Who Are We?

We are students/teachers, poets, artists, gardeners, and magicians.  We are interested in the imagination and finding beauty in places near and far, in ourselves and in others.  Meeting at Phillis Wheatley allows us to work with an amazing group of sixth graders.  We are beginning our second year of teaching at the school and are enjoying every minute.

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Stephanie Bechara:

“Keyalah’s Biography”

Keyalah Nachae Thelusma, born in February 5, 1997 is eleven years old. Making her the oldest child of all of her siblings. She has a younger sister of five and an even younger brother of two. She was born in Connecticut and lived there until she was three to four years old. Later moving to Florida, where she is currently attending Phillis Wheatley Elementary School. Keyalah’s favorite color is red and favorite cartoon is Sponge Bob Square Pants.  Keyalah is half American and Haitian. Her favorite food is “Griot & Frié Banań” which is Creole for fried pork and fried plantains. Keyalah loves her roots and enjoys rap and Haitian music. On her free time Keyalah indulges in painting, “I can draw a great Mickey Mouse,” she says. She is also very active; she plays soccer as a hobby. Among other sports she also plays tennis and volleyball. Keyalah has a great time in school, her favorite subject is science. She is very glad to have been chosen, to be part of the “I Have a Dream” project. And hopes being a “Dreamer” will help her achieve her goals. She aspires to go to the University of Miami and become an actress/pediatrician in the future.

“Stephanie’s Biography”
My name is Stephanie Bechara, I am currently eighteen years old. My birthday is on November 23rd, I was born on a very special holiday: Thanksgiving. My parents say I was a blessing to them. They gave me the middle name of Grace, in appreciation to God of my birth. I was born in Miami Florida and consider myself a global mutt. My dad is Cuban and my mom is Salvadorean. But my grandparents are Lebanese, making my background a little more diverse. I have a younger sister which I love and care for. I come from a loud and involved family. I thank my parents for teaching me to put the most effort out there; be it in school or just within myself. I am proud of who I have evolved into. I am part of the Honors College Dual Language program at Miami-Dade. I hope to be a journalist in the mere future. On my free time, I enjoy reading or writing. If I had to describe myself in one word, it would be: Energetic. Because I am always being active, dynamic, and willing to try new things.

Alina Diaz:

“Malik’s Biography”

Hi! My name is Malik and I’m eleven years old. I was born in Miami Florida. My family is very big. It is formed of my brothers and sisters and mother. I started school at the age of five. The name of my schools is Phillis Weatly Elementary. From the very beginning I started making friends and I enjoy every day when I come to it. My favorite teacher has been Miss Amandi because she used to help me in math. That’s why I like her. My favorite sports are football, basketball and baseball. But the one I play the most is football. In my free time I draw pictures of cartoon characters. My plans for this year is to pass to the seventh grade with A’s and B’s in all my classes. And on my football team I want to be one of the best. My life dream is to go to college and become a pro football player on the team of the Chargers and help my mom out with anything she needs.

“Alina’s Biography”

Hello, I’m Alina Diaz. I was born in Cuba in October 16, 1990. I’m 17 years old going to 18.  I remember at the age of five hating to go to school and crying when my mom left me there to go to work. The only thing I remember liking about kindergarten were the sleeping time. Then in second grade I started enjoying school and loving my teacher Veronica, who was an excellent teacher. She taught me to read, add, subtract, multiply and divide. She was my teacher till my fourth grade. Then at the age of 12 I came to Miami with my mom leaving my friends, family and professors. But once here I started to make new friends and enjoyed school even more. It became my priority as still is. My jobbies are to go out with my friends and special ones and have fun. I also love to go to church and fraternize with the amazing friends that have become like my family. My goals for this year are to contribute on making fun educative games for the Phillis Weatley kids and they get to love school. I also want for them to go to college and follow their dreams as I’m doing so.

