Official uVu Blog

Rear Admiral Michelle Howard

Rear Admiral Michelle Howard, first African-American woman to command a ship in the U.S. Navy, attended a luncheon at Nova Southeastern University where she gave a speech on April 26th, 2010 about "Women and Minorities in Today's US Navy."  The event was part of  Fleet Week 2010 Port Everglades.

This is My Life project

 During the Spring semester 2010, uVu staff and WPBT2 employees teamed up to teach 16 girls editing and interviewing skills at JRE Lee Opportunity school. During the program, the girls shared storie about their lives, struggles, obstacles,successes and more. Afterward each girl had to edit her own video.

Local Voices at the PBFF

Elizabeth Dashiell, president of Palm Beach Film Society, oversees the Local Voices segment of the Palm Beach International Film Festival. She talks about some of the local films with filmmakers from Miami to Jupiter. Elizabeth's film, The Breakup, is about the breakup between Barbie and Ken. For more information about when films are screening and their filmmakers, go to www.pbfilmfest.org.

Teach For America: Meet Michelle Abbs

uVu partnered with three Teach For America teachers during the Spring semester and lent them Flip cameras to capture their teaching experience and their students’ progress.

As the end of the semester approaches, it is the teacher’s turn to turn in their homework!

uVu received dozens of videos showcasing the true meaning of teaching at some of the most challenging schools in Miami Dade county. Michelle Abbs, 5^th grade teacher at Holmes elementary, was the first to finish her project.

After selecting the video clips, writing a voice over and taking pictures of her class, Abbs explained to the uVu editing crew how to translate her vision into the screen. The final result is a six minute video presenting the life of an Teach For America teacher, Michelle Abbs, and her 22 students. Click here to see the video.

Broward County Public Schools - Stars on Parade

Stars on Parade showcased outstanding performers from the Broward County School District in a program of ensemble and solo performances in dance, music and theater.

The 11th Annual awards was held on April 15, 2010 at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts.

Students from across the county participated in the evening's activities which ran the gamut from Ballet to Stepping, Rock Band to Jazz Ensemble.

Other highlights include recognition of 53 students receiving 2010 Arts for the Future Scholarships to continue their education, and honoring Elaine Azen-Lampl with the Lifetime Achievement Award in Arts and Education. 

Since 1999, more than 700 talented high school seniors have continued their studies in the visual, performing and technical arts at colleges, universities and educational training institutions.  Many of these students would not have been able to pursue their education in the arts without the support of this community-wide initiative.

From the 34th Annual Carbonell Awards

You can read all about the winners of the the 34th Annual Carbonell Awards at the official website and you can relive all the events of that evening by watching the video on uVu

From our uVu Vault

Congratulations to all the winners at the 34th Annual Carbonell Awards last night.  the uVu team was thrilled to be allowed to record the ceremony for our site, look for the video later this week.

In the meantime, we have this video from earlier this year, when we had a chance to meet the dancers and choreographer for Vices: A Love Story.  This production of the Caldwell Theatre Company received 8 nominations and won 2 awards, AC Ciulla (Best Choreography) and Holly Shunkey (Best Actress - Musical).

Cast from Distracted

DISTRACTED by Lisa Loomer is the latest production at the Caldwell Theatre Company.  The play is a tragic-comic look at a family dealing with A.D.D. and external forces that make a difficult situation even more challenging.

The Caldwell Theatre is providing extensive outreach and discussions with mental health professionals during the run of this play, visit their website for dates and times.

In this clip, Michael McKeever, Kim Cozort and Stephen G. Anthony discuss the play, their characters and the impact of the content.

FIU's Carnival Center - Groundbreaking Event

uVu’s Olenka Luna went to North Miami, Florida for the Carnival Student Center groundbreaking ceremony.  The ceremony kicked off Florida International University School of Hospitality’s partnership with Carnival Corporation on April 5, 2010.

Miami Today Newsmaker - City of Miami Commissioner Francis Suarez

The youngest commissioner on Miami’s dais amid leadership shakeups and a fiscal crisis, Francis Suarez is laser-focused on two aims: address residents’ needs and straighten out the budget.  “I’m going to let things simmer down a little before trying to push a legislative agenda just because we have so much on our plate,” he says.

Having grown up with a mayor for a father – dad Xavier led the city for eight years – the 32-year-old attorney is no stranger to politics, and he’s taken his observations to heart.

Before shopping around a platform for the November election, Mr. Suarez went door to door to hear concerns.

“What’s important to people who are in government is not always what’s important to the people who are the beneficiaries of government,” he finds.

The idea of giving back also stuck with him after being raised in a family “where being socially conscious was kind of a requirement.”

He hopes to one day form his own nonprofit to fundraise and funnel support to community organizations.

Mr. Suarez talked politics and philanthropy with Miami Today staff writer Risa Polansky.