Palmetto Senior High honors student Amanda Felice has all the right strokes -- in the water, on the tennis court, in school, and in the community.

AMANDA FELICE

Felice, 17, is Palmetto's Silver Knight nominee in the category of athletics. A swimmer since she was five years old, Felice is a freestyle champion with near record-breaking times. Her fastest time in the 100-yard freestyle is 56.12 seconds, while her best time in the 50-yard swim was clocked at 26.24.

She has been a member of the varsity swim team at Palmetto, and the MVP (Most Valuable Player) for the girls' team for the past three years. She's also been on the All-Dade First Team for three consecutive years, and has consistently competed at district and state events with her team. When she's not swimming for Palmetto, Felice swims with a U.S. Swimming Club team.

"I just love to swim, and the high school season is only three months long, so I work out with my U.S. Swimming Club so that I can swim and train all year long," she said.

She began swimming "just for fun" as a little girl, growing up in Houston and New Jersey. But when her father's job took the family to Brussels for four years, Felice got her first taste of competition.

"I discovered that I love to race, and I like competing. It feels like you've accomplished something when you've won a race or improved your time," she said.

She plans to continue swimming when she gets to college, but there are no Olympic dreams for this young athlete. Felice wants to go to law school, and has applied to Yale University. Her athletic record, combined with her grade point average of 5.467, should help make that dream come true.
Felice also is actively involved in community service. A recent service project -- the one which brought her to the attention of the Silver Knight committee -- helped raise more than $900 for kids with cancer.

Last spring, Felice organized a Junior Tennis Tournament at Coral Oaks Tennis Club to benefit the Children's Miracle Network. The tournament was open to any child age 14 or younger. The money raised went to help fund a camp for children stricken with cancer.

"This was a big project, and a lot of work, but it was worth it to help the kids," Felice said. "I've always loved to play tennis, and I learned how to organize a tennis tournament from my experience as a volunteer 'ball kid' at the Lipton Championships and the Junior Orange Bowl International Tennis Tournament."

Felice, who works part-time at Coral Oaks Tennis Club, said that she started planning the tournament last February, and it took place in June.

"The first thing I did was apply for a grant, to be able to provide trophies to all the winners," she said. "Then I asked all the local merchants to contribute prizes for the raffle and Miami Children's Hospital gave us consolation prizes so that every participant went home with something.

"Cancer affects the lives of many, including some of my family members, so I thought this would be a good way to help."