Claudia Ocampo:

“Demani’s Biography”
My name is Demani and I have two brothers named Deven and Rasheed. I’m in the middle school. I like music like wootang, hip hop and R&B. I like reading books. My favorite book is “Dora the Explorer on a magical adventure”.
I love watching tv, too. My favorite TV shows are “The adventures of Flapjack” and “Chowder”. My favorite movie is “Scary Movie 4″. Also, my favorite color is purple. I love doing cheering; I’ve loved it since I was eleven years old. I also like drawing.
I was born in Daytona BEach. MY birthday is in June 19, 1996. When I grow up I want to be a veterinarian and an artist at the same time.

“Claudia’s Biography”
My name is Claudia. I was born in Cuba on October 26, 1990. I’m seventeen years old. My first school was Eduardo Garcia Delgado, which was a school for athletes. I was in rhythmic gymnastics from first to thrid grade.
I like to play the piano, read, practice sports and watch TV. My favorite pianists are Beethoven, Bach and Joplin. I love playing tennis and racquetball in my free time. My favorite TV shows are “Gossip Girl”, “House” and “Lost”. My favorite color is purplea and my favorite subject is Math.
I’ve never had a pet before. My grandmothr’s had lots of dogs before, that’s why I didn’t feel I needed one for myself. I came to live to the United States in 2006, when I was 15 years old. I don’t live near my grandmother anymore, that’s why I would consider having a dog for myself.
I’m a student of the Honors College at Miami Dade College. i’m majoring in Biology because I want to be a doctor when I graduate.

Daylena Montano:

“Daylena’s Biography”

My name is Daylena Montano. I was born in Cuba on January 27th, 1990. I came to the United States in 2004 when I was 14 years old with my family seeking for a better future. Among the obstacles we had to face were the barriers of language, culture and adapting ourselves to live in a total different system. I lived in Austin, Texas for one year and it was a great experience but I like Miami better even though my dad still live there. I graduated from South Miami Senior High School where I won several awards in subjects like earth and space science, math, ESOL among others. I was also a member of the Spanish club.  In my free times I love to sign, watch TV, and do exercise. I want to be a doctor so far because I love to help my community and somewhat I feel connected to it. I don´t have siblings so I’m the only child. I have traveled to places like Mexico and I wish I can go to Europe this year. I want to go to FIU or UM after I finish MDC to get a bachelor´s and go on for a doctorate. If I get a chance I will like to take music classes also. My plan to the future is to finish my studies, get the job of my dreams, marry, have two kids and live happily in peace with my family which includes my lovely mother, she has been my inspiration and without her I wouldn’t be writing this right now.

“La-Kayla’s Biography”
My name is La-Kayla Lymos and I’m 11 years old. I was born in Miami, Florida on June 24, 1997 and I’m cancer. I just came back to school and so far it´s great. My favorite subjects are reading and science. I have many special talents such as I love to sing, dance, cheer, write stories, and being on TV… At Edison Park Elementary I won a journalism award. I am very studious I care a lot about my studies that´s why I got diplomas for each subject. I have a very big family, I have six brothers and sisters, I make seven. I also have two pets a cat and a puppy.  My mom is Bahamian, and so is half of my family. The other half is American. I have many favorite colors such as pink, green, baby blue, and most of all red. I love chocolate especially German chocolate. When I grow up I would like to be many things such as a pediatrician, a children author, the first black woman president and a scientist/doctor to go around the world and find cures for diseases. My goals for the future are to finish school, get a job, a house, the car of my dreams, and make a lot of money.

Maria Violeta:

“Madeline’s Biography”

My name is Madeline. I was born on May 18th. I’m eleven years old. In the horoscope, I’m a Taurus. My parents’ names are Anabella and Ariel. I have a sister and two brothers from my father side; and one brother from my mother’s side. I’m from Miami, Florida. I’m bilingual, I speak English and Spanish. My favorite subject is Math. My favorite colors are pink, blue, purple, green and red. My best friends are Sendy, Jaimesha, Vernon F., Malik, and Trenice. My favorite foods are pizza, and Chinese food. I hate lies and rumors. My favorite Spanish singers are Aventura and Enrique Iglesias. My favorite English singers are Lil Wayne and T-Pain. I hate lies and rumors.

