16 Employees Celebrate Milestone Anniversaries
Each year the school community celebrates the Feast of St. Joseph the Worker and recognizes employees celebrating milestone anniversaries. St. Joseph has two feast days on the liturgical calendar. The first is March 19—Joseph, the Husband of Mary. The second is May 1—Joseph, the Worker.
“Today we celebrate this feast, which was created not too long ago in the 1950s by Pope Pius XII,” said Jesuit Father Guillermo Garcia-Tuñon ‘87 in his homily. “Today we will honor sixteen members of the faculty and staff whose work and commitment is an integral part of our community. They have been teaching at Belen for a combined 365 years.”
Sixteen employees were acknowledged during the Mass for their years of service:
45 Years
Mrs. Carol Vila
40 Years
Dr. Josefina Chirino
30 Years
Mr. Anthony Alexander
Mr. Charles Cleveland
Mrs. Lourdes Vega
25 years
Mr. Victor Arrieta
15 Years
Mrs. Graciela Garcia-Chang
Mr. Ruben Jimenez
Mr. Juan Carlos Ledon
Mr. Roger Lund
Ms. Marlene Urbay
10 Years
Mrs. Claudia Basso
Mrs. Maria Consuegra
Mrs. Kimberly Homans
Ms. Ann Kenna
Mr. Blas Liste
“Our teachers and staff are committed to Jesuit Education,” said Principal Jose E. Roca ‘84. “They truly believe that teaching is a vocation and they live their faith on a daily basis.”
When asked what has inspired her most over her 45-years career at Belen, Mrs. Carol Vila said, “The short answer is the students. I always answered when I have been asked what keeps you at Belen that it is the students. Teaching and working in any capacity in education does not always give immediate gratification, but trust me when I say that years later you might receive an email or run into an alum at a restaurant and they will tell you how you impacted their life. I have had the experience with students I would have never dreamed I had any impact on.”
“I think that one of the things that make it such a special place for us teachers is that it’s clear to us that we’re not working, we’re living a vocation. We know that what we’re doing is very important. What can be more meaningful that having a hand in the formation of the people who will be making this a better world? What can be more meaningful than knowing that you’re helping to build the Kingdom? And that we’re doing this in community, as a family, with the same goals, the same aspirations.” shared Dr. Josefina Chirino who is celebrating 40 years.
Click here to view the Mass dedicated to the faculty and staff on the Belen YouTube page.
BELEN JESUIT PREPARATORY SCHOOL
500 SW 127th Avenue, Miami, FL 33184
phone: 305.223.8600 | fax: 305.227.2565 | email: communications@belenjesuit.org
500 SW 127th Avenue, Miami, FL 33184
phone: 305.223.8600 | fax: 305.227.2565 | email: communications@belenjesuit.org
Belen Jesuit Preparatory School was founded in 1854 in Havana, Cuba, by Queen Isabel II of Spain. The task of educating students was assigned to the priests and brothers of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits), whose teaching tradition is synonymous with academic excellence and spiritual discipline. In 1961, the new political regime of Cuba confiscated the school's property and expelled the Jesuit faculty. The School was re-established in Miami the same year, and over the next decade, continued to grow. Today, Belen Jesuit is situated on a 34-acre site in western Dade County, just minutes away from downtown Miami.