NSU Student and University School Teacher Named 2021 STUEY Alumnus of the Year
On April 13, 2021, the Student Life Association at Nova Southeastern University (NSU) hosted its 23rd annual Student Life Achievement Awards, otherwise known as the STUEY’s. This event intertwines the accolades of students, staff and alumni at NSU who are best known for their academic excellence, research, diversity, innovation, service and opportunities.
This year, the 2021 STUEY Alumnus of the Year was awarded to Wilford Miranda, a 2019 alumnus of NSU. Wilford is currently an NSU University School teacher and Master of Science Education student at NSU. He is extremely dedicated to education and making a difference in the lives of his students – a feature he believes set him apart from other nominees.
Miranda has notably started several new initiatives at University School with guidance from his mentor, Luke Williams, and continues to launch new ways to engage students, such as kickstarting NSU’s first-ever HOSA – Future Health Professionals (HOSA) chapter and creating a new curriculum called “Tiny Earth,” alongside NSU professor Dr. Aarti Raja.
Miranda led the creation of the HOSA at University School to support the career development of students interested in health studies.
“I have been participating non-stop in HOSA conferences since middle school and used this experience to bring HOSA to University School. As a first year HOSA chapter at NSU University School, we aimed to uphold our reputation to dominate in competitions. Along with my outstanding student officers, we mentored and coached our members to have a competitive edge at the regional, state, and international levels. After taking up the scoreboards in regionals, we went to compete at States where we went against 150 other high school HOSA chapters and we got the most international qualifiers (top three winners).”
To further the collaboration of education amongst students and educators, Miranda launched the “Tiny Earth” curriculum.
“Tiny Earth is a network of instructors and students who focus on identifying antibiotics from soil bacteria. This year, we successfully carried out the Tiny Earth curriculum with three class periods and currently, we are working to expand to five class periods. Our research together has earned us a few awards such as winning first place at the regional science fair competition and winning first place at the state HOSA research poster competition,” said Miranda.
Miranda utilized his experience as a student and teacher to showcase his skills as a nominee for alumnus of the year. Through his notable work as a teacher and researcher, Miranda made his mark by emphasizing a “One NSU” motto and combining his strengths from NSU and the NSU University School.
“The professors at NSU have undoubtedly amplified my teaching expertise through their wisdom and advice,” added Miranda, “By working collaboratively with Dr. Raja, NSU Undergraduates, and NSU University School students, we were able to advance our mission statements while providing top-of-the-line experiential learning experiences for our students.”
Miranda will be entering his second year as a master’s student this fall and is planning on graduating with his degree in Science Education by May 2022. Following his master’s degree, he also looks forward to enrolling in one of NSU’s Ed.D. programs.
Miranda intends to follow his “One NSU” mission in the future by collaborating with NSU and the NSU University School through his work, research and studies.
Visit Twitter for updates on HOSA/Tiny Earth at U-School at https://twitter.com/WilfordMiranda4. For more information about NSU’s University school go to https://www.facebook.com/UniversitySchoolofNSU.