After speaking to the Bishop Noll students at the Thanksgiving Mass on Nov. 22, Judge Gonzalo Curiel, the U.S. District Court Judge for the Southern District of California, is returning as the commencement speaker at the 2017 graduation ceremony on June 2 at 6:00 p.m.

An East Chicago native, he relates most of his success back to Bishop Noll, where he graduated in 1971. He attended Indiana University before entering into politics. He was appointed as a district court judge in 2012 by Barack Obama.

According to Bishop Noll president Paul Mullaney, “Judge Curiel is a living and breathing BNI success story, as are so many of our Bishop Noll alumni from over so many years. We want our students, as they go out to do great things in the world, to see and hear from such great examples, actual role models who grew up in the Region, walked the same halls here at BNI, ate in the same cafeteria and went on to tremendous achievement.

“Judge Curiel has a fascinating story to tell, as a first-generation college student who was educated at Noll and then Indiana University, and ascended through the ranks of his profession to such high levels.”

Curiel has been the subject of national attention for presiding over several Trump University lawsuits. He has also had to preside over many extradition cases, including some that led to death threats from the Mexican cartel.

“He rose through the ranks because he did things by the book or, specifically in his case, by the letter of the law. He is an impartial judge and very apolitical in his work, as seen by his appointment to the California bench by a Republican governor and the federal bench by a Democratic president,” Mullaney says.  “He is an inspiration to all of us at Bishop Noll, and we are honored that he accepted our invitation to speak at this year’s commencement.”