Stars and emotions evident during Commencement Week
By Walter Villa, Special to STU
Rayonna Baker leaped off the stage … right into the arms of her father.
“She’s a ‘Daddy’s girl,’” said her father, STU professor Dr. Raymond Baker. “She wanted me there, right by the stage, at the culmination of all her hard work.”
It was one of many emotional moments during Commencement Week at St. Thomas University, which concluded this past Friday.
The week included commencement speeches from sports agent Drew Rosenhaus, who has negotiated contracts worth more than $10 billion over the past 35 years; politician Byron Donalds, who is running to become Florida’s next governor; and Benjamin Leon III, the CEO of Leon Medical Centers, which serves more than 40,000 patients and has revenues approaching $1 billion.
In addition, Benjamin L. Crump – perhaps the most prolific civil rights attorney in the nation and the namesake of STU’s College of Law – also gave a speech.
And, STU President David A. Armstrong, J.D., spoke on all three graduation days, tying everything together.
But while all of that was impressive, it would be difficult to find a story quite like that of Baker, and here is why:
In 2023, her father, the aforementioned Raymond Baker, 45, graduated from STU with a Ph.D. in Ethical Leadership.
Last year, her grandmother, Dr. Joyce Davis, 65, graduated from STU with a Ph.D. in Ethical Leadership.
On Wednesday, Rayonna, 22, graduated, earning a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Sports Management.
In total, three STU graduates from three Baker Family generations in three years.
“It’s amazing,” Rayonna said.
Added Raymond Baker: “That’s the way our family works. When one person makes a decision, we all like to be inter-connected.”
Education is clearly a tradition in this family. Raymond’s grandmother, the late Beatrice Ealey, earned her doctoral degree at age 63.
Raymond Baker, who is also a minister, gave up a 20-year career in banking to become part of STU’s faculty in January of 2023.
“I felt a sense of calling to make a greater impact, especially in Miami Gardens, where I grew up in my early years,” Baker said.
“I was prayerful about my decision. I asked God for direction, and my heart said St. Thomas University was where I needed to be.”
Raymond started his doctoral program at STU in February of 2020, and his mother did the same in the fall of that same year.
Rayonna, who went to Monsignor Pace for high school, was recruited to STU because of her skill in flag football.
She earned an athletic scholarship and enrolled in the fall of 2021 at STU, where she became an All-Sun Conference wide receiver and cornerback.
Going forward, Rayonna already has a job opportunity as part of a Sherman Williams management-training program.
“I hope to be in a leadership position at a company or as a coach,” Rayonna said. “I also plan to try out for the USA Flag Football National Team.”
Rayonna said STU will always be a big part of the life of her family.
“We love it here,” she said. “We support what STU has going on.”
As it turns out, STU has a lot going on, and anyone who attended even one of last week’s graduation ceremonies can verify that as fact.
For example, President Armstrong said he waits every year for inspiration prior to writing his speech for Graduation Week.
“I usually wait for the last second,” President Armstrong said. “I do not write my speech until I know I’ve been touched by the Holy Spirit.”
Inspiration came, in part, with the naming of the first-ever American pope, Leo XIV, less than one week before Armstrong first commencement-day speech of 2025.
As it turns out, Pope Leo XIV is an Augustinian, and that has a direct tie-in to STU.
“If you know the history of St. Thomas University, we were founded by Augustinian priests for the first-ever private, Catholic college in Havana, Cuba in 1946,” President Armstrong said.
Sadly, Cuban dictator Fidel Castro closed down the university and jailed the priests.
The priests who eventually escaped started Biscayne College, what we now know as St. Thomas University.
Fast forward more than half a century, and the new Pope is not just an American but an Augustinian.
“The Pope brings us hope,” President Armstrong said.
At the conclusion of Armstrong’s speech, he gave STU’s graduates three pieces of advice.
1: “Do what’s right. Do not do what is politically or financially expedient. Do not compromise when you know you should not compromise.”
2: “You must be willing to sacrifice, even if it means to lay down your life, for God, for your family, for your country. When the moment is called, be willing to sacrifice to save what is most important in your life.”
3: “Always have hope. I’ve seen you start here at orientation, and I’ve now seen you graduate here. I have great hope. I think you will be phenomenal leaders.”
Other highlights from Commencement Week:
= During Wednesday’s ceremony for those graduating with a Bachelor’s degree, Jacob Scicluno was the student commencement speaker.
