MEET THE MILLENNIALS

2015-06-07 - By Karen Yi

They were the best and brightest among South Florida’s first class of millennials. Fifteen years later, these Class of 2000 valedictorians are living out their potential. Find out where the lives of Broward County’s turn-of-the-century grads have taken them, including these three who changed their career paths.

The best and the brightest don’t always do the expected.

Sure, Broward County’s valedictorians from the class of 2000 include at least three doctors, two lawyers and several entrepreneurs.

But some chose a less-traveled path. Among them are a writer, a NASA engineer and an advocate for affordable housing.

Bryan Gartner — Hallandale High

Bryan Gartner has landed his dream job — working on the next capsule that will launch astronauts to the space station.

“It doesn’t get much better than working on a manned space flight,” said Gartner, an engineer for the Boeing Commercial Crew program at the Kennedy Space Center.

He said that since he was a boy, he’s aspired to work in aviation and space exploration.

“I was always tinkering with stuff ... I grew up building things and taking things apart,” said Gartner, who grew up on a farm in Illinois and moved to Florida in high school.

His father, a Vietnam veteran, used to take him on helicopter rides, and he was quickly hooked. He earned his pilot’s license in high school and completed his undergraduate and graduate degrees in aerospace engineering at the University of Central Florida.

As a civilian employee, he tested fighter jets for the U.S. Air Force and went on to purchase and test rockets for the space shuttle program.

But after two years of working there, NASA announced massive layoffs and the planned retirement of the shuttle program. Though Gartner kept his job, he decided to seek employment elsewhere to avoid any future layoffs. That meant living and working in a city away from his family.

“That was a very trying time, living two hours away,” said Gartner, who married his high school sweetheart in 2005. “I had to leave my wife and kid at the house … that was a rather large burden.”

While Gartner tested helicopters for two years in Jupiter, his wife Annette remained in Central Florida teaching at a public school. Eventually, he was able to return to the Kennedy Space Center when a job opened up with Boeing.

“Just keep your head down and press forward,” said Gartner, now a father of two girls, ages 2 and 5. “You can’t count on luck.”

Hafeez Lakhani — Flanagan High, Pembroke Pines

Standing in front of his 1,200-member graduating class, Hafeez Lakhani offered some words of wisdom that would ultimately guide the next 15 years of his life: “You’ve got to have balls.”

He graduated from Yale University and took a year off to volunteer in India, where his family is from. He quit his highpaying job as a commodities trader on Wall Street and became a writer. He finished his first novel and hopes to get it published soon.

“I was once so envious of this ability to create something with beauty and now I’ve done that,” said Lakhani, who still lives in New York City.

Coming from an immigrant family, he said he always felt pressure to take a high-paying job. But when the economy plunged, Lakhani decided to pursue the arts. Since then he’s taken writing fellowships and has been published in literary journals.

“I wouldn’t go back [to Wall Street] for all the money in the world,” said Lakhani, who supports himself with writing grants and a job as an academic consultant for families hoping to get their kids into elite colleges.

He said he still struggles with his family’s approval; they equated success with the good pay of his Wall Street job. Switching tracks was a difficult decision but one he’s glad he made.

“Do you just go and seek the most profitable way to make a living, or do you go in a more patient search of what’s impor- tant to you?” he asked.

Lakhani says his advice for high schoolers remains the same: “Your comfort and discomfort with fear is going to make or break the biggest decision of your life. If, for a brief moment, you can be fearless, you really have to grab on to those moments.”

Elizabeth (Montrose) Hacker — Cardinal Gibbons High School, Fort Lauderdale

Once a band nerd in high school, Elizabeth “Lisa” Hacker is now playing a different kind of tune. She works as a communications manager for a nonprofit affordable housing agency in Boston.

“I do think the government has a very important role in taking care of its citizens, and we should be putting taxpayer money to take care of people in very difficult circumstances,” said Hacker, who lives with her husband and daughter in Bedford, Mass.

In high school, she says she didn’t know what to pursue as a career. She played the saxophone —marching in New York City’s St. Patrick’s Day parade — and took as many advanced classes as she could handle.

When she attended The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., she stuck to what she liked: English classes. She graduated with an English degree and spent a year volunteering for Habitat for Humanity in a rural part of Georgia.

“It was definitely a culture shock,” she said.

