LifeChanger of the Year Nominee Profile

Vickey Puentes was nominated by one of her students.

"At Miami Senior High School, I can not name anyone as busy as Mrs. Puentes. She's the college counselor, Student Government Association advisor, and Education Excellence School Advisory Council chairperson," explains the student.

Mrs. Puentes not only has to write recommendation letters, revise essays, give career advice, and aid in the FAFSA process for thousands of students, but she also has to orchestrate the events held by the student government, which is a gargantuan amount at Miami Senior High School. However, her impact extends far beyond her various jobs. She manages to complete her endless workload while being ceaselessly sweet and encouraging. This turns her into a mother figure for many students. Because of the nature of her job, she gets to know her students very well. However, this is impressive because of the sheer amount of students she interacts with, which is not only limited to seniors, but includes students from all four high school grade levels. She tries to make the thousands of students who see her feel acknowledged and prepared for college or life.

"From my experience with her, I have always been amazed at her incredible work ethic, which rubs off on all of her students. Although Mrs. Puentes was not required to stay a single second after school for her college applicants, she would stay hours after school, and even show up on the weekends, to make time for students she did not have time to meet with during the school day," said the student.

The fact that Mrs. Puentes is the direct link between her students and their life goals makes her a true LifeChanger. The manner in which she goes about changing lives makes it that much more meaningful for students.