Deefield Beach, Fla. – With a mission to serve those in her community and empower other students, Paige Harris made quite an impression on the associates from JM Family Enterprises tasked with selecting the next youth achiever.

Harris, a recent graduate of Atlantic Technical High School in Coconut Creek, will be honored as the 2020 Jerome Edmund Gray Youth Achiever. This distinction is part of the annual African-American Achievers awards program, presented by JM Family, Southeast Toyota Distributors and JM Lexus, which has honored South Florida community leaders for the past 28 years.

An Honor Roll student, Harris was co-treasurer of the Will Make It Enrichment Program, and worked to help fellow students stay on track to help achieve their career goals and further their education. She studied Licensed Practical Nursing and took part in the dualenrollment program through Broward College. A cheerleader and member of the student government, she also could often be found volunteering at various schools and libraries, m e n t o r i n g younger children. She is a Sunday school teacher who also teaches vacation Bible school.

Harris’s hard work and determination has landed her a four-year scholarship to Florida State University. She plans to major in biochemistry with a minor in creative writing. Her goal is to become a cosmetic and reconstructive plastic surgeon.

The Youth Achiever award, named in memory of 1995 African-American Achiever Jerome Edmund Gray, recognizes a South Florida high school senior who qualifies for financial aid and has applied and received admission to FSU.

The award is given as part of the annual African-American Achievers Awards ceremony, which was established in 1992 by automotive legend Jim Moran to recognize leaders for their exceptional contributions toward building stronger communities in South Florida.

Harris, along with the four 2020 African-American Achiever

Award recipients, will be honored at a special ceremony at Broward Center for the Per-

forming Arts, which was postponed until May 12, 2021 due to COVID19. This year’s honorees include:

Arts & Culture – Traci Young-Byron.

Business & Entrepreneurism – Ken Roland.

Community Service – Marleine Bastien.

Education – Danni Washington.