Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel ’71 expresses pride in community at Thanksgiving Mass
The Hon. Gonzalo P. Curiel '71, came home to celebrate Thanksgiving Mass with the students, faculty and administration of Bishop Noll on Tuesday, Nov. 22. Judge Curiel, a federal judge in the Southern District of California, one of the busiest courts in the federal judiciary, was introduced by Bishop Donald Hying and spoke briefly to Noll students about his pride in Bishop Noll and East Chicago, where he was born and raised.
Following his graduation from Bishop Noll, Judge Curiel studied at Indiana University where he received both his bachelor's and law degrees. He is the youngest of four siblings who graduated from Bishop Noll.
Judge Curiel was a private practice lawyer, assistant U.S. attorney and California Superior Court judge in San Diego before being nominated to the federal bench in 2011.
“On a number of occasions, there have been challenges and whenever I face those challenges, I hark back to what I learned here at Bishop Noll … ” he told the students.
“I’m grateful for the chance to have attended this school, most notably to have grown up in this community, this community which is so rich and diverse. There are not a lot of places in the world where you can look around and see such diversity as we have here, and I count that as a blessing … I’ve learned so much and it’s helped me to be able to respect everyone I come across and realize that at the end of the day, we are all just human beings and that ultimately, our goals are to serve each other.”
He ended his message by telling the students they will face challenges in their lives.
“What I found that brought me the most fulfillment in life, the most joy in life, was the notion of serving; serving family, serving community and serving our country.
We live in challenging times today. There are daunting problems that we face, but I have no doubt that with your education, with your commitment to service, we can overcome all these struggles, all these challenges.”