Commencement Luncheon

“I can guarantee He has a plan for each of you. And you’re going to be successful at whatever you do because you have the Jesuit training, you have the Jesuit education, you have the Jesuit enlightenment.”

Alumni Welcome Class of 2022 at Commencement Luncheon

Adm. Brett Giroir ’78 Addresses Seniors

Jesuit graduates from 1943 through 2021 gathered at the Hyatt Regency on senior day to welcome the 236 members of the Class of 2022 to the Alumni Association at this year’s Commencement Luncheon.

The seniors were addressed by Brett Giroir ’78, who served as the 16th Assistant Secretary for Health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Acting FDA Commissioner, and admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. He also served as the U.S. Representative to the Executive Board of the World Health Organization within the Department

(above) Adm. Brett Giroir ’78 speaks with a fellow alum.

(opposite, clockwise) Seniors line up after entering the Regency ballroom; Zane Madi ’22 and Jackson Ballay ’22 pose for a picture with Adm. Brett Giroir ’78; Alumi and seniors sit down for lunch; John McMahon ’87 with Jim Ryder ’62 and Mark Rodi ’59; Seniors listen to the fight song before they sit down for lunch; Ron Drez ’83 converses with fellow alumni; Senior Jackson Junius enjoys the company of his fellow classmates and alumi

of State. He was recently a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force and the “Testing Czar.”

Giroir began by congratulating the soon-to-be alums on their accomplishments and reminiscing about his formational experiences at Jesuit. He said that their Jesuit education will be part of them forever.

“It’s in your heart, it’s in your mind, it’s in your soul,” he assured them. “It will always be there, and you can count on it.”

He went on to explain how the self-discipline and leadership that he learned at Jesuit has paid off in college and beyond. He emphasized the importance of “the spiritual enlightenment embodied in service to others and humility.”

In his experiences in the past few years, he discovered that many of our nation’s top leaders and scientists are people of faith who pray for God’s help and guidance in serving others. Every Coronavirus Task Force meeting in the situation room in the White House began with a prayer, and “all asked to be God’s servants and God’s instruments on this Earth to help heal the planet.”

Giroir concluded by guaranteeing each senior that God has a plan for him and that he should never doubt it.

This year’s luncheon was made possible by presenting sponsor Hancock Whitney. 