The food was heavier, the people were more relaxed and there wasn’t much in the way of entertainment. Traffic, however, was never a problem. She spent another eight years there, working her way up in the communications department before taking her current job.

“It’s nice to have a job where I feel like I’m doing good work every day,” she said. “Figure out what you like to do right now and that will usually lead you somewhere.”

Katrin (Klein) Marienthal — Deerfield Beach High

Degrees: B.S. in business administration, University of Florida.

Occupation:

Senior claims specialist for Lib

erty Mutual.

Marital status: Married, two

children.

City of residence: Lighthouse

Point.

Biggest accomplishment: Form

ing a family.

Biggest hurdle: Balancing her full-time job and her family.

Goals: Establishing a better balance between home and work life.

Katrin Marienthal took a leap of faith after graduating from college: With no job in sight, she packed her bags and moved to Chicago to follow her high school sweetheart. It quickly paid off. Marienthal found a job that would eventually allow her to settle back in South Florida, married her high school sweetheart and had two daughters.

“That was a tough decision but I think I made the right one,” Marienthal said.

She says now that her career has steadied, she hopes to shift more focus to her family.

Her words of wisdom: “Do what’s right for you, don’t worry about what everybody else is doing.”

Matt Price — Hollywood Hills High (co-valedictorian)

Degrees: B.A. in business management, University of Florida.

Occupation:

Owner of University Realty. Marital status: Married, one

child.

City of residence: Gainesville.

Biggest accomplishment: N/A

Biggest hurdle: N/A Goals: Get more involved with charity work.

Matt Price still spends time in college apartments — though instead of living in one, he sells them.

Price, who lives in Gainesville, started his own real estate company in 2009 specializing in help- ing parents and students buy condos near the University of Florida campus.

“I realized I liked speaking to people and dealing with people and when I graduated I wanted to be my own boss,” said Price, who worked as a Realtor while still a student.

He said he wants to spend more time with his wife and son now that he’s reached many of his career goals. He also hopes to become more involved with charity work related to Holocaust awareness and anti-Semitism.

His advice for high school seniors: “A lot of businesses don’t care about your GPA as much as they do about whether you’re a problem solver and a self-starter … my advice would be to focus on becoming a problem solver and to take the initiative rather than wait for someone to tell you to do something.”

Mary Kirifides Hart — South Broward High, Hollywood

Degrees: B.A. in business management, Boston University.

Occupation:

Account manager supervisor.

Marital status: Married, one

child.

City of residence: Pittsburgh.

Biggest accomplishment: Touring with Sesame Street Live for five years as an assistant to the company manager and then as company manager.

Biggest hurdle: Adjusting to normal life after being on tour with Sesame Street Live. “Having these responsibilities, having to pay a mortgage and car payments, that was a real challenge,” she said.

Goals: Growing her department at work.

Mary Kirifides Hart never imagined she’d live her life out of two suitcases, with no stable dwelling to call home.

But living as a nomad was part of her job: She toured with Sesame Street Live for five years, working as the company’s manager.

“I packed my apartment, I gave up all of my furniture and I walked away from what anyone would consider a normal life,” Kirifides Hart said. “I got to see the entire country.”

In high school, she was heavily involved with the band and helped run music festivals every year. After graduating from college, she worked administrative jobs in a few theaters and eventually got the opportunity to go on tour.

Once Kirifides Hart met her husband on the road, the two decided to settle down in Pittsburgh, where she works with a company that builds and manages exhibits for trade shows.

“Whatever you think you’re going to do, it’s probably going to change. The most important thing is to find what you’re good at and what you enjoy doing,” she said.

Wendy (Castillo) Toronto — Piper High, Sunrise

Degrees: B.A. in architecture, University of Miami.

Occupation:

Owner of an interior design com

pany.

Marital status: Married, one

child.

City of residence: Salt Lake Val

ley, Utah.

Biggest accomplishment:

Launching her own business and starting a family.

Biggest hurdle: Leaving her job after her salary was cut during the financial crisis in 2008.

Goals: Grow her family and her business.

Wendy Toronto said she knew early on she wanted to pursue a career that combined her love of houses with her love of art. She worked as an architect for several years in South Florida and later as an interior designer in Utah. This year, she quit her job and launched her own company.

“I have a desire to really make a name for myself in this field,” Toronto said. “I’m doing it for the love of design.” She says despite her successes, nothing beats having a family of her own.

Her advice for high schoolers: “You always ask yourself when are things going to get better, and they do. You can always come out strong in any situation.”

