John A Ferguson Senior High School Honors Class of 2020

MIAMI, FL — Miami-Dade County Public Schools and John A Ferguson Senior High School are honoring the Class of 2020 to coincide with the school's virtual graduation on June 15.

The school is highlighting three students below who represent the achievements of the entire graduating class.

Kelly Ibarra

Kelly Ibarra was previously involved in a car accident, which left her hospitalized. Despite this traumatic challenge, she recovered and returned to cheerleading and academics. She has a GPA of 4.1, more than 200 hours of community service and has served on the Senior Board as Publicist.

Jazmine Sanchez

When Jazmine Sanchez started the ninth grade, she had to leave school due to a cancer diagnosis. She was not able to return to school until the middle of her 10th grade due to her illness. In fact, her cancer treatment continued throughout her entire high school years. Still, Jazmine kept her GPA strong and has been able to pass all the state mandated tests for graduation.

Vanishka Villafañe

Vanishka Villafañe is part of a generation of Puerto Ricans who moved to the United States after Hurricane Maria devastated the island in 2017. And the move, the language and culture adjustment can be overwhelming to any young person. But Vanishka took the challenge head on. She immediately started taking regular classes and a combination of Advance Placement and Honors classes. As a result, she is graduating with a 4.20 GPA and accumulated 500 hours of community service hours. In addition, she also ran cross country and track.

In an effort to ensure that the Class of 2020 graduates at Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) receive the pomp and circumstance they deserve, the District is holding virtual graduation ceremonies for each high school. The live streaming of each virtual graduation, as well as a schedule of ceremonies and a video archive can be accessed by visiting Classof2020.dadeschools.net. The ceremonies are also televised on WLRN Channel 17.

The virtual commencement ceremonies will be followed by an in-person Class of 2020 celebration at each high school either in the summer or winter, once it is safe to do so under public health guidelines.

In addition to the virtual ceremonies, the District has launched a marketing campaign to highlight outstanding seniors, and invite the community to celebrate graduates on social media using the following hashtags: #MDCPSGrad, #Classof2020, #MeetMDCPSGrads and #SeniorSpotlight.