MAKING NEWS: 19 local high school students were selected=

High school journalists spent three weeks this July on the University of Miami campus reporting and writing on the impact the Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti had on the Haitian-American community in South Florida.

They met Haitians who had to leave Haiti because their high school was destroyed and are now studying and playing football in Miami.

They heard from a Miami Herald reporter who lost 11 family members in the quake.

They wrote about the changing dynamics between Haiti and the neighboring Dominican Republic.

They also wrote about immigration, environmentalism, relief work, politics and the work churches have been doing toward recovery. In the process, the students learned about science, writing and the process of telling stories for both old and new media.

“This mind-blowing experience was definitely worth missing the fireworks and holiday festivities with family on Independence Day,” said Haley Stracher, a senior at the College Academy at Broward College and one of the 19 participants in the program, which began July 4 and ends July 24.

The University of Miami’s School of Communication hosts the program, known as the Peace Sullivan/James Ansin High School Workshop in Journalism and New Media. The students, who come from high schools throughout South Florida, publish a newspaper, Miami Montage, and produce video stories and a web site. The workshop has been around since 1984.

The purpose of the program is to grow interest in journalism within students, said Yves Colon, the workshop’s director.

“It’s a great opportunity,’’ said Colon, who also teaches journalism at the School of Communication. “These young men and women will go on to become the journalists of tomorrow. We’ll be reading their stories in our newspapers and seeing their packages on television in college and professionally  in the near future. They’re extremely bright and eager to learn.”

While at UM, the students live in the dorms and eat in the cafeteria.

“It’s an opportunity for them to experience the college life,” said Colon.

Workshop faculty members include Fred Blevens, a journalist who now teaches at Florida International University, and Donna Gehrke-White, a former Miami Herald writer and editor. Guest speakers include faculty from the School of Communication and working journalists from the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post. They lecture about writing, reporting and ethics and introduce students to the journalism industry.

“Being responsible for deadlines, waking up on time, doing my own laundry, and living with new people gave me a sense of independence I have never had before,” said Amanda Di Lella, 17, a senior at Felix Varela Senior  High School.

Supporters include the Ansin Family Foundation and Peace Sullivan, along with the Dade Community Foundation and the Dow Jones News Fund. James Ansin, the general manager of WSVN- Channel 7, and Peace Sullivan, a former Associated Press journalist, also fund a partial scholarship for a workshop student to attend UM and major in communication.

Life in the freshman dormitory, as well as access to the gym on campus, makes the grueling schedule palatable for students, many of them say.

“When I spoke to one of the counselors a week prior to the workshop she told me it was like a bad hotel, but it’s not so bad after all,’’ said Anthony Cave, 17, a senior at Dr. Michael M. Krop Senior High.

“The air conditioner is cold, the community bathroom was a new experience, but I feel like I could do this every day,” Cave said.

A typical day starts early in the morning and often doesn’t end until late at night.

“Everything from card games till 2 in the morning, to stuffing our faces at the Chartwells dining hall. We have become better journalists, but most importantly developed eternal friendships,” said Armand Sepulveda, 17, a senior at Miramar High School.

Absorbing criticism is a major aspect in the world of journalism, a fundamental to make a story an even better one.

“Constructive criticism is key to evolving in the journalism business; it taught me to never take anything your editors say to heart,” said Christina Joyner, 17, senior at John I. Leonard High School in Palm Beach County.

This years’ theme focused on Haitian earthquake that shook the ground in Port-au-Prince on Jan. 12 and its impact on the South Florida community.

“I believe it’s important that we focus on Haiti as our theme for Miami Montage this year because a lot of people lost focus and almost forgot about such a disaster, especially once news coverage about the event ended,” said Nicole Martins of Cypress Bay High School.

Students often pair up to further their research and develop multimedia ideas.

“Through the questionable lead, the awesome cameras and gear, and the frustrating writing, it’s the bonding, the friendships we form that keep us going,” said Tomás Monzón, 16, a junior at South Miami High School.

It taught some of the students a lot about Haiti and their crisis, as well as some of the living conditions that still exist in Haiti, six months after the earthquake.

What united everyone was a common interest: passion for journalism and determination to produce stories that will last a lifetime.

“Not only have I been reassured that this is the right career choice for me, but I grew as a person,” Di Lella said.

GOING TO BAT FOR HAITI: State Rep. Ronald Brisé immediately went to Gov. Charles Crist to seek help for Haitians after the earthquake

“One Community, One Voice.”