Zareh Anthony Ekmekjian — South Plantation High

Degrees: B.A. in economics, Harvard; M.B.A. at Harvard Business School.

Occupation:

Founder and managing partner of BASE Equity Partners, L.P. Marital status: Single. City of residence: New York City.

Biggest accomplishment: Closing his first deal with his own firm.

Biggest hurdle: Continuing to compete against really smart people.

Goals: Get married, start a family and build his firm.

When Anthony Ekmekjian was in high school, he thought he’d grow up to be a doctor.

He’s now a businessman in New York City.

But helping others remains at the forefront of his work. His investment firm, which he cofounded in 2013, focuses on helping family-owned businesses.

“It’s much more fulfilling because you’re really seeing the direct impact of your work,” Ekmekjian said. “We’re rolling up our sleeves and getting our hands dirty … we care more.”

Ekmekjian has always forged his own path, whether it was searching for the most committed teachers in school or leaving his job with a large private equity firm to start his own company.

“Nothing was handed to me; it just taught me to go find it,” he said. “I came from an immigrant background and I wanted to achieve and do more.”

His words to live by: “Always ask yourself: ‘Why not me?’”

Joelle Ruben — Westminster Academy, Fort Lauderdale

Degrees: B.A. in journalism and international studies, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; M.S.W. (Master of Social Work), University of Pennsylvania.

Occupation: Communication

strategist.

Marital status: Married, no chil

dren.

City of residence: Washington,

D.C.

Biggest accomplishment: Taking risks with her career and traveling abroad during and after college.

Biggest hurdle: Figuring out her

career.

Goals: Continue working with youth and families and start a family of her own.

Joelle Ruben says she sometimes looks back and questions her outfit choices in high school but doesn’t regret any of the moves she took to figure out her career path.

“The bigger thing for me has always been concern about what if I didn’t try those things,” she said, referring to her travels and career jumps. “That’s always outweighed any nervousness.”

After only a semester at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Ruben decided to study abroad in Beijing. She returned to China the summer after her sophomore year and again after she graduated from college, to volunteer at a foster home for medically fragile orphans.

“Hearing that there were children that didn’t have a fair shake in life, that always just struck me from a really young age,” said Ruben, who then got her master’s degree in social work from the University of Pennsylvania.

These days, she is married, lives in Washington, D.C., and consults with nonprofit groups to help them with communications and marketing.

“I’m proud of myself that I’ve been willing to take some risks in the last 15 years,” she said. It’s led to “a path of new experiences that weren’t even on my horizons.”

Jason Ellis — Stranahan High, Fort Lauderdale

Degrees: B.A. in chemistry and physics, Harvard; M.A. in chemistry, Harvard Graduate School; M.D., Columbia. Occupation: Neurosurgery resident at New York Presbyterian Hospital.

Marital status: Married, no chil

dren. City of residence: New York City. Biggest accomplishment: All of his accomplishments throughout the years.

Biggest hurdle: Having a highstakes, high-stress career.

Goals: N/A Even in high school, Jason Ellis maintained a sharp focus on his goal of becoming a physician. He loaded his plate with rigorous courses, graduated at the top of his class at the medical magnet school and attended undergraduate and graduate school at Harvard University.

He’s now completing his sixth year of residency at New York Presbyterian Hospital for neurosurgery.

“Neurosurgery is a high-stakes, high-stress career. You have people’s lives in your hands and there’s really no room for error,” Ellis said. “You always have to be very focused and that takes a lot of energy on a daily basis.”

His advice for students is simple: “Set a goal, be motivated to achieve it and don’t give up.”

Alyssa (Berman) Norwood — Hollywood Hills High

Degrees: B.A. in neurobiology, Harvard; M.P.H. (Master of Public Health), University of Connecticut; J.D. (Juris Doctor law degree), University of Connecticut.

Occupation: Project manager for Connecticut’s Legislative Commission on Aging.

Marital status: Married with

three children

City of residence: West Hartford,

Conn.

Biggest accomplishment: Having and enjoying her family.

Biggest hurdle: Finding her professional passion.

Goals: “I don’t see my future looking so different,” she said.

It took Alyssa Norwood a few years and a couple of degrees to discover what she wanted to do with her career.

She graduated from high school thinking she would eventually attend medical school. But after a year in medical school, she decided to get a master’s in public health and a law degree instead.

