To the Band of Brothers: May 24, 2021

Good morning!
 
After all the hoopla of the last couple of weeks sending off the seniors, we are now finally able to concentrate specifically on the last few weeks of school and send the rest of you off to your summer break. It couldn’t come at a better time or soon enough. This has been a great but trying year. We are all tired. Our eyes burn from so much screen time, our noses and mouths sweat from mask use, our conversations are impeded by plexiglass, and we’ve used enough sanitizer to peel the skin off our hands.
 
Fortunately, August of 2021 will be different.
 
But, before we move on from the seniors and into the rest of the student body, I do want to take this last time to mention graduation. We held it at the James L. Knight Center in downtown Miami on Friday afternoon. The air was filled with the excitement of this extraordinary class who had maneuvered not a semester, but a whole year of COVID-19 with great poise and courage. We knew it was not going to be easy, but faced with adversity, these young men rose to the challenge. I commend especially the leaders of the class who either in their role of student government, athletics, clubs, or peer ministry, led the charge to make the best of a bad situation.
 
The commencement exercises were special. Parents were so happy to be there lamenting only that more members of the family could not because of city restrictions. The faculty and administration showed up in force to applaud the achievements of the class of 2021. A particular pat on the back must be given to Mr. Jose E. Roca, our principal, Mrs. Gigi García-Chang, our Director of Community Events, and their team for such a well-organized and memorable event. It was especially challenging this year but met with hard work and great success.
 
If you get a chance, I encourage you to go on the Belen Jesuit YouTube channel and watch the commencement speaker’s remarks. Tom Llamas ’97, Anchor and Senior National Correspondent for NBC News, an Emmy Award winner, addressed the class. I got to tell you, in all the years I have been attending graduations, this is by far one of the best speeches I ever heard. He told the graduates their lives are like the construction of a cathedral. He reminded them of their Jesuit training and the need to set the world on fire. That this fire is a passion they have that will help get them up in the morning and determine what they do with their day. At the center, he said, is their faith in God, the true architect of their lives. He closed by telling them that when their lives come to an end and their cathedrals are built, he hopes people will find the cornerstone that brings it all together, wipe the dust off it, and read: Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam, For the Greater Glory of God, Class of 2021.
 
He got a well-deserved standing ovation. 
 
I also wanted to point out the Brigadier’s speech. As you know, last year we reinstated that long-standing Belen tradition. With the input of the senior class, faculty, and administration, one senior is chosen because he best embodies the values of a Belen education. It’s not simply about having the highest GPA. It’s about being a man of faith and a leader. This one-man should stand on stage and deliver the final words in representation of the class. 
 
This year’s Brigadier was Juanchi Tejera. He spoke about the trials and tribulations they all went through, not only this year but every year at Belen. He reminded them how these challenges only made them stronger and united them as a band of brothers. He spoke clearly about the need to have God at the center of their lives and how God will always meet you where you are. Even when He seems to be a million miles away, He is there. In his speech, he spoke about failure and the millions of times they had already failed and will continue to fail, but to see failure simply as an opportunity for growth and enlightenment. He closed by stating that he looked forward to their failures so they could even more profoundly and sincerely celebrate their great successes.
 
It was a great night and one that I will be forever grateful to the Lord for providing. I look forward to the weeks to come, to the rest the summer brings, and the incredible year we will have next year. God has great things planned for us, I know it. I look forward to sharing them with all of you. Now, let’s finish strong.
 
Auspice Maria
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BELEN JESUIT PREPARATORY SCHOOL
500 SW 127th Avenue, Miami, FL 33184
phone: 305.223.8600 | fax: 305.227.2565 | email: webmaster@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 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 sits on a 30-acre site in western Dade County, only minutes away from downtown Miami.