Students Who Shine: Southwest Miami Senior High School
MIAMI-- It's time for another school year and that means another year full of students who shine. CBS News Miami's first student who shines hails from Southwest Miami Senior High School.
Carys Martinez is entering her senior with a focus on the business and finance magnet program. One of her teachers, Mary Davidson, says Martinez immersed herself in business classes since she was a freshman.
"We start with the basics of the difference between a checking and a savings account, moving on up to investment tools like mutual fund and a Roth IRA," Davidson said. "We visit New York yearly to expose our students to what that finance world looks like".
Martinez is a 4.0 and top 10 student in her class.
Her interest in business in general began even before she was a freshman, but blossomed as a southwest senior student.
Carys Martinez said, "starting my 10th grade I started taking full advantage of everything. So I would participate in multiple clubs and I just tried to figure out what I liked".
It appears an affinity for business runs in the family. Carys was pointed in the right direction by her sister, Carolina.
She's a role model for Carys as Carolina also went through the magnet program when she attended southwest years ago.
Carolina admits she might have a sibling target on her back.
"It's always that drive. It's definitely her putting that 100%. And even though that she's that type of person to want to be there for everyone, she always wants to be a little bit more." said sister Carolina Martinez. "It's almost kind of like that sibling rivalry. Whatever I did or whatever my brother did, she always definitely wants to take it a step ahead and wants to go ahead and be like, ok, she got a scholarship ok I'm going to get 2."
Martinez spent part of the summer in Cambridge, England as 1 of 50 students chosen worldwide who received a full scholarship from the Wharton global youth program.
Among her other achievements and involvement indulgences the list is long and lengthy.
Here are just a few: President of DECA: Distributive Educational Clubs of America,President/National Honor Society, President/Math Honor Society, Vice President Science Honor Society, Best Buddies member, Hip member.
It's student involvement that turns the heads of administrators.
The assistant principal at SWMSH, Madeleine Luis said, "you always have that one student that really sticks out and Carys is definitely that student for us. She's a natural born leader. She's very humanistic. She cares about her peers".
Carys said, "my parents came here from Cuba and they both didn't complete their education to come here and get a better life and therefore provide me with a better life. So, I'm just motivated by them because I want to make sure that they realize that their sacrifices have not been, have been worthwhile".
Carys says she's applying to 10 colleges and universities. Five of those are in Florida. she would really like to attend Ivy League University of Pennsylvania and attend it's business school .