Scholarship Honors Cubans Killed During Rescue Mission In 1996

In 2006, Andrew Carbon’s educational journey hit a roadblock.

After earning an associate’s degree in business administration from North Campus, the then 40-year-old international student from Dominica realized he couldn’t afford to transfer to Florida International University to complete his bachelor’s degree. 

But all of that changed when Carbon was selected as a recipient of the Martyrs of February 24th Scholarship. 

Seventeen years later, the 57-year-old serves as the dean of students at West Campus, where he helps students navigate their academic careers.

“Getting the scholarship helped me to complete my bachelor’s degree and set the foundation for everything else that happened in my life,” Carbon said. 

Established in 1997, the Martyrs of February 24th Scholarship honors four Cuban men—Armando Alejandre Jr., Carlos Costa, Mario de la Peña, and Pablo Morales—who were killed by the Cuban Air Force in 1996 while they attempted to save rafters fleeing from Cuba. 

The scholarship was created by their families. It awards four students $1,200 each year.

“We want to make it so that what happened is known and so that they’re not forgotten,” said Ana Alejandre Ciereszko, a former chemistry professor at Kendall Campus and the sister of Armando Alejandre Jr. 

This year’s recipients are: Ivan Lopez, Daniella Miller, Steven Rivas and Karen Concepcion Miguel.

To qualify, applicants needed to have at least 12 credit hours toward an associate’s degree or certificate program, have a minimum 3.0 GPA and write a 750-word essay on human rights issues in Cuba.

Ivan Lopez

During his time at John A. Ferguson High School Ivan Lopez found chemistry fascinating. So much so, that he took the subject four consecutive years.

Today, the 19-year-old is pursuing his passion for chemistry at Kendall Campus where he is a first-year pre-pharmacy student. 

Two years after his sister was a recipient, Lopez applied to the Martyrs of February 24th Scholarship to pay for his books and tuition.

As a descendant of Cuban immigrants, Lopez said this year’s essay prompt about the 2021 Cuban protests, sparked by a lack of food, medicine and resources in his homeland after the COVID pandemic, hit close to home. 

Lopez hopes to transfer to the University of Florida in 2024. 

“It made me think about Cuba…something I don’t do a lot, but whenever I do, I get emotional,” Lopez said. “I’m glad to think that my parents had the opportunity to leave [Cuba] even though it’s hard.”

Daniella Miller

Daniella Miller has wanted to study medicine since she was 10 years old. 

But after interning at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine during her junior year at Dr. Michael M. Krop Senior High School, she found her calling was helping animals. 

Today, the 19-year-old is completing her associate’s degree in biology at North Campus. She is a full-time veterinary assistant at Fort Lauderdale Vet Center. In her spare time, she volunteers at the South Florida Wildlife Center and occasionally volunteers at a rescue for horses in Boca Raton. 

Miller hopes to use the Martyrs of February 24th Scholarship to transfer to the University of Florida, where she plans to study veterinary medicine with an emphasis on horse treatment. 

“I was really excited and happy,” said Miller, whose grandparents fled from Cuba in 1966 to Sarasota before moving to Miami five years later. “I have been stressing about having to pay for college and this helps a lot.”

Karen Concepcion Miguel

When Karen Concepcion Miguel sought to pursue her dream of working in the medical field, she knew she had to flee Cuba. 

“In Cuba, I didn’t have the possibility to dream about anything,” Concepcion said. “My real dream in Cuba was to get out of there.”

The 34-year-old arrived in the United States seven years ago. She enrolled at West Campus, but after struggling to obtain financial aid, Concepcion dropped her studies. 

After giving birth to her now four-year-old son, Edward, she found a new purpose. Last January, she re-enrolled at West Campus to pursue an associate’s degree in nursing. 

Concepcion is finishing her prerequisite courses and preparing to take the Test of Adult Basic Education so she can enroll in the nursing program at Medical Campus next Fall. 

Steven Rivas

Steven Rivas struggled with substance abuse when he was a teenager as he coped with his parent’s divorce. 

“When my parents divorced, it tore me apart. [In] the following years, there was no rest at all,” Rivas said. “It was an inescapable pain.”

Eventually, Rivas gave his life to Christ in 2009 and that helped him find his purpose. 

By 2011, he enrolled at North Campus to study business administration. However, Rivas was forced to drop out to enter the workforce and financially support his mother. 

After landing a job as a ramp-assistant at Miami International Airport in 2021, Rivas discovered a new passion: aviation. A year later, he enrolled at West Campus to pursue an associate’s degree in professional pilot technology.

The 34-year-old said he will use the Martyrs of February 24th Scholarship to pay for next semester’s tuition and flying hours.

“I was in shock and couldn’t believe it,” Rivas said. “I was asking my fiancé to check again because I didn’t think it was for me…God is good and I’m grateful.”

After graduation, Rivas aspires to work as an airline transport pilot and become a Christian missionary. 

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