Five Questions with Carlos Bravo
New Alumni Executive Director Carlos Bravo '86 answers five questions in this week's Spotlight.
1. What are your earliest memories of Belen?
My love for Belen started in the early 70s when my father was a faculty member. I learned from him that Belen was an experience that would ultimately drive my vocation to the school. I also remember getting the best fritas from La Muralla China, a restaurant located right next to the school. Or, having a merienda mid-morning and eating pastelitos, doughnuts, and coke before lunch.
2. Who at Belen Jesuit were your influences both as a student and as a teacher?
I was so lucky to have Jesuit priests like Fr. Sardiña, Fr. Izquierdo, and Fr. Ripoll be part of my formation while I was a student at Belen, along with an amazing faculty that played a big role in helping me become the person I am today. I think back to the days when Frank Pichardo, Pat Collins, Carol Vila, Jimmy Perez and so many others walked the halls at the campus on 7th and 8th. They weren’t just teachers, they were mentors and an extension of our family.
3. How has the Jesuit Mission formed you to become the person you are today?
The Magis and the Cura Personalis are the core values that have propelled me throughout my journey. Never counting the cost, simply doing something because you love it and because it's the right thing to do are teachings that I live by.
4. What does the Belen Alumni Association and its legacy mean to you?
No matter in what year or from which campus you graduated, we are all part of the same brotherhood. Our Jesuit identity and our remarkable school history bonds us to one another. I’m honored to take on this position of leadership and help our brotherhood continue to grow and strive.
I was so lucky to have Jesuit priests like Fr. Sardiña, Fr. Izquierdo, and Fr. Ripoll be part of my formation while I was a student at Belen, along with an amazing faculty that played a big role in helping me become the person I am today. I think back to the days when Frank Pichardo, Pat Collins, Carol Vila, Jimmy Perez and so many others walked the halls at the campus on 7th and 8th. They weren’t just teachers, they were mentors and an extension of our family.
3. How has the Jesuit Mission formed you to become the person you are today?
The Magis and the Cura Personalis are the core values that have propelled me throughout my journey. Never counting the cost, simply doing something because you love it and because it's the right thing to do are teachings that I live by.
4. What does the Belen Alumni Association and its legacy mean to you?
No matter in what year or from which campus you graduated, we are all part of the same brotherhood. Our Jesuit identity and our remarkable school history bonds us to one another. I’m honored to take on this position of leadership and help our brotherhood continue to grow and strive.
5. What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
The last four years I've enjoyed watching my son play basketball, a game that I love with all my heart. My focus now turns to my daughter and her sport of choice, volleyball. When I have “extra” time, I enjoy a good scotch and a nice cigar.
BELEN JESUIT PREPARATORY SCHOOL
500 SW 127th Avenue, Miami, FL 33184
phone: 305.223.8600 | fax: 305.227.2565 | email: webmaster@belenjesuit.org
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.