That’s how state Rep. Ronald A. Brisé thinks.

So when the massive earthquake hit Haiti Jan. 12, the 36-year-old Haitian American got right to work. In fact, it was within hours that Brisé was meeting with state officials to get supplies and other resources sent to Haiti.

“When I first heard about the earthquake, I was in a committee meeting,” he said. “My BlackBerry vibrated and I checked my text. It was from a co-worker saying, ‘Have you seen the news?’ I then immediately checked online for details and my heart sank.”

Once the meeting was over, Brisé went straight to Florida Gov. Charlie Christ’s office to make sure Miami was ready with the resources to help whoever needed it.

Brisé has gone to Haiti three times since the earthquake. He has met with Haitian leaders to make sure they know that Florida remains ready to help.

“The first time I went, about five days after the earthquake, I went to view and collect information on what needs to be done,’’ he said.

The second time, which was five days later, Brisé went to meet with politicians and began to set up a medical camp in Haiti’s capital, Port-au- Prince.

“The third time I went, which was about three weeks ago, it was to see how Florida can help with the reconstruction process,” he said.

He immediately sent 6,000 pounds of medical equipment and set up a medical clinic in Port-au-Prince. He now is trying to help Haiti rebuild and get back on its feet by setting up a committee to help.

Friends say his urge to help is part of who he is.

“He is a man you can always call on and he will help you to the most of his ability. He is a man of the people.” said Daniel Fils-Aime, who owns a transportation company in Little Haiti and has worked with Brisé over the years.

Steve Forester, an activist and friend who deals with immigration issues, said Brisé is dedicated to people he represents.

“He is an overall great, hardworking human being with the drive to not stop working for the people,” Forester said.

Brisé said becoming an elected leader has put him right in the middle of the action.

“The best way to affect change is to become part of it,” Brisé said.

Brisé was first elected to be the Legislature in 2006 after he beat four opponents to represent District 108 that includes cities from North Miami to Key Biscayne. He has since been re-elected twice and may run again this fall.

Brisé recently was appointed to the Public Service Commission by Gov. Charlie Crist. He will now be in charge of rates, services and safety of privately owned utilities.

“Ron is known for his willingness to fight for Floridians, which is exactly what the Public Service Commission should do,” Crist said in a statement.

“He is dedicated to serving the people of Florida and protecting their best interests.”

Brisé started his political career in high school. He became student council treasurer and social vice president at Miami Union Academy. Brisé was also the parliamentarian of the school’s honor society.

He caught a big break when he was selected to represent Florida at the Congressional Young Leaders Conference in Washington.

“It gave me a chance to see what goes on in Congress, the White House and the Supreme Court.” Brisé said. “It helped me learn a lot about how the government worked.”

Going out for sports also helped him develop skills that came in handy years later. He learned critical leadership and discipline as co-captain of the basketball team at Miami Union. He also played basketball his freshman and sophomore years of school at Oakwood College.

“I was pretty good, playing small forward,’’ he said.”It was one of the things that helped me acquire my dedication to pursue my goals.”

Brisé, who graduated from Oakwood College with a bachelor’s in biology and biology education, got his drive for education from his mother.

“Education is very important to me because my mother was a college professor and I spent my whole childhood on a university campus,” he said.

After college, Brisé went back to teach science at his old high school, Miami Union.

“Not only did I teach science, but I went back to my old team and coached basketball again. I also picked up the trumpet and gave lessons on that too,” he said.

After teaching for nine years, he swapped his life as a teacher to become a student again at American Intercontinental University, where he earned master’s degrees in business administration and marketing  and managing.

“I used my education to excel,” Brisé said.

Since the earthquake, though, he hasn’t had much time to work on his business because he’s focused on helping Haiti.

“Most of my family and friends had a lot of structural damage,” Brisé said. “Many of my friend’s family members lost their lives and also had them changed in an instant. A lot of what I am doing know is to help structure and reestablish the government and help with anything they need.”

He’s been able to carry with the support of his wife, and he admits his family life has suffered.

“Being married to an amazing wife and having a four year old son is a pretty hard task by itself. I feel bad for my son, when he asks me if I’m going to be there in morning when he wakes up, because I usually leave on a plane to Tallahassee really early,” Brisé said.

It isn’t affecting his family negatively all the time though. He says “my wife is one of those ‘coaches wives’ the one that cooks and cleans and agrees with every decision you make and backs it up one thousand percent.”

TWIN STUDENTS BUILDING ANEW: Ally (pictured) and Steeve Simbert were forced to leave their schools and home in Haiti following the earthquake.

