LifeChanger of the Year’s awards season is under way and the first surprise ceremony was held this week in Florida.
Ana Rubio, a physical education teacher at Earlington Heights Elementary School in Brownsville, Fla., in the Miami-Dade district, was recognized for her incredible commitment to students both in and out of school.
On her own time, she founded Streamline Miami to help underprivileged students stay healthy and active after school.
Six students who were part of the Streamline Miami inaugural baseball program received college baseball scholarships.
Additionally, she’s taken students to art museums and music festivals and raised money for more books and teaching instruments in the classroom. Many students say she has inspired them to pursue a college education.
She’s been recognized by her colleagues. “I have worked with Ms.Rubio for many years. I am so happy to witness the positive change she has brought to Earlington Heights Elementary School,” colleague Silva Kaneesha Dockens wrote on her LifeChanger profile page. “She is committed to exposing our students to other options. By exposing our students to culture, sports and travel, our students recognize that they can achieve more. They have better choices for their lives if they commit to their education now. She does great work.”
Ana is one five finalists for the LIfeChanger of the Year Grand Prize. She will travel to Naples, Fla., in April for our annual Conference of Champions where all of the finalists will be honored and the grand prize winner announced.
More surprise announcement ceremonies are being organized in coming weeks, including all 15 national prizewinners.
