Officials from Miami-Dade County (Florida) Public Schools on Oct. 4, 2021, presented the Carnegie Medal to the family of Christian Alexander Burgos who drowned Sept. 30, 2019, after Burgos, 17, rescued a 9-year-old boy, then returned to attempt to rescue the boy’s 25-year-old mother, Elvia Venegas, when they were caught in rough surf off a Miami beach in Biscayne Bay. From left, Region Superintendent Michael A. Lewis, Kevin E. Lawrence, principal of Booker T. Washington Senior High School, Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho, and Christian’s parents Misael Burgos and Maria Del Carmen Avendano.
“He represented the best of humanity, and today we remember his strong act of courage and present his family with the Carnegie Medal,” Carvalho tweeted after the event.
Miami-Dade Public Schools now offers a $2,000 hero scholarship named for Burgos.