'A passion for their community': 13 Polk seniors honored for their service to the world

Paul Catala
Updated ·5 min read

WINTER HAVEN – After Neil Dave graduates from International Baccalaureate at Bartow High School next month, he’s not sure what his major will be at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

But what he can be sure about is he’ll have $1,000 more in hand to help pay for his mathematics or computer science education and eventual career in software development.

On Thursday night, Dave, 17, was one of thirteen Polk County high school seniors to win a 2023 Silver Garland Award. The award is the oldest, longest-running service award for high school seniors in Polk County, honoring high school seniors who use their talents to serve the community.

Superintendent of Schools Frederick Heid presents Race Salyers of Winter Haven High School with the Silver Garland Award for Aerospace during the 2023 Silver Garland Awards at the AdventHealth Fieldhouse and Conference Center in Winter Haven. The Aerospace category was one of two new categories added to the awards this year.
Superintendent of Schools Frederick Heid presents Race Salyers of Winter Haven High School with the Silver Garland Award for Aerospace during the 2023 Silver Garland Awards at the AdventHealth Fieldhouse and Conference Center in Winter Haven. The Aerospace category was one of two new categories added to the awards this year.

The awards were started in 1977 by The Ledger and were run by the newspaper continuously through 2021. In 2022, the awards were cancelled because of staff turnover at The Ledger. But Polk County Tourism and Sports Marketing brought the awards back with support from the Polk County Commission and School Board.

Silver Garlands are given in 13 categories:  Aerospace, Art, Athletics, Citizenship, Communications, Computer Science, English/Literature, Foreign Language, Mathematics, Music, Performing Arts, Science and Vocational/Technology. A total of 157 students were nominated by their high schools, and on Thursday, the top three finalists were invited to the AdventHealth Fieldhouse and Conference Center’s Theatre Winter Haven stage for the announcement of the winners in front of an audience of about 200 people made up of friends, families and student guests.

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Superintendent of Schools Frederick Heid presents Leticia Hernandez-Bautista of Fort Meade High School with the Silver Garland Award for Foreign Language.
Superintendent of Schools Frederick Heid presents Leticia Hernandez-Bautista of Fort Meade High School with the Silver Garland Award for Foreign Language.

Dave, 17, was one of those who walked off the stage with a trophy and his $1,000 scholarship.

“I’ve always been good at math, and I’m very appreciative. Every bit of money toward college will help,” said Dave, who helped bring back Bartow IB's Mu Alpha Theta math club, which had been inactive for years.

Each of the finalists went to the AdventHealth Fieldhouse for interviews on Feb. 8, and the three finalists in each category were selected by judges who are professionals in the categories. Along with $1,000, winners were presented with trophies by Polk County Public School Superintendent Frederick Heid.

The awards were emceed by Mark Jackson, director of Polk County Tourism and Sports Marketing. From the stage, he said the awards “groom the leaders of tomorrow” and the hope is they will stay in Polk County to live and work.

“Many of these young people will leave the area, or even the state, to further their educations. For the betterment of Polk County, we ask them to start their careers back here,” he said. “Through their future contributions, Polk County will be an even better place to work and raise a family – or just visit.”

Before the first award nominees came to the stage, the crowd heard from former Congressman Dennis Ross, who served in the Lakeland area from 2011 to 2019. Ross won one of the first Silver Garland Awards in the Citizenship category while at Lakeland High School in 1977. He said winning that recognition helped inspire his work in public service. He’s now director of the American Center for Political Leadership at Southeastern University.

Superintendent of Schools Frederick Heid presents Nadia Rohani of George Jenkins High School with the Silver Garland Award for Citizenship.
Superintendent of Schools Frederick Heid presents Nadia Rohani of George Jenkins High School with the Silver Garland Award for Citizenship.

“(The students) will learn to have a passion for their community, will want to make that community better and in doing so, will make themselves better,” he said.

Jackson announced two new categories in this year's revived Silver Garland Awards: Aerospace and Computer Science.

“I’m very excited and very thankful for this opportunity,” said Kylie Hess of George Jenkins High, who won the Art category for her work with Take Heart Africa, a global nonprofit advocating for widows and orphans in remote parts of Kenya. “I think (the scholarships) will help make a difference with all of our futures.”

Superintendent of Schools Frederick Heid presents Jacqueline Patton of Central Florida Aerospace Academy with the Silver Garland Award for Athletics.
Superintendent of Schools Frederick Heid presents Jacqueline Patton of Central Florida Aerospace Academy with the Silver Garland Award for Athletics.

The nominees and winners in the categories were:

  • Aerospace: Alexander Doeringer-Smith, Bartow IB; Colby Lee, Kathleen Senior High School; winner Race Salyers, Winter Haven High School.

  • Art: Savannah Braswell, Harrison School for the Arts; Lauren Kay, Lakeland High School; winner Kylie Hess, George Jenkins High School.

  • Athletics: Haydn Bush, George Jenkins High School; Chi Pham, Bartow IB; winner Jacqueline Patton, Central Florida Aerospace Academy, Lakeland.

  • Citizenship: Gracy Johnson, Fort Meade High School; Chelsea Carrasco, Lake Gibson High School; winner Nadia Rohani, Jenkins High School.

  • Communications: MacKenzie Holbrook, Lake Gibson High School; Janiyah McAllister, Harrison School for the Arts; winner Delaney Jarrett, Winter Haven High School.

  • Computer Science: Finn Lancaster, Winter Haven High School; Tori Martin, Winter Haven High School; winner Alea Atkinson, McKeel Academy.

  • English/Literature: Juliana Elias, Winter Haven High School; Paige Davis, Frostproof High School; winner Sanjana Niahalani, Haines City High School.

  • Foreign Language: Kaylor Dudney, Auburndale High School; Lizet Perez-Roblero, Mulberry High School; winner Leticia Hernandez-Bautista, Fort Meade High School.

  • Mathematics: William Vaughn, Fort Meade High School; Briyanna Patel, All Saints Academy, Lakeland; winner Neil Dave, Bartow IB.

  • Music: Jacob Wei Gmitter, Harrison School for the Arts; Emmylou Varnum, Lakeland Christian School; winner Anjali Soni, All Saints Academy.

  • Performing Arts: Ava Barfield, McKeel Academy; Hanley Renney, All Saints Academy; winner Careagan Williams, Harrison School for the Arts.

  • Science: John Moses, Harrison School for the Arts; Khushi Chauhan, Bartow IB; winner Ellen Rose Jones, Haines City IB.

  • Vocational/Technical: Daniel Rocha, Central Florida Aerospace Academy; Yinneliz Nazario, Lake Gibson High School; winner Kylee Urbing, Mulberry High School.

Superintendent of Schools Frederick Heid presents Ellen Rose Jones of Haines City IB High School with the Silver Garland Award for Science.
Superintendent of Schools Frederick Heid presents Ellen Rose Jones of Haines City IB High School with the Silver Garland Award for Science.

Scholarship sponsors for the categories were Sun ‘N Fun Aerospace Expo, the Polk Arts and Cultural Alliance, the Detroit Tigers, the Polk County Commission, The Ledger, Central Florida Health Care, Southeastern University, Elite Cable Park, Florida Southern College, Rodda Construction, Visit Central Florida and A-C-T Environmental and Infrastructure.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: 13 Polk seniors honored with Silver Garlands for community service