Class of 2017 Graduates
On June 1st the Class of 2017 graduated from Belen Jesuit at the James L. Knight Center in front of family, faculty, staff, and friends.
The Commencement Speaker was none other than former presidential candidate Senator Marco Rubio. The Senator spoke for just over 13-minutes and shared a letter he wrote to 18 year old Marco which was riddled with advice for the graduates.
Speeches were also made by Esteban Guío, salutatorian and Sebastián Suárez, valedictorian. Senator Rubio was introduced by his former chief of staff and alumnus Alberto E. Martínez ’97. The class banner was delivered by class president Alejandro Smith to alumnus Manuel García Linares ’87.
Diplomas were distributed by Father Willie García-Tuñón, S.J., Ed.D., '87 and José E. Roca '84.
The Senior Awards were distributed to: Senior of the Year Alejandro Smith, JSN Awardees Pedro Pablo García and Lucas Pola, and Archbishop Award recipient Daniel Otero Pfaeffle. Academic Awards were given to the following students:
- Steven Calles - Gerard Hopkins, SJ award in English
- Carlos Machado - Andrea Pozzo, SJ award in Humanities
- Jovier Jiménez- Christopher Clavius, SJ award in Mathematics
- Jorge Miró Quesada - José Rubinos, SJ award in Modern Languages
- Nicolás Aguilar - St Francis Xavier, SJ award as a Scholar Athlete
- Esteban Guío - Pierre T. de Chardin, SJ award in Science and recognized as a National Merit Finalist
- Juan Fernández de Castro - John Carroll, SJ award in Social Studies
- Agustín Leos - Karl Rahner, SJ award in Theology.
Click here to view the photo album. Click here to watch the graduation.
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.