Seventeen students from the HEAT Academy mentoring program earned four-year college scholarships, courtesy of Carnival Corp. and presented by Carnival, the Miami HEAT and Florida Prepaid College Foundation. The mentoring program was sponsored by Carnival and the HEAT in partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Miami. Francesca Aguirre (MAST Academy), Angie Betancourt (Miami Senior HS) and Nicole Cruz (Young Women’s Prep Academy) and more were recognized during a ceremony at halftime of the HEAT/Portland Trailblazers basketball game at the AmericanAirlines Arena. Each also received a laptop, courtesy Carnival Foundation, Dell and Microsoft. They were congratulated by several dignitaries/scholarship program officials including Miami HEAT Owner and Carnival Corp. Chairman Micky Arison; Carnival Foundation Executive Director and Carnival Scholarship Committee Representative Linda Coll; The HEAT Group’s Business Operations President Eric Woolworth; Miami-Dade County Public Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho; Florida Prepaid College Foundation Founder Stanley Tate; and Florida Prepaid College Foundation Board Member Senator Ron Silver.