Inspiring the New Generation: Guest Lecture Series
Past alumni, Brent Fardette, provides an immersive opportunity for students to hear from a Gibbons’ graduate that has built a successful career within the business field
Friday the 24th of January, Cardinal Gibbons’ Excelsior students were welcomed by their first guest speaker, Mr. Brent Fardette. Fardette was a graduate from the University of Miami in 1990, who majored in business and minored in marketing. He has been a dedicated football coach for 30 years, including two tenures at Cardinal Gibbons (2000-2014 and 2021-present). With over 30 years of experience in sales and sales management while working in different small companies and corporations, Mr. Fardette gave these students an opportunity to view the importance of finding their passion and letting God pave the way for their success through his own personal story.
Excelsior guest speaker, Mr. Brent Fardette. CGHS
Growing up in a small family business, Mr. Fardette had already a job reserved for himself once he graduated. However, he never found his passion in sales. Despite going to college for business, his passion lies within coaching students. Throughout his job experiences, he has worked to sell consumer products, medical devices, and pharmaceuticals. However, nothing compares to the passion he has for educating and inspiring the youth. His passion led him to return to Cardinal Gibbons to help coach our young athletes today and even to pursue his education degree at FAU. When he retires, Mr. Fardette hopes to be able to teach economics to the senior students here at Cardinal Gibbons.
One of the most important quotes he mentioned was from Proverbs 27:17 which says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” Mr. Fardette teaches the truth that our relationships are what refine us. He also notes being a part of a faithful school means letting God guide us as we achieve our goals and that God has a plan for us all. Originally, when he was working for his family and some small companies doing sales, he didn’t find any joy in doing it, but later found his true passion through mentoring and coaching. He was able to find this passion by coaching younger students with flag football and later coaching highschoolers here at Cardinal Gibbons. By trusting God, Mr. Fardette continues to recognize the success, but also the failures he has made.
One of the key takeaways from his lecture was about accepting failures and learning from them. Many seniors today are anxious about receiving their acceptance letter to colleges like the University of Florida. Mr. Fardette taught that even if they don’t get accepted or do get accepted, it is important to accept the failures and success we make in order to strive for success. Success isn’t something that comes overnight, but through dedication and by letting God shine through us.
Pictured left to right: Principal Cedeno, Mr. Perez-Cubas, Mr. Brent Fardette, Coach Morrill, Vice Principal Azevedo. CGHS
As these excelsior students some to the end of the lecture, they were open to ask any questions to Mr. Fardette. Some of our teachers were also welcomed to ask any questions in order to help motivate our students to learn and ask any questions.
Cardinal Gibbons’ Excelsior program is here to enhance educational experiences and consists of the top-performing students in their class. Through this program, students can reach their full potential and challenge themselves academically through access to lecture series, AP and DE courses, and several other benefits. Excelsior is designed to be rigorous and has requirements in order to stay in the program, but also has many benefits included as well.
If you’re interested in being a part of the program and want amazing lecture series like these, we encourage you to reach out to Mr. Cubas at jperez-cubas@cghsfl.org or Mrs. Cloyd at cloyd@cghsfl.org to see if you meet the qualifications.
