{"id":23274,"date":"2020-11-04T20:59:54","date_gmt":"2020-11-05T01:59:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mdcthereporter.com\/?p=23274"},"modified":"2021-01-08T15:08:32","modified_gmt":"2021-01-08T20:08:32","slug":"he-went-from-high-school-dropout-to-sga-president-after-getting-a-second-chance-at-mdc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mdcthereporter.com\/staging\/8357\/he-went-from-high-school-dropout-to-sga-president-after-getting-a-second-chance-at-mdc\/","title":{"rendered":"He Went From High School Dropout To SGA President After Getting A Second Chance At MDC"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Michael Cruz isn\u2019t your typical student government president candidate.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A year and a half ago, the 18-year-old dropped out of Miami Senior High School and faced an uncertain future.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But there he was, in the early morning hours of May 27, alone in his bedroom in Hialeah scouring the internet to see if he had won the student government presidency at North Campus.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI figured college was my second chance,\u201d Cruz said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the end, Cruz\u2019s determination to be a changemaker shined through. He beat Brian Yousif by five votes and will serve as president for the 2020-21 academic year.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cMichael is an individual who dedicates his passion for the love of politics and civic leadership,\u201d said Stephanie Davis, who serves as co-advisor to the North Campus student government. \u201cHe honestly stands out due to his constant perseverance although he faced adversity [and] I feel that attribute shows that Michael is a fighter to achieve success no matter what it takes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>A Bumpy Road<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cruz was born in Hialeah on March 1, 2002.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He took advanced classes at North Hialeah Elementary School and played little league soccer with the Florida Stingrays at Wilde Park.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThose were the golden years really,\u201d Cruz recalled. \u201cI had a lot of friends all through my fifth-grade year.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He attended Coral Way K-8 Center in middle school and discovered a passion\u2014music. Cruz gravitated toward percussion instruments in band but eventually developed an interest in the piano and the xylophone.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rock and Roll music, played by bands like The Beatles, is his favorite genre. He also enjoys reggae artists like Bob Marley and his son, Ziggy Marley.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI was the quiet kid for many years, so I would find myself falling back to music. I loved listening to music. I loved playing music,\u201d Cruz said. \u201cThe way I bonded with many of my friends in middle school was through music.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When he entered Miami High as a freshman, he once again sought the comfort of music, joining the marching band. But something was different this time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to Cruz, band members spread gossip about him in a group chat. Soon, musicians stopped giving him pieces to play. He felt ostracized.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIt started a chain of depression in me,\u201d Cruz said. \u201cI didn&#8217;t really speak about it to my parents to avoid the feeling of shame. I didn&#8217;t mention it to the band director. I did not mention it to my friends. I did not mention it to anybody. And I carried a lot of sadness and anger with me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At the start of his sophomore year, Cruz transferred to Miami Central High School, but he felt homesick.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cNo matter how I felt [at] Miami Senior High,\u201d Cruz said, \u201cI always had this love for the school regardless.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A couple of months later, he transferred back to Miami High.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But he continued to face obstacles. The advanced band program Cruz was a part of during his freshman year no longer had a spot for him, forcing him to join the intermediate group. As a result, he became less engaged in school, skipping classes and often leaving school early.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In November of his junior year, he enrolled in on-the-job training\u2014a program that allows students to earn credit for working during the school year\u2014as an oasis from the turmoil he was facing. But that didn\u2019t work either and he dropped out of school shortly after.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThat day\u2014dropping out\u2014was very tough for me. I remember walking into some of my teachers and explaining to them for the first time that I couldn&#8217;t take it anymore,\u201d Cruz said. \u201cI left and I didn&#8217;t have any friends anymore. I isolated myself because I was in a dark place.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>A Passionate Leader<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cruz took a four-month break to improve his mental health. He used the time to dissociate from the stress, often going on walks or spending time with his pets\u2014two cats, two dogs, and two parrots.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A two-week summer trip to his aunt\u2019s house in Tennessee also helped clear his head. A nature lover, Cruz said being away from the city and surrounded by the serenity of mountains was the perfect way to relax.