US Ambassador to the Holy See & Florida Bar President Keynote Speakers at STU May 14 Graduation

MIAMI, May 9, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- St. Thomas University will hold its 2011 commencement ceremonies Saturday, May 14, at the Fernandez Family Center for Leadership and Wellness starting at 9:00 a.m. with the School of Law graduation. Archbishop Thomas Wenski will join St. Thomas President Franklyn M. Casale and two highly recognized leaders: Cuban-born US Ambassador to the Holy See, internationally recognized theologian and STU alumnus - Miguel Diaz - and Florida Bar Association President Stephen Zack, also of Cuban origin.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100709/STULOGO)

Starting at 2:00 p.m., 243 proud students will receive their undergraduate and graduate degrees. As the whole world is concerned about the Middle East situation that urgently calls for ecumenical dialogue and peaceful solutions, Ambassador Miguel Diaz represents St. Thomas' Catholic leadership, inter-faith dialogue track record, global diversity and student success vision.  

The Class of 2011 is graduating in a landmark year for the University, its 50th Anniversary.  "For 50 years, St. Thomas has graduated diplomats, world religious leaders, members of Congress, mayors, scholars, United Nations ambassadors and other figures of global renown," said Monsignor Casale. A laboratory for life in the 21st century, St. Thomas is home to students from more than 65 countries and both Hispanic and Asian students are enrolling every year. "As the US Hispanic population grows, St. Thomas is committed to creating and sustaining new educational programs and financial support to educate a next generation of world leaders," he added.

Monsignor Casale, most recently appointed Vice Chair of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, has become an international spokesperson in the fight against human trafficking and on various issues on immigration and Hispanic affairs. "A majority of our graduates come from a Latino background," added the Monsignor. "As educators, we face a responsibility to engage in conversations that will give way to public policy that will support the advancement of the largest, most rapidly growing population segment in the United States. This is particularly important to us as a Catholic organization as U.S. Catholics will continue to grow locally, statewide and nationally."

The day following graduation, Monsignor Casale travels to Rome as one of the main panelists of the International Human Trafficking Conference to be held May 18th, co-sponsored by the US Embassy in Rome. Joining him will be Ambassador Diaz, School of Law Dean Douglas Ray, Law School Professor Roza Pati – Executive Director of the Intercultural Human Rights Program – and other members from the St. Thomas University community.

Biographical Data: Keynote Speakers

Miami lawyer Stephen N. Zack is a partner in the national law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP. He serves (August 2010–August 2011) as American Bar Association president, and is the first Hispanic and Cuban-American to achieve that distinction.  

Zack has four presidential initiatives: access to justice and the underfunding of the judiciary; the need for increased civic education in our schools and for all Americans; Hispanic legal rights and responsibilities; and the ABA's work in the area of disaster response and preparedness.  Zack is organizing several working groups for these initiatives.

Zack's recent ABA activities include serving as chair of the Strategic Planning Action Committee, member of the Center for Racial and Ethnic Diversity, member-at-large of the Section of International Law, and secretary of the American Bar Endowment. He is also a life fellow of the American Bar Foundation. Among his varied  accomplishments, Zack was the first Hispanic-American and youngest president of the Florida Bar;  one of the first members of the Cuban-American Bar Association; chair of the Florida Ethics Committee and member of the 11th Circuit (Miami-Dade County) Judicial Nominating Committee for the Southern District.

In 2010, Hispanic Business Magazine included Zack on its list of the 100 Top Influential Hispanics. In addition, Florida Trend Magazine named him as a Florida Legal Elite Attorney; the Miami Herald has, for several years, recognized him in its Super Lawyers section as a Top Florida Lawyer; he was selected to be one of the 2010 Law Dragon 500 and he is included in the 2011 edition of The Best Lawyers in America in the practice area of commercial litigation. Zack received his B.A. from the University of Florida, where he received (2009) the distinguished Alumnus Award.  He has also been elected to the University of Florida Hall of Fame.

Miguel Humberto Diaz is the current United States Ambassador to the Holy See. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on August 5, 2009. He was formerly a Professor of Theology at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University in Minnesota. He was nominated by President Barack Obama and is the first Hispanic U.S. Ambassador accredited to the Holy See.