“Violeta’s Biography”

My name is Maria Violeta. I was born on October 3rd, 1989. I’m 18 years old. In the horoscope, I’m a Libra. My parents’ names are Maria Lujan, and Luis Julio. I have two brothers and one little sister. Their names are Francisco, Mariano, and Maria. I came from Buenos Aires, Argentina. I’m bilingual, I speak English and Spanish. However, I must admit that I studied tree years French, so I know the basic material. My favorite colors are purple, green and orange. My favorite foods are Argentinean, Chinese and Italian food. My favorite singers are Fito Paez and an Argentinean band called Bersuit Vergarabat.

Odette Novoa:

“Vernon’s Biography”

Vernon Maddox was born on October 2, 1996 in Overtown Miami, Fl. Vernon has a really big family of three brothers and two sisters and of course mom and dad. They all live together in overtown like a really big happy family!
One of Vernon’s favorite hobbies is to play football with his friends; he also loves to draw and to play video games.
He enjoys playing the piano and he’s really good doing martial arts like karate.
Vernon loves to go to school every single day and believe it or not his favorite subjects are math and science.
He has a lot of goals for his future like to go to collage and then he wants to become a famous basketball player, after this a football player and finally he wants to become an artist. He wants to do it all!
Vernon Maddox is a wonderful kid that has a lot of goals for his future and he wants to accomplish them all!

“Odette’s Biography”

Odette was born in Cuba April 12, 1990. She lived in Cuba for seven years and then she moved to Mexico. She’s an only child and she has lived already in four countries.
She went to middle school in Mexico and to high school in the U.S.
Her favorite subject is literature.
She loves the movies and her favorite sport is tennis.
We both like to play the piano and we both love music.
She also loves to go shopping with her friends and her favorite country is France.
She wants to study Business in Miami Dade and then she wants to go to New York and keep studying.
Odette loves to take pictures and her favorite color is red just like mine is.
She’s really excited to be here with us, and she wants to make this experience the
Best of all!

Armando Toledo:

“Denis’s Biography”

My name is Denis Roberts. I was born on September 11th 1996 in the Jackson Hospital. I have lived in Miami for 11 years. I have lived with my mom, sister, dad, brother, and my niece. My sister is 20, my brother is 16, my niece is 1 year old, my mom is 42 and my dad is 42. I started to play football when I was 6 years old. I have played have back. My favorite colors are green, blue, black, orange, red and yellow. The name of my team is Over Town Rattlers. The first school that I went to was St. John daycare. When I went to St. John daycare I was about 3 years old. After I went to St. John I went to Phillis Wheatley Elementary School. I was 6 years old when I was in Pre-K. After Pre-K I was growing up. A few years later I was in 4th grade. Then I went to another school named Crestviwe Elementary School because I had moved far far away. Then my uncle kicked me and my mom out so we had to go back to over town. When I was at Cretviwe Elementary SchoolI passed the 4th and 5th grade and then came back to Phillis Wheatley Elementary School. Now I am with a college student.

“Armando’s Biography”

I was born in December, 20th 1989 in Habana, Cuba. This is the country where I was raised and had most of my education. From the building I used to live in I had a wonderful view of “El Malecon de la Habana”. I attended the Elementary school Juan Triana Perez from first to sixth grade. I was always a good student, getting more than 90 in all my tests, which is equivalent of a grade of an A. In this school I made several life-time friendships. Then I went on to what would be considered here as middle school which is just a secondary education school. This school’s name was Carlos J. Finlay, and was located quite near to my house. I did from seventh to ninth grade there, doing considerably well not only academically but also in the field of athletics, since I was a fairly good volleyball player. During this time I could say my life was pretty easy. I just had to go to school and be back home where my mother and grandmother were awaiting me with enthusiasm to give me love. It all changed when I finished Secondary Education School. In order to continue to higher education, starting from tenth grade, I had no choice but to go to a school in the countryside because of the silly, senseless Cuban laws. I would have to stay in this little, isolated school all week long until the weekend. No longer was I in the comfort of my warm house. In despite of this, I managed to do pretty well in all my classes and get along with the people there. Everything stayed this way until the middle of eleventh grade. My school was in such terrible conditions that there were rats everywhere and I got sick with the life-threatening disease of Leptospirosis.
It was a big coincidence that by the time I got sick, I learned of the possibility of coming to the United States to temporally live with my dad, in order to continue my studies and have better opportunities. Fortunately, the disease was not fatal to me. To my surprise when I recovered the doors were already open for me to come to this country. Coming here was a really hard decision for my mother and I to make because I would have to leave her temporarily behind. In despite of this, we decided that it was best that I came here along with my sister. After arriving to the US, my sister and I have done everything in our power to advance as quickly and best as possible through education, in order prove that the separation with our mother was not worthless. I attended the high school of Coral Gables Senior High during eleventh and twelfth grade where I faced the difficulty of not knowing enough English. Knowing that my educational future in this country depended greatly on my English I worked as hard as I could to improve it, even though the demographics the school didn’t help a lot, mainly because there were too many Hispanic students that found it easier to just stick together and speak mostly Spanish. I succeeded during these last two years of high school, getting excellent grades in all my classes which included some AP classes and dual enrollment courses as well. I also learned a great deal about how things work in this capitalistic system of government. I am currently attending the Honors College at the Miami Dade College InterAmerican Campus where I am majoring in business administration. I know I am extremely fortunate to be here today and attend a prominent college program. I am also aware that there are millions of people who would give anything to have the opportunities I have had so far, and I am really looking forward to doing my best to get the most out of them.

