Class of 2019 Commencement Speaker Announced
Belen Jesuit is proud to announce that world-renowned plastic surgeon, Dr. Eduardo D. Rodriguez ‘84, will be the guest speaker at the commencement exercises that will be held at the James L. Knight Center on Wednesday, May 22 at 7:00 p.m. Dr. Rodriguez was the first doctor to perform a full facial transplant in the United States. He is the chair of the Hansjörg Wyss Department of Plastic Surgery at NYU Langone Health in New York City.
“We are deeply honored that Dr. Rodriguez accepted our invitation to be part of this important milestone in the lives of these young men,” said Jesuit Father Guillermo M. García-Tuñón, Ed.D. ‘87, President of Belen Jesuit. “He is a great example of living the Ignatian magis. He is not only a doctor who is known throughout the world for his innovation in plastic surgery, but also a man of faith who understands the importance of helping others. Whether he is teaching future doctors, healing a seriously injured person or serving a mission in an impoverished area, Dr. Rodriguez calls upon his faith every day. I have no doubt that his message and story will resonate with the 200 seniors who are graduating.”
Dr. Rodriguez graduated from Belen Jesuit in 1984 and went on to earn his Bachelor of Science in Neurobiology in 1988 from the University of Florida and a DDS degree from New York University in 1992. In 1997, he served his residency at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. In 1999 he earned his MD from Virginia Commonwealth University and completed his residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital in 2003.
“The fact that I’m a dentist, a physician, an oral surgeon, a plastic surgeon and a microsurgeon have allowed me to make a big impact in my field by being able to tie together a number of professions together. It’s like I’m part of a new field, and it all fits in nicely with the treatment of civilian and war-fighter disfigurement and ultimately facial transplantation,” said Dr. Rodriguez in an interview for the Belen Magazine in 2014.
In addition to his work at NYU Langone Health, he has also participated in a number of medical missions. He has traveled throughout the world, often teaching foreign surgeons how to treat patients who have suffered from injuries, such as industrial burns or deformities caused by cancer.
Dr. Rodriguez was born and raised in Miami, Florida and is the son of Cuban immigrants. He has been married to Ana Maria Rodriguez for 21 years and they live in New York City.
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.