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Optimist Club honors local students with scholarships at commission meeting
Summary
The North Bay Village Optimist Club presented multiple college scholarships and honors to students including Maya Taggio and Penelope Heller, highlighting immigrant and civic-service stories and several full-tuition and merit awards.
The North Bay Village Optimist Club presented scholarships to a lineup of Miami-area high school students during the commission’s June 17 meeting, recognizing academic achievement, community service and immigrant resilience.
Jane Blake, an Optimist Club co-chair, introduced recipients and sponsors and described the program’s long history of support to local students. "I'm Jane Blake, and this first sponsor has been in North Bay Village for an extraordinary long time," she told the audience as she called students to the podium. Among the recipients, Maya Taggio — who emigrated from Buenos Aires and led tutoring and advocacy work for immigrant students — was singled out for a Posse scholarship that covers tuition at Pomona College.
Other awards included a Manny Sentner scholarship (Cole Goya, absent), a Pagani scholarship presented to Myra (a Ukrainian refugee and Boston University admit), and a Julie's Realty scholarship presented to Penelope Heller, who the presenters said scored a 31 on the ACT and earned a Girl Scouts Gold Award. Penelope thanked organizers and sponsors for the opportunity and praised the community’s support.
Organizers asked for photos of winners and families after the presentation and commissioners congratulated recipients from the dais. The recognition portion concluded with the commission calling the formal agenda to order.