Juan Moreno:

“Sendy’s Biography”

My name is Sendy Joseph, and my favorite color is baby blue. I hate dreads, because they look like worms. And when I grow up, I want to become a pediatrician. I think working with babies and little kids is good, I love taking care of my tiny nephews! And in the future I would like to have my own babies. My best friends are Madeline and Vernon f…. (I used to have a crush on Vernon) =). Play basketball and sing are my favorite hobbies. My favorite singers/actors are the Jonas Brothers, John Cena, and my favorite movie is “I Am Legend”.

“Juan’s Biography”

My name is Juan Moreno, I am 18 years old but I sometimes wished to be 5 and have no responsibilities. But since that is not happening anytime soon, I have to work at Direct TV Sales, I am a full time student at Miami Dade, am bad at math, computer graphics, and remembering homework. I am a strait edge which I am proud of. And someday my dream is to marry, settle down, have a family, and cook the whole day for my wife to comeback from work. Ill be the best stay home Dad, and husband. If that doesn’t happen well… ill let time decide my future. I like mandarins, and the color orange. And I believe to be the only in this world that knows the only word that rhymes with Orange. According to Sendy Joseph, I am kind of annoying because I ask too many questions!

Marice Guzman:
“My life in a mirror”

Sometimes there is this chemistry with my friends that I really can’t explain how we got to meet each other. Did I actually knew them from my past-life? A lot of my friends are old friends that I’ve met 4 years ago and our friendship continues. This friendship was established throughout time and now its stronger. But, there are some friends that i just meet them and at that same moment there is this chemistry that you really think you already know them. It is just what happened between Nathan and I . As I walked into the room and we all started pairing up I was one of those few who didn’t have to look for a kid because he was already next to me. I was told I had to do a biography of a kid but I knew that if I started asking just questions to him he will never gain trust. So, I started talking about me. My favorite Tv shows how we each didn’t eat after 8:00 pm just to watch sponge bob. As the conversation got deeper he told me what he wanted to do with his life, of his dream of becoming an actor. Right now, I knew he was beginning to feel more comfortable so I started anotating his words. I asked : Name? Neithen. He corrected me saying No no you mispelled it. So I wrote next to it Will smith in parenthesis. Do you like him? He asked . Yes, its one of my favorite actors. Mines too! He screamed I want to be like him one day. He asked me if when I was a child I wanted to become an actress or something related I told me I actually did. I wanted to become a singer and I used to sing and dance in front of my mirror. But as I grew up even though I still wanted to become a singer I knew I needed a backup career. It surprised me Nathan’s answer to my statement “I know , I have a dream of becoming an actor but at the same time I plan to attend college to become a mechanical engineer” .So , what do you want to invent? I want to invent a hoover board he answered. Mari (nickname given to me by Will smith) who do you live with? He asked. My mother, I answered. I am only child and i’ve been raised with my mom. Me too. What happened to your dad? –I asked. My mom and my dad only went out one night. He is in the army. He calls me every once in a while when he has time. Ohh we have that in common!. As the questioning between him and I continued I was surprised to discover many other things we have in common. Not only we are both only child , we both came to this country with 9 years old, learned english in a very short-amount of time, half sister from dad’s side. One day we will both travel to Europe. His mom, just like my mom is not only his mom but also his dad. Right now, he probably doesn’t think this way but as he grows up he will become more attached to his mother just like I did because we lacked a father figure. All this time I had one big question circulating my head:  Nathan if u came here with 9 years old how did u become a dreamer? Carlos (my professor) had told me that this kids were dreamers since 1st grade. Nathan answered “I am a new dreamer, I started as a dreamer in 5th grade. In 4rth grade my teacher Mrs. Fernandez who now moved to teach somewhere else was the one that made me a dreamer. I told her I wanted to become a dreamer and since I was the most outstanding kid in her class at the end of the year she appointed me as a dreamer.” This attitude surprised me very much. He knew  where he wanted to go even though he was 9 years old he knew he wanted to become a dreamer so he worked hard in order for his teacher to five this to him. This is what I call a true dreamer , the one that dreams achieves and keeps dreaming.

