By Amanda Delgado and Stephanie Brito
Miami Lakes Educational Center’s future pharmacists, doctors, and EMTs were recognized for their hard work and dedication to their respective strand classes by NBC 6 on February 2nd, 2015.
Part of “Brag About Your School,” a segment dedicated to showcasing successful and innovative school programs, NBC reporters Pam Giganti and Ari Odzer broadcasted live from the school’s Health Academy to showcase the skills students have learned to pave their path to becoming specialists in their respective strands.
Students at MLEC get to apply real world situations in the classroom, performing CPR and dental checkups on test dummies; however, students are not just limited to growing in the health field. MLEC is also home to five other academies: Cambridge, Communications & Entertainment, Entrepreneurship, Information Technology, and Trade and Industry.
Glenda Algaze, the leader of the health academy, was overwhelmed with joy as the reporters learned about what her health students do.
Students across academies participate in internships in their fields. Health students do their clinicals at Mount Sinai, getting unparalleled hands-on experience. Students in the pharmacy strand can graduate with enough certifications to become a Pharmacy Tech, where they can work during high school or after graduation.
It’s a lot better than “flipping burgers,” said Ms. Algaze.
Before going on camera, students practiced preparing prescriptions, called their parents to tell them about their TV debut and took selfies – excited for a chance to show others about what they do on a daily basis.
“My grandma called everyone to tell them my school was going on TV,” said pharmacy student, Jamirag Chevrin.
Giganti and Odzer also had an opportunity to visit the school’s culinary strand, where they saw the work students put into in order to serve lunch at C-Cafeteria, as well as its engineering strand, where they saw students utilizing robots and 3D printers.
“I loved being here today. I was really blown away by all the different academies that you have and how professional it is, that the students are dressed in uniform and that they’re getting real life skills,” said Giganti.
Giganti and Odzer joked that they were getting their errands done, going to the pharmacy and going to the dentist. Odzer commented on the realistic dental setup.
“They asked me for my insurance card when I sat here!” he said.
MLEC’s segment on NBC will air on Feb. 2 at 6 p.m. on Channel 6.
