Scholarship & Mentoring Program

Meet the 2026 Carnival Scholarship Recipients

Scholarship & Mentoring Program

For the 24th consecutive year, Carnival Foundation purchased scholarships from the Florida Prepaid College Foundation and awarded 15 of our students with four-year Florida College Plan scholarships. The students went through a rigorous application process and were chosen based on academic performance, leadership skills, community involvement and interviews. This was the 17th year Carnival Foundation presented these fully prepaid scholarships to college-bound high school seniors. The scholarships were presented at a recent Miami HEAT game.

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City of Miami Gardens Police Chief Delma K. Noel-Pratt

Scholarship & Mentoring Program

Our March Carnival Scholarship & Mentoring Program was a celebration of International Women’s Month, featuring guest speaker Chief Delma K. Noel-Pratt. In May 2017, Chief Noel-Pratt was sworn in as the first Black female police chief for the City of Miami Gardens Police Department. Chief Noel-Pratt spoke about her struggles growing up in London and the economic hardships her family endured. After moving to Detroit, she came to Florida and attended the Miami-Dade Police Academy. While often the shortest, among few women and frequently the only black woman in the room, she viewed her challenges as opportunities, saying that excellence knows no gender, color or height.

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Celebrity Chef Marcus Samuelsson Shares His Journey

Scholarship & Mentoring Program

During the February meeting of the Carnival Scholarship and Mentoring Program, Celebrity Chef Marcus Samuelsson spoke about his roots, having been born in Ethiopia and then adopted by Swedish parents. He discussed his journey to becoming a world-famous chef, the obstacles he faced and how he overcame life’s challenges.

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Students Learn About Financial Planning

Scholarship & Mentoring Program

During our January meeting, Carnival Corporation Chief Risk and Compliance Officer Richard Brilliant gave a lively presentation to help the students learn more about financial planning. He spoke about planning for a successful financial future and investing in stocks and bonds versus simply putting money in a bank. Each Big/Little pair was given $10,000 to invest in stocks from a list of companies and then Richard showed how they performed over 10 years. Those who made the most money out of their investments won a prize.

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World-Renowned Artist Romero Britto Visits the Program

Scholarship & Mentoring Program

The Carnival Scholarship and Mentoring Program had a special visitor in December: internationally renowned artist Romero Britto! Following a video about his life and career, Romero spoke to the group about his upbringing in Brazil and the struggles he faced as he worked to make a better life for himself. We opened the floor for questions, and Romero discussed a variety of topics — from how he paints to spread love and hope to surrounding yourself with people who know more than you. The mentors and students were full of awe listening to his advice and hearing about his journey.

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Meet our 2024 Scholarship Winners

Scholarship & Mentoring Program

For the 22nd consecutive year, Carnival Foundation purchased scholarships from the Florida Prepaid College Foundation and awarded 15 of our students with four-year Florida College Plan scholarships. The students went through a rigorous application process and were chosen based on academic performance, leadership skills, community involvement and interviews. This was the 15th year Carnival Foundation presented these fully prepaid scholarships to college-bound high school seniors. The scholarships were presented at a Miami HEAT game with Carnival Corporation President and CEO Josh Weinstein handing out the awards.

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Congratulations to the Class of 2024!

Scholarship & Mentoring Program

For our last meeting in May, we celebrated our graduating seniors with a special visit that included awards for Toastmasters and grades, speeches from senior students, performances by select seniors, a visit from graduates of the program, video of the past year and slideshow that featured each of the grads. Congratulations to all of our graduates! We wish you every success as you embark on the next chapter of your lives.

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Congrats to the Class of 2023!

Scholarship & Mentoring Program

Our final meeting for the 2022/2023 school year culminated with each senior “walking across the stage” and getting their personalized certificate. We gave everyone cords in the Carnival colors and Big Brothers Big Sisters colors. As as farewell gift, all of the seniors also received a graduation bear with a shirt that had their name on the back. We’re so proud of this group of outstanding students, and it’s been a privilege to watch them grow over the past four years.

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Meet our 2023 Scholarship Winners

Scholarship & Mentoring Program

Recently the Carnival Scholarship & Mentoring Program presented our 16 scholarship recipients with their Dell laptops at the Miami HEAT game on center court. The halftime event is a highlight for these students and their families. Each student was awarded one of our scholarships after a rigorous application and interview process. This is the 14th year Carnival Foundation has presented these fully prepaid scholarships to college-bound high school seniors. In total, more than 211 students have earned the benefits of our scholarships. Congratulations to all of the recipients!

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Meet the 2022 Scholarship Recipients

Scholarship & Mentoring Program

This past weekend, Carnival Scholarship & Mentoring Program awarded 15 college scholarships to graduating seniors. In addition to the scholarship, the students received new laptops courtesy of Dell. It’s been an amazing journey for these students, who began at the Miami Heat Academy and came through our program in partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Miami.

Thank you to all of the students and their families for joining us, and thank you to Gale Nelson, president & CEO of BBBS; Michael McCullough, chief marketing officer for Miami HEAT; Hakim Benzit, systems engineering manager for DELL; and Vicky Rey, VP guest care & communications of Carnival Cruise Line for helping us celebrate our students.

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