WEST PALM BEACH — Corey Smith wanted his daughter, Naila, to steer clear of everything having to do with becoming a lawyer since it’s an “ever-changing career.” He wanted her to study in the STEM field to ensure a career that would always be necessary.
“Kids always do the opposite of what we as parents tell them to do,” said Corey Smith.
His working in municipal government as an attorney himself allowed him to be open about his career at home, which sparked Naila’s interest in it.
She earned an internship with the Palm Beach County School District’s legal office during her junior year of high school. It exposed her to so many different fields of law. It was there that she realized that a career following in her father’s footsteps was what she wanted for herself.
Corey Smith felt an array of emotions when she had mentioned her plans to him: joy, confusion, even anger. But pride — and lots of it — won out July 19, as he sat with a beaming smile at Florida Power & Light’s Manatee Lagoon complex and watched Naila receive a scholarship from the Palm Beach County Caucus of Black Elected Officials.
An 18-year-old Palm Beach Lakes High School graduate, Naila Smith will attend Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia, and have a double major in political science and journalism in the university’s pre-law track.
“My dad is also a lawyer, I’ve been aware of it since I was young but after my internship, I knew that one day I will work in politics just like him,” said Naila Smith.
The families of Naila Smith and 77 other students gathered as each student received $1,000 in scholarships from the caucus. Recipients had grade-point averages of at least 3.0 and had “demonstrated leadership, outstanding character, and dedication to community service,” the caucus said.
In the caucus’ inaugural year, they were only able to present 27 students with scholarships and this year it is almost triple that amount, with the help from some of their sponsors including Florida Power & Light Company, Florida Crystals, Margaritaville at Sea and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s office.
County Commissioner Bobby Powell, the group’s president and a former state senator, emceed the event.
“I’m blown away by the number of students that we’re able to give scholarships away to today. It’s more than double what we were able to do last year,” Powell said, a former state senator.
Jonathan Ramirez, a scholarship recipient and senior at Palm Beach Lakes High School, shared the same sentiment. “It really is a great, great honor to be given the scholarship and be given this opportunity alongside so many of my peers.”
Ramirez’s mom, Shaila, knew that there was no way Jonathan would not grow up to be a helping hand in the community.
“He started helping out in the community from such a young age but when he started working with Best Buddies, I could see that this was God’s plan for him,” said Shaila Ramirez, in Spanish.
Powell and nine other Palm Beach County commissioners and mayors including state Sen. Mack Bernard, state Rep. Jervonte Edmonds and Port of Palm Beach Commissioner Jean Enright each read recipients’ names as they or their families walked up to the podium to accept their awards and scholarship money.
Francesca Abarca is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at fabarca@gannett.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