“I struggled to figure out where I could make my biggest contribution,” said Norwood, who now works for Connecticut’s Legislative Commission on Aging, managing projects to support the aging population.

“It was challenging to be honest with myself that it wasn’t the right place, and a little scary,” Norwood said. “I feel grateful to have found something I am truly passionate about.”

Amanda Jassem Jones — American Heritage, Plantation

Degrees: B.S. in business administration, University of Florida; J.D., Stetson Law School.

Occupation:

Commercial litigation attorney

Marital status: Married, chil

dren. City of residence: Plantation. Biggest accomplishment: Staring a family and becoming an attorney.

Biggest hurdle: N/A

Goals: N/A Amanda Jassem Jones credits the rigor of her high school with her academic as well as professional success.

“I felt that the work level in high school was equivalent to and prepared me for law school,” she said.

After graduating from the University of Florida, Jassem Jones received a full merit-based scholarship to attend Stetson University.

Andrea (Frieder) Shey — Cooper City High

Degrees: B.S. in applied economics and management, Cornell University.

Occupation:

Director of strategy and business development for American Express.

Marital status: Married, one

child. City of residence: New York City. Biggest accomplishment: Her

family

Biggest hurdle: Work/life balance. “In order to get where I want in my career, it takes a lot more time; you have to give up a lot to do that.”

Goals: Expanding the family, moving to the suburbs and growing at her company.

In a way, Andrea Shey still carries a part of her high school with her: Her two best friends lived with her in New York City, and one still lives in her building, where their kids play together.

Shey started her career at Citibank and then a technology startup before joining American Express. With a young daughter and husband, she says it’s difficult to balance her professional ambitions with her family life.

“I’ve always worked very hard, and in high school and college I put all the academics first,” Shey said. “Since I’ve had my daughter, I’ve realized and tried to prioritize her and family life over some of the other things.”

Her advice to high schoolers: “Hard work pays off, but it’s also important to have fun.”

Dov Sacks — Pine Crest School, Fort Lauderdale

Degrees: B.A in history, Harvard; J.D., George Washington University Law School.

Occupation:

Lawyer.

Marital Status: Married, one

child.

City of Residence: Portland,

Maine.

Biggest accomplishment: Having a daughter and a supportive family.

Biggest hurdle: N/A Goals: Continue improving his

craft.

Dov Sacks has seen his fair share of tragedy.

As an attorney working in medical malpractice and catastrophic injury cases, his clients have lost family members or have been seriously hurt.

“I’m working with people that are in bad situations,” said Sacks, who lives in Maine with his wife and daughter. “Horrible things are happening to them, and I represent them, give them a voice.”

In high school, Sacks resided on campus as a boarding student and met people from across the globe. He was the president of the student council and part of the forensics club.

“Even in high school, I wanted to do things with a social end, not just with money,” he said.

In law school, he was awarded the Richard C. Lewis Jr. Memorial Award for “extraordinary dedication to clinics, and unusual compassion and humanity toward clients and colleagues.”

Since then he’s worked with victims of mortgage fraud, homeowners facing foreclosures and, most recently, victims of medical malpractice.

And he’s learned to meditate, keep stress at bay and manage situations calmly.

He wants high schoolers to “enjoy these days” because “it’s much freer than you realize.”

Joshua Weissman — Stoneman Douglas High, Parkland

Degrees: B.A. in medical science and psychology, Boston University; M.D., Boston University School of Medicine.

Occupation:

Otolaryngologist (ear, nose, throat specialty)

Marital status: Married, one

child. City of residence: Scarsdale, N.Y. Biggest accomplishment: His

family.

Biggest hurdle: N/A Goals: Continue growing his practice and focus on his family.

Joshua Weissman graduated Summa Cum Laude from Boston University, Magna Cum Laude from medical school, and completed a residency program at Stanford University.

Still, he said, “I think I probably worked harder in high school than I had at any other point.”

“I couldn’t keep those hours and keep that kind of focus like I did back then,” said Weissman an ear, nose, and throat doctor in New York. He remembers staying up past midnight most school nights, studying for the next day’s exam, prepping for an upcoming math competition or finishing a project.

Weissman says he always knew he wanted to be a doctor but admits he would have been fine had he not graduated No. 1 in his class. He says despite his degrees and professional accomplishments, his biggest triumph is his family.

“That’s what I’m most proud of,” he said.

