Olympic Gold Medalist Selected to Speak

Brandi Chastain, women’s soccer volunteer assistant coach and ’91 alumnus, will be honored at this year’s commencement ceremony on June 14 as the keynote speaker. As a student, she played for the Bronco soccer team and gained fame for scoring the game-winning penalty kick for the United States in the 1999 Women’s World Cup. She also won silver and gold medals in the 2000 and 2004 Olympics, respectively.Chastain was chosen in an effort to celebrate the 50th anniversary of women’s athletics at Santa Clara. Founder of the Bay Area Women’s Sports Initiative, a group that helps support young female athletes, Chastain is heavily involved in the community.“(Chastain) epitomizes the world-class leadership and fortitude that every Bronco is capable of achieving,” said President Michael Engh, S.J. “She is a dedicated and disciplined athlete who is also committed to strengthening communities by advocating for and empowering young girls.”The university also announced Almudena Bernabeu, an international attorney who played a part in bringing to justice the killers of six Jesuit priests in El Salvador in 1989, will be honored as the key speaker at the Law School commencement on May 24.The Jesuit School of Theology will be honoring Jon Sobrino, S.J., a Jesuit priest who escaped the 1989 massacre of six fellow Jesuits, in its commencement ceremonies on May 24.Commencement activities for advanced degrees from the Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Engineering, Business and Education and Counseling will be held on June 13. Frederick Ferrer, ’80 CEO of the Health Trust and a nationally recognized expert in child development, will receive an honorary Doctorate of Public Service.