Delgado & Fernández Managing Partner Delivers Commencement Address at Historic LEAP STEAM+E Academy of San Juan

Alfredo Fernández-Martínez, Managing Partner and Head of the Litigation Practice Group at Delgado & Fernández, LLC, delivered the commencement address at the Second Graduation of the LEAP STEAM+E Academy of San Juan on June 15, 2026, at the historic Teatro Alejandro Tapia y Rivera in Old San Juan.

Mr. Fernández-Martínez was invited by Dr. Gloria Bonilla-Santiago — the Academy’s founder, Distinguished Service Professor, and member of the Rutgers Board of Governors — to address the graduating class, their families, and faculty. The ceremony marked a historic achievement: one hundred percent of the Academy’s graduating seniors earned acceptance to institutions of higher education, including the University of Puerto Rico, Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico, Universidad Ana G. Méndez, and Rutgers University–Camden.

In his remarks, Mr. Fernández-Martínez urged graduates to enter their next chapter with the confidence that their place had been earned through preparation and perseverance. Drawing on his own career as a trial lawyer, he remarked to the graduates that those who arrive prepared do not need to ask permission to be in the room — they already belong there. He also challenged the Class of 2026 to use what they had learned in service of Puerto Rico and its communities.

“Su código postal no es su destino. Su apellido no es un techo. Su historia no es una limitación. Es una credencial,” said Mr. Fernández-Martínez. (“Your zip code is not your destiny. Your last name is not a ceiling. Your history is not a limitation. It is a credential.”)

LEAP STEAM+E Academy of San Juan is the flagship Puerto Rico campus of LEAP Social Enterprise, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charter management organization, one of Puerto Rico’s first public charter schools, and one of the fastest-growing education networks on the island, with eight schools currently open and a projected network of nineteen. The Academy’s rigorous bilingual STEAM curriculum integrates entrepreneurship, innovation, and business creation, preparing students to become leaders in their fields and their communities.

Reflecting on the firm’s work with LEAP and the significance of the occasion, Mr. Fernández-Martínez added: “LEAP STEAM+E Academy is doing something extraordinary for Puerto Rico, and we are proud to support that mission. To stand before these graduates and see what they have accomplished — one hundred percent college acceptance — is a reminder of why this work matters.”

Delgado & Fernández has a longstanding commitment to education and equal access in Puerto Rico. The firm serves as counsel to LEAP Social Enterprise, Inc. before the Puerto Rico Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Education, and has provided legal services to disabled public school students seeking access to the programs and services to which they are entitled by law.