Cynthia Perera:

“Cynthia’s Biography”

My name is Cynthia Perera I’m a student at Miami Dade Honors College. I’m eighteen years old; I was born in Habana, Cuba and lived there until I was thirteen years old.  I came to the United States when I was thirteen and I attended Jose de Diego Middle school. Then I went to Miami Northwestern High school being in the Medical Magnet program in dentistry. My hobbies are: skating, riding bicycles, riding horses, driving, watching national soccer in the finals only! And creating dances for church.  I have a twin sister her name is Yill and I love her so much, I’m a Pentecostal Christian, my favorite color is purple. I love to swim underwater and hold my breath.

Maria Pia Barbona:

My name is Maria Pia Barbona and my partner name is Yolanda Jones. She is 12 years old. She lives in North Miami Beach and her family is pretty big, almost everyone comes from Alabama. Her father and mother are from Nigeria, Africa. She has 3 bothers and 2 sisters. One of his brothers has Syndrome Down, he is 6 years old. Yolanda told me that she takes care of him almost every day. She considers that one of the must hardest things she has to do is to feed his little brother, because he has a tube outside his body where they put liquid food so he can eat.
Yolanda gets along with all the family members; however there are exemptions. She has to share her bedroom with one of his brother and he is not as neat and organized as she is. So there are, sometimes discussion about cleaning issues.

Jessica Pasencia:

“Trenich’s Biography”

Trenich was born in Jackson Memorial in 1996. She has 4 brothers and 1 sister. she lives in Overtown and she will like to do something about the violence surrounding her. But the School is  one place that she loves, she knows that she is safe in there, and nothing will happen to her. She likes to read, swimn and sing. Her best friend are Madeline and Cindy, and she loves purple. She usually watches “Wizards of Waverly Place!”and “ICarly” TV shows from Disney Channel and Nick. She participate in a Play this summer where she played the roll of a mother arguing in a police office. She always gets A’s and B’s and she is now planning on going to Jose Diego Middle School, where she will try really hard to get Advance placement classes for her future in Miami Dade. She wants to be an elementary school teacher.

Alejandro’s Biography

Hello my name is Alejandro Castro. I am 11 years old and in the sixth grade at Phillis Wheatley Elementary school. I was born in Nicaragua but when I turned one, I moved to Miami, Florida. My favorite sport is football, and sometimes I go to the park with my friends to play. My favorite color is blue and when I grow up I want to be a scientist, veterinary, doctor, architect, or join the navy. If I had one wish, it would be to visit Japan!

Talhia’s Biography

My name is Talhia Escobar I am 18 years old and part of the Honors College at Miami Dade in the Interamerican Campus. I was born in Los Angeles, California but my family is from Bogotá, Colombia. My favorite sport is cross country. I love to go on long runs and I love the feeling I get when I finish running six or seven miles. I’m not sure what I want to major in but I’m hoping to figure it out some time soon. I have always dreamed of traveling the world!