“As you enter the next chapter, remember to stay strong in your faith and values,” said Scicluno, who earlier last week won the St. Thomas of Villanova Award.
“There will be many people and things that will go against your beliefs in the future. Do not compromise. Trust God always.”
= Also on Wednesday, Byron Donalds shared his perspective with the graduates.
“Do not be in a rush to get to the next thing,” Representative Donalds said. “Learn all the lessons from the position you are in.”
= During Thursday’s ceremony for those earning Master’s or Doctoral degrees, Leon – a graduate of STU – took the stage.
Leon said that when he was a student at STU, one of his professors, Ken Stibler, pulled him aside and said: “Remember these words that I’m going to tell you. You have a gift. You’re destined for big things, and you’re going to be very successful.”
Leon said that when he faced challenges in his life, he thought of that STU professor, and those words helped him through.
“Those words also apply to every one of you here today,” Leon said. “I thank God for my success because it has allowed me to help many people. And helping people is the most important and rewarding thing in my life.
“Helping people doesn’t have to mean only money. It can be time. It can be advice. It can be compassion.”
= Thursday’s graduate-student speaker was Rick Daniel, who received a Master’s degree in Business Administration with a specialization in Data Analytics.
Daniel, a six-time all-conference track athlete at STU and a member of the Bobcats’ inaugural football team, said he was going to give Leon and Armstrong a run for their money with his speech.
After greeting the crowd in English, Spanish and Creole, Daniel said he will one day repay his parents with interest.
“As to the percentage,” Daniel said with a smile, “we can negotiate that later.”
Addressing his fellow graduates, Daniel said:
“Wishing for success is not enough. If you look at any successful person, they didn’t get there by wishing. They had the same dedication, discipline, and relentless work ethic that you all have. If they did it, we can do it, too.”
= During Friday’s ceremony for the College of Law graduates, Alexander Kutsaev was the student speaker.
Kutsaev, a Russian native and a married father of three children, spoke about the challenges of raising a family while studying to become a lawyer. He said he would wake each day before his kids were up, and, by the time he returned home, they were already asleep.
He also lost his mother when he was 18 and his father a few years later.
Yet despite all his real-life challenges, Kutsaev managed to make the Dean’s List every semester while also putting in 220 hours of pro-bono legal services in the community.
“Years and years of work; projects; papers; thousands and thousands of pages read and written, that’s all done!” Kutsaev told his fellow graduates. “We made it!”
Kutsaev said that when his parents died and before he met his wife, he was “all alone in this world.”
But he trusted himself, created a business, started his family, and then went back to school to earn his law degree.
“Coming to this country, I quickly realized how complicated the laws are and how hard life is for an immigrant like myself without access to meaningful legal representation,” Kutsaev said. “What I have learned is that if you want to have something done well, you have to do it yourself.”
= Attorney Crump, the namesake of STU’s College of Law, said STU has “one of the most innovative, dynamic and impactful law schools” in the U.S.
“Please always use the law as an instrument for good,” Crump told the graduates, “and never as a weapon for oppression.”
= Finally, Drew Rosenhaus closed out the week and brought down the house with his speech.
Rosenhaus said STU has a special place in his heart because this is where the Miami Dolphins used to hold their annual training camp, including their historic 17-0 Super Bowl-winning season of 1972.
“The best team in NFL history used to train just a few yards from where I’m speaking,” Rosenhaus said. “I used to come to all their training-camp practices with my father Robert; my uncle Howard, who is here today; and my brother Jason, who is my business partner.
“I grew up dreaming of one day being able to work with the players that I loved. This is how dreams begin.”
Rosenhaus then addressed STU’s graduates about their dreams.
“My favorite part about being an agent is the draft,” Rosenhaus said.
“These (athletes) work their entire lives for that one moment when they get a phone call, and all their dreams come true. Thousands of hours – blood, sweat and tears … They get a phone call, and they’ve made it!
“Today is draft day for you guys! Your time has come! You’re getting that phone call right now!”
Commencement Video Replays
Click here for Undergraduate Commencement
Click here for Graduate/Doctorate Commencement
Click here for Law Commencement
Photos (more to come!)
Click here for Undergraduate Commencement
Click here for Graduate/Doctorate Commencement
Click here for Law Commencement
Media Coverage
Click here for Rep. Byron Donalds – Speaker at STU Commencement Ceremony (WPLG, Channel 10, Miami)
Click here for Super Agent Drew Rosenhous – Speaker at STU College of Law Commencement (Miami Herald)