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, it wasn\u2019t until he enrolled at North Campus that he truly felt at peace. He earned his GED in March of 2019 and three months later enrolled in college classes\u2014taking student life skills, intro to psychology, and an English course.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cruz joined student government that fall. As a senator, he attended civic engagement events and did community service at North Campus\u2019 food pantry and at a runaway shelter for LGBTQ+ teens.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He also helped coordinate an annual festival, <\/span><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/sharknet.mdc.edu\/event\/3268394\">Sustainapalooza!<\/a><\/strong><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, with the Earth Ethics Institute and the Institute for Civic Engagement and Democracy. The event\u2014canceled due to the coronavirus\u2014sought to celebrate the sustainability and change-making projects that students were involved in at North Campus.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite all of that, Cruz wanted to do more. As student government elections drew closer, he thought about running.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI wanted to empower students because I didn&#8217;t feel empowered in school and I made many mistakes in high school and middle school with people and academics,\u201d said Cruz, who is majoring in political science.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Because of the pandemic, campaigning took place mostly on social media. Cruz created an Instagram account for the first time and designed posters he could share on the app.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">His campaign was based on progress and change-making: <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Greener Campus, a Louder Voice, the Right Choice<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> was his slogan. Eliminating single-use plastics on campus and combating student apathy were among his plans.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI didn&#8217;t even expect to win but I tried my heart out,\u201d Cruz said. \u201cI really poured my heart and my soul into it. I wanted to make up for the lack of things I didn&#8217;t do in high school.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since the victory, he has continued his quest to grow as a student leader. Cruz has hosted webinars sessions on social justice and racial equality, voter engagement events promoting <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mdcthereporter.com\/iced-using-digital-engagement-platform-motivote-to-educate-voters\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Motivote<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and a virtual election-watch party that featured Miami Gardens councilman Robert Stephens.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIf you\u2019re with him, you will always [have] an interesting conversation,\u201d said Lucwilerna Raymond, a student government senator. \u201cHe is really involved, and that&#8217;s the type of person you want leading new people. I think he&#8217;s the right fit [to be SGA president].\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cruz, who is scheduled to graduate at the end of the spring semester, has also been active outside of student government by working as an iCED ambassador\u2014advocating for student engagement opportunities\u2014and promoting sustainability as a member of the YES! Club.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cHe is aware of current issues and tries to make a change regarding those issues and is really proactive as a leader,\u201d said Ronsard J. Mondesir, a North Campus student government senator. \u201cHe likes to introduce new ideas to the senators under him and make sure that he gives us all those ideas. He has a lot to offer to Miami Dade College.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cruz is currently organizing a town hall with newly elected Miami-Dade County Mayor <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Daniella Levine Cava <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">so students can connect with her. He\u2019s also working on an event to help identify fake news and prevent the spread of misinformation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cMichael&#8217;s leadership and dedication to the student population [is] passionate and admirable,\u201d said Lorraine Wright, the student life director at North Campus. \u201cHe is focused on ensuring his peers receive [a ] fair and adequate education and [are] politically aware.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Michael Cruz isn\u2019t your typical student government president candidate.\u00a0 A year and a half ago, the 18-year-old dropped out of Miami Senior High School and faced an uncertain future. But there he was, in the early morning hours of May 27, alone in his bedroom in Hialeah scouring the internet to see if he had [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":452,"featured_media":23275,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,2748],"tags":[6,1097,2225],"class_list":{"0":"post-23274","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"category-north-campus","9":"tag-sga","10":"tag-president","11":"tag-changemaker"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>He Went From High School Dropout To Student Goverment President %<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Michael Cruz dropped out of Miami Senior High School in 2019. 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