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Congressional Daily Record
This section is a tribute, commemoration, or district-facing statement. It mentions members such as Sam T. Liccardo. Extensions of Remarks are statements submitted for the official record, even if they were not spoken live on the floor.
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April 29, 2026
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Extensions of Remarks
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Download official Extensions PDFReturn to issue contextHON. SAM T. LICCARDO
of california
in the house of representatives
Mr. LICCARDO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today along with my colleagues, Representative Ro Khanna and Representative Zoe Lofgren, to celebrate Bellarmine College Preparatory on the extraordinary occasion of its 175th anniversary. As the oldest Jesuit secondary school in California, Bellarmine embodies a tradition that uniquely combines academic excellence, moral formation, and enduring contributions to the broader community and the world. Founded in 1851 as Santa Clara Preparatory, part of what was then Santa Clara College, Bellarmine grew alongside the City of San Jose. For nearly two centuries, the school has rooted its mission in the Jesuit tradition of educating the whole person— mind, body, and spirit—with a deep commitment to service. Through extensive service-learning programs, the school encourages students to engage meaningfully with the world around them. Bellarmine students contribute thousands of hours each year to community service— supporting local shelters, tutoring underserved youth, assisting food banks, and partnering with nonprofit organizations throughout the region. These efforts cultivate in students a lifelong dedication to justice, compassion, and civic responsibility.
The school's emphasis on forming “men for and with others”—core to the Jesuit mission—guides its daily work. Bellarmine cultivates generations of leaders who go on to serve in public office, education, business, and the nonprofit sector. I am one of three Bellarmine alumni to have served as mayor to San Jose's one million residents. Numerous others have demonstrated their leadership as founders and C-suite executives of major Silicon Valley companies, as executive directors of impactful non-profit organizations, as educators at top universities, as California legislators, as Rhodes Scholars, as gold-medal-winning Olympians, and as NFL and MLB all-stars. More than their achievement, however, Bellarmine alumni have stood out for their service to the world. This legacy reflects Bellarmine's ability to inspire young people to pursue lives of purpose and service.
opportunity. Through financial aid programs and institutional support, no student who meets Bellarmine's rigorous academic standards for admission is turned away for his family's inability to pay tuition. The school's extensive scholarship program opens its doors to talented students from socioeconomic backgrounds, building a student body that increasingly reflects the extraordinary diversity of San Jose. This commitment strengthens both the school community and the broader region, as graduates embrace values of inclusion and equity in their professional and civic lives.
creating an environment where young people feel known, receive support, and embrace challenges that faster growth. Through classroom instruction, campus ministry, retreats, and weekly Mass, the school fosters reflection, ethical leadership, and spiritual development that continue to shape students long after graduation. Bellarmine's academic, athletic, and extracurricular programs further enrich the cultural and civic fabric of the community. Bellarmine students routinely excel in statewide and national competitions across a wide variety of pursuits: athletics, speech and debate, robotics, chess, National Merit Scholarships, and every other means by which students can learn to overcome life's barriers to excel, and to inspire others to do so.
Mr. Speaker, for 175 years, Bellarmine College Preparatory has upheld the highest ideals of Jesuit education—academic rigor, moral integrity, and a steadfast commitment to service. I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating the entire Bellarmine community—students, faculty, staff, alumni, and families—on this remarkable milestone. May Bellarmine continue to inspire and form future generations of leaders dedicated to building a more just and compassionate world.