On Jan. 12, David Baron was visiting a school in Port-au-Prince when student Steeve Simbert asked him for help revising an essay.

In a split second, they found themselves holding each other as the earth shook.

Today, the student and teacher, safely in the United States, are closer than ever, bonded by their survival after an earthquake that upended buildings and uprooted thousands of children in and around the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince.

“Even though we don’t see each other every day, I feel like we’re mentally connected,” said Baron, a 59-year-old Caribbean art dealer and writer who lives in New Orleans.

“When you go through something like that with somebody else, it’s like we’re soldiers.”

Simbert eventually reached his twin brother, Ally, 10 hours after the quake via cell phone and told him that he was alive. After a week, the twins reached the United States together.

The Simbert brothers are just two of more than 2,300 Haitian students – kindergarteners to high school seniors – who have ended up in Broward and Miami-Dade schools.

Six months after the quake, the students still are adjusting to a new country – and a strange lifestyle that includes blue jeans and rap rather than starched dresses and church hymns.

Instead of being taunted and given dirty looks as an earlier generation of Haitian immigrant children had to endure, the current refugees are being welcomed to South Florida with open arms, especially at schools.

In Miami-Dade County, 1,137 Haitian children were enrolled as of June 30. They have mostly settled in North Miami and western Miami-Dade, according to school records.

The greatest concentration is at North Miami Senior High School with 88 students. Felix Varela Senior High and North Miami Middle follow. Each has 48.

In Broward County, 1,200 Haitian students enrolled in the school system after the earthquake. However, there is no breakdown of how many attend  each school.

TWIN STUDENTS BUILDING ANEW: Ally and Steeve Simbert (pictured) were forced to leave their schools and home in Haiti following the earthquake.

A recent graduate of North Miami Beach Senior High School, Steeve Simbert, 18, recalls the horrors that he and Baron encountered that day.

Simbert and Baron, who was tutoring him at New American School, were “violently thrown on the ground when the earthquake began to shake the building that (they) were in.”

“I simply thought it was a dream, maybe some kind of horror movie, even more terrifying, the apocalypse,” Simbert said.

Immediately after the earthquake, the U.S. Embassy would not let Baron bring Simbert to Miami.

“The Embassy lady said that only Americans could leave,’’ Simbert said.

He couldn’t help but cry the entire car ride home.

“I felt vulnerable to the chaos surrounding me,’’ Simbert said, adding that after the writer left, “it felt as if my sanity left with him.”

Baron, a former journalist, had arrived in Haiti two days before the earthquake to visit New American School, where he taught for many years.

“(Simbert) had the subtle grammar issues that any native French speaker would have when first learning the language. But he’s an amazing writer,” Baron said.

Of the earthquake, Baron recalls the scene as if it were yesterday.

“It was 4:53 pm. I was helping Steeve with his SAT essay when the ground started shaking. It was as serious as a heart attack,” he said.  “I was a movie critic for many years, and this was much scarier than any movie I ever saw.

“We still talk almost every day.”

Ally Simbert, Steeve’s twin brother, also recalls his whereabouts the day of the quake.

“I was in school, on my way home, and I was on the bus with my friends, and this catastrophe just happened on us,” he said.

“I was shocked because I didn’t know what was happening. I just wanted to jump off the bus.”

Ally Simbert wandered the streets, searching for family and friends.

“Even though you’re on the street, you’re scared because people might kill you, like, for food, for money,” he said. “You cannot stay home, because if you stay home, you might get killed because of so many aftershocks.”

Ally Simbert finally got a call from his brother and the two reunited in the streets.

“I went to the embassy, and I got inside for three days. At the end, they told me that I had an appointment, but I didn’t show up,” Ally Simbert said.

“Then, they told me ‘I’m sorry, you cannot go anymore’ after waiting three days there. It was heartbreaking. I had to go back home with my luggage after sleeping on the floor and everything.”

Frustrated, Simbert returned home, only to receive a phone call the next day from the embassy that a small plane was leaving for Miami and that he was granted permission to leave.

“I got the call, and I said ‘I’m coming with Steeve, OK?’ So, it was the both of us.”

Both appreciate their new lives in South Florida. They also are grateful for lessons learned, no matter how painful.

“It has led me to realize that in times of crisis one has to be optimistic and perform heroic actions,’’ Steeve Simbert said.

“And I have learned that the Good Lord will reward that person millions of times. I have already started to be rewarded.”