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Miami Palmetto High School incoming senior Peyton Byrd received the Television Production Outstanding Junior of the Year Award at the end-of-the-year underclassmen awards ceremony.
What makes that even more impressive is that this was her first year in the program. Before joining television production, she had been involved in theater.
In television production she works with the director, who is the teacher, and does a lot of behind-the-scenes things. She helps with planning videos and stage management, which she loves. She says she likes the organizing and planning roles. And she loves writing.
“I made the change because of timing issues,” she says.
“My goals for BBYO conflicted a little too much with theater,” she says. “As hard as it was, BBYO is something I’m more passionate about.”
Byrd joined BBYO four years ago. She’s president of the Miami region and she’s also been involved in the international organization.
“It’s my favorite thing in the world,” she says. “It’s my connection to my Jewish community.”
Through BBYO she’s learned how to run and organize and how to run a board. And she loves collaborating with people from different countries and working through language barriers.
“I’ve served on a few different things internationally,” she says. “I got to know the people on the international board.”
She says there are also international committees to create the events.
“I got to create a whole experience, a room called the Embassy Room,” she says. “All of our members internationally had a place to sit down and relax, regardless of where they were from. They got to feel welcome.”
She says it’s going to make applying for college a little less harsh because running for the board taught her a lot.
At school, she’s also in the National Honor Society. Last she helped kick off the first Dance Marathon.
The goal was to raise $5,000 but they raised much more, $6,053.
“We are very happy and very proud of being the first one to do it in Miami and setting off a chain for other schools to follow,” she says.
Byrd is also on the Student Council. She’ll be Co-Chief of Staff.
“We work connectivity with the activities director,” Byrd says. “We make sure all of her ideas and our ideas are executed in a timely and organized manner.”
She and her family have done volunteer work with Make a Wish.
“My parents met through Make a Wish,” Byrd says. “My mom and grandma were wish granters. They are the people that get to grant the wish. They work with the children. They figure out what the wish is and what they want.”
She can’t be a wish granter until she is 18. In the meantime, she raises money for Make a Wish by participating in the Walk for Wishes at Zoo Miami and serves on a youth board.
For fun, she learned how to speak Spanish when she was five. No one in her family is Hispanic. Since then, she’s taken 11 years of Spanish in school.
“I saw an opportunity to be who I am with the Pinecrest City Music Project,” she says. “I started PCMP at the end of freshman year and started as an associate as the Equity and Inclusion officer. It’s been an amazing experience.”
She’d love being able to plan important events and getting to see the business side. She’s also gone through ADA training.
Her future could be in the Recording and Entertainment Industry. She’s planning to apply to Syracuse, George Washington University in D.C. and American University in D.C.
Linda Rodriguez Bernfeld
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