Diaz was born in Havana, Cuba. He has a B.A. from St. Thomas University and an M.A. and a Ph.D. in Theology from the University of Notre Dame. In addition to being a Professor of Theology at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University in Minnesota, Diaz is the co-editor of the book From the Heart of Our People: Explorations in Catholic Systematic Theology and author of On Being Human: U.S. Hispanic and Rahnerian Perspectives, named "Best Book of the Year" by the Hispanic Theological Initiative at Princeton Theological Seminary. Diaz taught Religious Studies and Theology at Barry University, the University of Dayton and the University of Notre Dame. From 2001 to 2003, he taught and served as Academic Dean at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach, Florida. He is a Board Member of the Catholic Theological Society of America (CTSA) and Past President of the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States (ACHTUS).

Erica Yazawa – Keynote Graduate Student Speaker

Erica Yazawa, born to Japanese parents, is a native of Miami, Florida.  In 2007, Ms. Yazawa earned her Bachelor of Arts degrees in English and Psychology at Florida International University (FIU), where she actively took part in extracurricular activities. A graduate of the Academy of Leaders at FIU during her freshman year, she continued to develop her leadership skills as President of the Asian Student Union and Treasurer of Gamma Epsilon Phi, the Honors College Society.

During her sophomore year, Ms. Yazawa completed her psychology internship at the Fellowship House in their Psycho-Social Rehabilitation program which provides long-term supportive opportunities to individuals who experience severe and persistent psychiatric disabilities. There, she participated in interdisciplinary team activities to ensure proper services for clients and also co-facilitated support group therapy and psycho-social rehabilitation activities.

Wanting to pursue a career that benefits others, Ms. Yazawa enrolled in the Marriage and Family Therapy program while working full-time as an Enrollment Service Specialist and Programs Coordinator at St. Thomas University. In the spring of 2009, Ms. Yazawa was awarded the Dade Counseling Association Scholarship. She was also inducted into the Sigma Tau Chapter of Chi Sigma Iota, the international graduate counseling honor society, and served as President of the Sigma Tau Chapter of Chi Sigma Iota this academic year.

Ms. Yazawa completed her field experience for the Marriage and Family Therapy program at Family Counseling Services of Greater Miami in their Early Childhood Intervention and Prevention programs. She is a student member of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT), and aspires to become a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) and an AAMFT Approved Supervisor.

Ms. Yazawa is committed to helping others in the community, and most recently volunteered at Camp Hope through the Catholic Hospice.

David Brown – Keynote Undergraduate Student Speaker

An international student from Jamaica, David Brown took a major leap of faith attending St. Thomas University rather than attending school back home. He faced several hurdles in getting here, including meeting his financial obligations and leaving his family and friends behind. Notwithstanding, he remained resilient in his bid to attain higher education in the United States.

Growing up in Spanish Town, St. Catherine, there were negative influences all around Mr. Brown that could have easily channeled him onto the wrong path. However, he credits his family for being a constant source of guidance. He was an outspoken student at St. Jago High, one of his nation's oldest and most prestigious high schools. There, he served in several leadership capacities, including being the Head Boy, while also for overseeing the student government associations of forty-three other high schools within his administrative region. Mr. Brown graduated Valedictorian of the 2008 class, and later taught history at his high school Alma Mater.

The small classroom settings at St. Thomas allowed Mr. Brown to fully express his thoughts in substantive debates. Besides academics, Mr. Brown was fully engrossed in campus activities. He was a Student Government Senator, President of the Caribbean Students' Association, a Campus Ambassador, and member of the President's Leadership Circle. He was also one of only 225 NASPA Undergraduate Fellows in the United States. One of his most notable positions was that of Head Resident Assistant within the Office of Residential Life.

Today Mr. Brown graduates summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and a minor in Psychology. He is a member of Psi Chi, the International Honor Society in Psychology, and has received Dean's List honors each semester since starting STU in January 2009. Brown is now looking forward to a fulfilling career in law, academia and politics.

About St. Thomas University

Miami's St. Thomas University is dedicated to its mission of "Developing Leaders for Life." An urban, student-centered, Catholic university with rich cultural and international diversity, St. Thomas University has been developing leaders who contribute to the economic and cultural vitality of the regions they serve.  Federally designated as a Hispanic-Serving Institution, the University has earned a reputation for academic excellence and is renowned as an international leader in human rights, sports administration, business degrees and sciences and is one of the few US universities to offer undergraduate scientific research. Programs of study are offered at the undergraduate, graduate and law school levels. For more information, visit www.stu.edu.

SOURCE St. Thomas University