By Florida Catholic staff - Florida Catholic
Photographer: COURTESY PHOTO
JC Moya teaches teaches world literature, international relations, and comparative politics at Immaculata-La Salle High School.
MIAMI | Two teachers at Immaculata-La Salle High School have been honored for excellence in and out of the classroom.
Miami native JC Moya, who teaches world literature, international relations, and comparative politics, received the Key West Literary Seminar’s Teacher & Librarian Scholarship this past January. He also has been awarded an Outstanding Teacher Fellowship to study Celtic literatures and nationalism at St. Andrews University in Scotland in July.
Moya’s courses at Immaculata-LaSalle focus on African studies, gender studies, nationalism, comparative politics, and comparative genocide. He spent part of the summer of 2016 in Rwanda, conducting research on the ongoing process of post-genocide justice, reconciliation and reconstruction.
Immaculata-La Salle’s graphics teacher and media coordinator, Elena Capablanca, has received the Outstanding Academic Achievement Award from FIU’s College of Arts and Sciences. She will be honored Wednesday, April 26, at the university’s 38th annual CASE Student Award Ceremony.
Capablanca also has been chosen as a recipient of Univision’s “Un Maestro Especial” (A Special Teacher) honors, which recognizes educators who have shown exceptional leadership in their community and made a positive impact in the lives of their students.
Photographer: COURTESY PHOTO
Elena Capablanca is a graphics teacher and media coordinator at Immaculata-La Salle High School.
That awards ceremony will take place at a luncheon May 25 at Miami Lakes Educational Center. As part of the recognition, Univision 23 also will be airing a profile of Capablanca and her unique teaching methods.
Capablanca grew up in Miami and earned scholarships to Miami Dade College’s Honors Program and Florida Atlantic University, where she received Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees in graphic design and 3D animation. She is an Adobe Certified Associate and a Certified Apple Educator.
In December, she graduated from Florida International University with a master’s degree in art education. She also received fine arts training through the FIU France study abroad program.
Capablanca has exhibited her own work at Miami-Dade College, Florida Atlantic University, AIGA Design Group and Florida International University Galleries as well as the Frost Art Museum.
She tells her students that art is meant to entertain, spark wonder or begin a conversation. It speaks to the imagination and spirit in ways that words cannot, and is a universal form of conveying emotion. Whether or not her students go on to become professional graphic designers or artists, all of them walk away from her classes with an appreciation for the craft or a life lesson.
Capablanca also believes that to those whom much has been given, much will be asked, so she serves as moderator of Immaculata-La Salle’s photography and Key clubs. Key Club is one of the oldest community service organizations in the U.S. and a great vehicle for training student leaders. It also provides college scholarships for seniors who have excelled in serving their community.