Dan de Ojeda — St. Thomas Aquinas High, Fort Lauderdale

Degrees: B.S. in civil engineering and psychology, Duke University; M.B.A. (2015), University of Pennsylvania.

Occupation: Started investment

firm. Marital status: Single. City of residence: Miami. Biggest accomplishment: N/A Biggest hurdle: N/A

Goals: N/A Dan de Ojeda always had a rough outline for his life, leaving enough wiggle room to adjust for the unexpected.

This year, he quit his job at Wells Fargo to go full time at his investment firm, which focuses on commercial real estate.

“My long-term goal isn’t to work for somebody else,” he said. “I like the control ... it’s nice to be able to shape a company and shape a vision.”

At Duke, he signed up for a transportation class and turned out to be the only student enrolled. The professor taught the class based on Ojeda’s interests, and that’s how he got hooked on land development.

De Ojeda moved to the U.S. from his home in Guatemala for better opportunities. He’s worked in Washington, D.C., and Arizona, but still sees South Florida as his epicenter.

“It’s the nice weather; it’s the lifestyle. On any given weekend you can be on vacation,” he said.

Marc Benayoun — Plantation High

Degrees: B.A. in biology and chemistry, B.S. in biochemistry, M.D. and Ph.D. in computational neuroscience, all from University of Chicago.

Occupation: Finishing residency

in radiology.

Marital status: Married, two

children. City of residence: Atlanta. Biggest accomplishment: Be

coming a father.

Biggest hurdle: Trying to balance academics, family life and medical career. “I have to make sure I’m well read and well studied to make the right choice for my patients and I have to be home at night to read stories to my [kids].”

Goals: Finish his residency and get a job. He hopes to one day move back to South Florida to be closer to his family.

In a way, Marc Benayoun never left school. He’s spent the last 15 years collecting bachelor’s degrees, a medical degree and a PhD. He’s now finishing his residency in radiology at Emory University. And as the rigor of his studies has grown, so, too, has his family.

“My responsibilities outside academics have gone up,” said Benayoun, who married his high school sweetheart and is a father of two. “It becomes a challenge ... finding time to do the research and still being there for my kids’ gymnastics.”

But his two kids are also what inspire him.

“I don’t know if I’d have the same motivation to do what I do if I didn’t have them to do it for,” he said.

Walter Wang — Northeast High, Oakland Park

Degrees: B.S. in industrial and systems engineering, University of Florida.

Occupation: Project engineer for Kiewit Corporation.

Marital status: Married, one

child.

City of residence: McKinney,

Texas.

Biggest accomplishment: Finding happiness in Texas with his wife and daughter.

Biggest hurdle: Being laid off from his job and having to work in another state, away from his wife.

Future goals: Focus on his family and travel to 40 countries before he turns 40. His current country count: 27.

Even as the class valedictorian, Walter Wang wasn’t spared from the economic downturn.

He was laid off from his first job after college, with a local contractor in Pompano Beach.

“Their business was heavily tied to the land development, so once that kind of dried up they didn’t have a lot of work,” said Walter, who at the time had just purchased a condo and proposed to his girlfriend.

Wang had no choice but to take a job in Texas while his wife finished her Ph.D. in South Florida. Eventually she moved to Texas, where the two still live with their daughter.

Wang is a project engineer for Kiewit Corporation but says his priority is striking a better worklife balance.

“Accomplishments come and go,” said Wang. He says his daughter “is my biggest priority. The one thing that makes me happiest, my daughter and my wife.”

Michelle Levy-Mandelbaum — Chaminade Madonna College Preparatory, Hollywood

Degrees: B.S. in elementary education, Nova Southeastern University.

Occupation:

Mother, former teacher. Marital status: Married, two

children. City of residence: Miami. Biggest accomplishment:

Teaching and impacting students on a daily basis.

Biggest hurdle: The sudden death of her stepfather in 2012. Levy-Mandelbaum lost her dad when she was 8 and was raised by her stepfather. “It was also extremely difficult to try to explain the loss of their beloved grandpa to my two young boys,” she said.

Goals: Return to the classroom to teach.

Michelle Levy-Mandelbaum has dedicated her life to educating kids. But more recently, the focus has been on her own.

After spending five years as a teacher at Hallandale Elementary, Levy-Mandelbaum left the profession to spend more time with her own children. She says it was a tough decision, but the right one for her family.

