UNWAVERING ENVOY

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October 16, 2020

For information on enrollment and registration at Notre Dame, please visit the admissions section of our website here.

Notre Dame alum serving his country in the South Pacific says his high school was indispensable in preparing him for life as a diplomat, husband, father and man of faith.

When Notre Dame alum Joseph Cella ND’87 was six years old, while most of his friends were likely focused on ”Sesame Street,” ”Mr. Potato Head,” ”GI Joe” and perhaps Atari’s ”Pong” TV game, he began his lifelong journey of following public policy, world events and politics through newspapers and the only three TV news networks available back then. 

As his education advanced through St. Augustine Catholic School in Richmond, Mich., Notre Dame High School in Harper Woods, and Hillsdale College, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1991, he became even more of a student of the world, and ultimately many professional opportunities presented themselves as a result, culminating in his current position as the U.S. Ambassador to Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga and Tuvalu. 

”As long as I can remember, I’ve always had a desire to serve our country in some capacity, and when this was presented to me for my prayerful consideration in late 2019, I was totally prepared to answer the call to serve and lead an embassy team,” Cella said. ”It is a high honor, a joy, a privilege and a blessing to serve in this capacity.”

Cella has more than 25 years of experience in public service as well as in the private sector and nonprofit work. He has advised members of the U.S. and House of Representatives, served on the boards of several non-profit organizations, and worked as a confidential advisor to various public officials, religious leaders and business professionals.

He is a co-founder of the Pontifex Group, a consulting firm whose practice areas include public policy, public relations, crisis management and is the founder of the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast, which has hosted numerous presidents, chief justices and many others in the political and business world. He also helped found and served on the boards of In Defense of Christians and Fidelis: Catholic Vote, and worked with more than a dozen other nonprofit organizations, including Hillsdale College.

Bringing God’s salt and light to all we encounter

Now well-entrenched at the embassy, which is located in Suva, the capital of Fiji, an archipelago of more than 300 islands northeast of New Zealand, Cella reflected on the rewards and challenges of a U.S. ambassadorship.

”The rewards are many, including serving as an official representative of the United States of America,” he said. ”Also, living outside of the U.S. for the first time, it is humbling to find out how many people hold America in the highest regard and are fascinated by our history, culture and people. Plus, it’s rewarding to be able to interact with great people from all walks of life in these island nations and learn more about their rich cultural tapestry and history.” 

As far as challenges, he said, not having more hours in a day is one of them, and ”not being able to remember all of the beautiful and complex first names of our local staff is another.”

However, Cella had no problem remembering some of the names from his time at Notre Dame High School.

”Mr. [Conrad] Vachon and Father [John] Kiselica were the greatest of teachers and were integral in the formation of me as a person, complimenting the vital work of my parents,” he said. ”They had a lasting impact on me and I will be forever grateful to them.” 

”Mr. Vachon and his brilliant ways in senior English inspired me to become an English major in college and Father Kiselica’s teaching, encouragement and example heavily contributed to me engaging as a political volunteer during college and other advocacy work, and ultimately, to my vocation and life’s work,” he added. 

He said Notre Dame honed his love and practice of his Catholic faith that he treasures to this day. 

”My time at NDHS sowed in my heart, mind and soul the importance of bringing God’s salt and light to all those we encounter, treating them with dignity and respect,” he said. ”This is integral to who I am today as I live out my vocation, and as a husband to my dear wife, and father to seven great children.”

Cella also reflected on Notre Dame High School’s closing by the Archdiocese of Detroit in 2005.

”It was bitter and sweet,” he said. ”Bitter, in that the building where the important early formation of thousands took place would no longer have the mighty strains of ‘Shake down the thunder from the sky’ echo through the halls. Sweet, in knowing the financial and demographic realities were soberly considered at a critical time, which has allowed the important work of the Marists to continue in a new location in Metro Detroit.”

Pandemic in paradise

Even though he’s working and serving his country in the South Pacific many miles from the United States and his high school stomping grounds, Cella has not been unaffected by the global pandemic.

The five islands that Cella serves, which he said have relatively fragile health infrastructures, quickly locked down as COVID-19 began to spread worldwide. The island governments instituted protocols and then went into a prevention and containment mode, prohibited travel, and began scaling up PPE resources that Cella and the embassy helped facilitate. 

Cella and his staff also were responsible for evacuating approximately 2,000 Americans from throughout the consular district, which is expansive given the many square miles spread out among the islands. 
”However, Fiji was the only one of the islands to develop cases, peaking at 18, fortunately with no deaths, and all cases have since recovered,” he said. ”The government of Fiji has done an exceptional job in managing the plague.”

Cella also discussed the upheaval currently extending to all corners of the globe as a result of the coronavirus.

”This is an epochal time we are living in,” he said. ”The current dynamic seemingly is a combination of small elements of other pandemics and other events in history: the Bubonic Plague, the Great Depression, World War II, the 9/11 attacks, and the global financial collapse in 2007-08. Essentially, this is a time when new rule books are being fashioned while navigating uncharted waters. No matter one’s station or job, all have been impacted around the world.”

As far as his own job, Cella said the work tempo and length of days radically scaled up beginning in mid-March.

”We sent American families home, shrunk our in-office embassy team to essential personnel with the rest telecommuting, and then things were quite still for several weeks before travel corridors were re-opened, and we begin to restore normal operations,” he said. ”The most challenging for me personally was being apart from my wife and children for four months, although living like a celibate bachelor monk bore great fruit for both my prayer life and my interior life.”

For information on enrollment and registration at Notre Dame, please visit the admissions section of our website here.

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About Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy
Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. Notre Dame Preparatory School enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame's middle and lower schools enroll students in pre-kindergarten through grade eight. All three schools are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." NDPMA is conducted by the Marist Fathers and Brothers and is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the National Association of Independent Schools. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy, visit the school’s home page at www.ndpma.org.