Last year, Coral Gables High senior Henry Figueredo conducted a book drive for the Coral Gables Library.
“We were able to collect 100 books,” Figueredo said. “A little less than what I wanted, but I think it made a difference for the library.”
They advertised the book collection drive around the school and told students where they could drop off the donations.
“They were used books for students,” he said. “Any ACT or SAT study books they didn’t want for English classes. They are useful for students who didn’t have funds to acquire those books.”
They also donated novels used for school that students didn’t want to keep.
Figueredo collected the books to satisfy his community service project requirement for the International Baccalaureate program.
“I didn’t want to do something outside my community,” he said. “I felt that starting a local book drive would be better than starting a book drive for another country. If you are going to go out and help other people, you should make sure your community is set.”
While he understands the need to help communities outside the local area, his preference is to help at home first.
“Your community is going to always need something,” he said.
Figueredo was a member of the robotics club last year but couldn’t participate this year because the teacher left the school. He enjoyed his year in the club, working with the group on a miniature robot that would flash Morse code.
At Gables, Figueredo has been on the cross-country team. Even when he couldn’t participate in the meets, he always practiced hard in hopes of being included in a future meet.
Outside of school, he trains in jujitsu and boxing.
He already has been accepted to FIU for college but his college applications also included Carnegie Mellon, Boston College and other engineering and medical colleges. He’ is interested in biomedical engineering.
— Linda Rodriguez Bernfeld