“I won’t be able to get this time back with my children, and I believe that I am using my education and experience in teaching to help them during these early years, as well as give back to the community by volunteering in their classrooms,” Levy-Mandelbaum wrote in an email.

Teaching, she said, was always her goal. In high school, she tutored young children and participated in other projects to give back to the community. She says she hopes to return to the classroom one day.

Stephanie (Letchford) Leon — Boyd Anderson High, Lauderdale Lakes

Degrees: B.S. in physics and psy- chology, M.S. in nuclear engineering sciences, Ph.D. in biomedical engineering, all from University of

Florida. Occupation: Medical physicist. Marital status: Married, one

child.

City of residence: Houston.

Biggest accomplishment: Having her daughter; “that’s the most important thing in my life.”

Biggest hurdle: N/A Goals: Expand her family and one day write a novel.

Stephanie Leon works at a job she didn’t even know existed when she was in high school.

As a medical physicist, she oversees the use of radiology equipment the University of Texas Medical school in Houston.

“I wanted to help people in the medical field ... but I’m not so much of a people person,” said Leon, who married her high school sweetheart. In her current role, “I know I’m helping people but I’m not dealing with patients every day.”

While in Gainesville, she volunteered in the University of Florida radiology department. There she found the job that better suited her skills and interests. Instead of going to medical school, she obtained her Ph.D.

Joe Ross Nova High,

— Davie

Degrees: B.A. in math, Yale; Ph.D. in math, Columbia.

Occupation: Data

scientist

Marital status:

Married, one child.

City of residence: Redwood City,

Calif.

Biggest accomplishment: His

math research.

Biggest hurdle: Balancing career and family. “This is something that I feel like I have to keep at the front of my mind,” said Ross.

Goals: N/A Joe Ross recently left the world of academics after spending two years in Germany as a researcher, teaching as an assistant professor, and receiving his PhD in math.

“I never felt my work had any impact or that anyone cared about it very much,” said Ross. “Now I feel like if someone asks me a question, they care about the answer.”

His wife works at the same start-up company.

“The downside is that we talk too much about work at home,” said Ross. “It’s nice to be able to spend more time together.”

Ryan Wilder — J.P. Taravella High, Coral Springs (co-valedictorian)

Degrees: B.A. in economics, Harvard.

Occupation:

Co-managing a biotech-focused investment portfolio for private investment firm.

Marital status: Married, two

children. City of residence: New York City. Biggest accomplishment: N/A Biggest hurdle: N/A

Goals: N/A Ryan Wilder said he’s always known he wanted to work in investment but never imagined he’d be specializing in health care. He’s lived and worked in New York City since graduating from Harvard University and says he still comes down to Florida to visit his parents in Parkland. Scott Abram — J.P. Taravella High, Coral Springs (co-valedictorian)

Degrees: B.A. in economics, Harvard; M.B.A., Columbia.

Occupation:

Investment management.

Marital status:

Married, one child and expecting

second. State of residence: New York Biggest accomplishment: N/A Biggest hurdle: N/A Future goals: N/A

Natasha (Morales) Robinson — Miramar High

Degrees: B.A. in sociology, Princeton.

Occupation:

Mother.

Marital status:

Married, two

children. City of residence: Chicago. Biggest accomplishment: N/A

Biggest hurdle: N/A Goals: Return to the workforce and continue working in fundraising.

It wasn’t an easy decision, but Natasha Robinson wanted to make sure her children had the same opportunities she had. So last year, she quit her job to dedicate herself to her two kids.

“I wanted my kids to be stimulated and for them to have as much opportunity as I had,” she said.

After graduating from Princeton, she worked as a grant writer and helped pair students to nonprofits. She said she enjoys working with nonprofits because “they are passionate about carrying out their mission and I can help guide their vision.”

She left her job last June but says she hopes to eventually return to the workforce. Still, she said she has no plans to return to Florida because “it’s too hot and slow there.”

Christopher Yeung — Coral Springs High

Yeung could not be reached.

Dana Goldner — University School of Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale

Goldner could not be reached.

Jorge Martinez — Dillard High, Fort Lauderdale

Martinez could not be reached.

Christina Black — McArthur High, Hollywood

Black could not be reached.

Priscilla Manino — Coconut Creek High

Manino could not be reached.

Ashly Nicole Nix — St. Thomas Aquinas High, Fort Lauderdale

Nix could not be reached.