how you can make any 100-question test into 30 questions. You get a better evaluation of the student in less time, so it saves class time,” Duran said.
Duran started this project in May of 2023 — at the end of his freshman year — and has attracted attention from investors and those specifically in the field of artificial intelligence and computer science.
“[A unique part of my project] is that I’ve spoken to executives in a lot of companies to help me out and a lot of kids and universities around the country, to get their thoughts, get their input and work with them,” Duran said.
As the use of AI in the classroom grows, Duran aims to harness what the technology offers to create educational tools that benefit both teachers and students.
Having the idea to relieve teachers from the burden of grading and spending a plethora of class time reviewing subjects and teaching skills, using amoeba frees the teacher up to spend more time covering different topics, making the classroom more adaptable.
One of Duran’s biggest focuses when designing amoeba was the aesthetic of the platform.
“I really care about design and how it looks,” Duran said.
Duran’s Silver Knight project showcases his curiosity and drive to build something for the community that can later benefit education on a national scale.
The General Scholarship nomination is awarded to those who have extraordinary academics, high test scores and are heavily involved in their community.
Duran’s passion for his project continues to shine through as he works diligently to reach the goal that investors have set for him, which he hopes will continue through the beginning of his college career. The strong foundation Duran has built will serve him well in the future as he continues to grow his platform with many plans and exciting ideas forthcoming.
“[I plan to] raise more money, which has already started, then I’m just going to obviously give [amoeba] to my university, and then I have goals I have to hit so that I don’t lose equity in my company to investors,” Duran said.
