Born in Haiti, Palmer Trinity senior Michelle Verwaay still has ties to the island nation. Which makes the devastation caused by Hurricane Matthew difficult for her and her family to bear, especially with the news of a cholera outbreak. So, she created a fundraiser to help.
“I’m going to share it with the Palmer Trinity community,” she says. “They have a sister school in Haiti. St. Thomas in Lamest, Haiti.”
The goal is to provide 1,000 cholera vaccinations to Haitian children at a cost of just $1,700.
“It’s alike a Go Fund Me page,” she says. “I was planning on doing a Dress Down Day or a bake sale.
For the people who don’t want that, they can give money directly.”
Verwaay recently sent an email to the Palmer Trinity community with information about the fundraiser and the link to the donation page.
donate.pih.org/page/outreach/view/campaign/kid2kidsvaccine.
The Verwaay family moved from Haiti because of the political turmoil and because people they knew were being kidnapped. Her parents decided to move the family to Miami for safety.
“I haven’t been there since before the earthquake but my sisters and brothers have been there,” she says. “My parents haven’t been back.”
At school, Verwaay is known her photography. She has a big following on social media for her art.
“On the weekends I’ve done photo shoots for my friends,” she says. “And photos throughout the community and when I go on vacation for summer.”
She takes Advance Placement Art so she must pick a concentration for her portfolio. She’s planning on doing her concentration on aging.
“I was planning on contacting nursing homes and taking photographs and talking to the residents,” she says.
Aging interests her. Her great-grandmother, who is lives in the Dominican Republic, is 101. She wants to show aging as a beautiful thing, rather than something to be feared.
Verwaay wants to combine her interest in Haiti and art into something that can help the community. She’s volunteered at the Little Haiti Community Center and wants work a Haiti artist her family knows to bring the community together.
“He has a gallery,” she says. “He does work with the community. If it doesn’t work out, I still plan to work beside him at the little Haiti Community Center.”
She plans to volunteer more often at the community center once she finishes her college applications. Her top choices are Skidmore and Trinity College. After that, she’s considering schools in the NY and DC areas.
She’s still undecided as to her major.
“I want to do something in the art field, journalism and pre-law track,” she says.
If she is accepted to Skidmore, she plans on joining the equestrian team.
“I am involved in a lot of organizations with horseback riding,” she says. “They have a bunch of different horses at their facility. And the facility is five minutes from the campus.”
She currently competes in equestrian competitions but through the Interscholastic Equestrian Association, an organization that provides horses for riders who can’t afford their own. Verwaay used to have her own horse but had to sell him for financial reasons.
“I’ve been in this since ninth grade,” she says. “Last year I made it to regionals. I was one point away from zones.”
This year she hopes to make it further. It’s impressive she made it that far. Riders are given only two jumps to figure out a horse they haven’t ridden before.
She started riding at three and committed to competitions at six-years-old.
Linda Rodriguez Bernfeld
