Accompanied by UM President Donna E. Shalala, Jackie Nespral, left, A.B. ’89, acknowledges the audience as she departs the commencement ceremony.

Newly minted degrees in disciplines ranging from the arts and humanities to law, music, and the sciences proved to be the just rewards for more than 800 students who graduated at the University of Miami’s December commencement ceremony. But along with their academic accomplishment, students also got a valuable lesson in how to deal with failure, overcome obstacles, and persevere—courtesy of a successful UM alumna who was often told she wouldn’t make it.

“They said I was too young, too pretty, and had an accent,” Jackie Nespral, multiple Emmy-winning anchor of NBC Miami (WTVJ) told graduates during the December 15 exercise, held at BankUnited Center. “Needless to say I proved them wrong…I didn’t let the naysayers sway me from my goal.”

At 26 Nespral became the nation’s first Hispanic network news anchor, taking over duties as the face of NBC’s Weekend Today.

Sebastian leads a commencement cheer. More than 800 students received degrees during the ceremony.

The daughter of Cuban immigrants, Nespral recalled being asked by television executives to get a speech coach to help mask her Latin accent. But she stood her ground, saying she was proud of her roots. “I didn’t want to fit into any mold,” she said, adding that whenever one has to fight discrimination in front of a national television audience, “it takes a toll.”

Nespral returned to local news in 1995, filling NBC Miami’s anchor spot and covering such memorable stories as the Elian Gonzalez conflict, Pope John Paul II’s visit to Cuba, presidential debates, hurricanes, and a World Series.

She’s interviewed everyone from criminals and heroes to death row inmates. She noted that she even interviewed UM President Donna E. Shalala when she was secretary of health and human services in the Clinton administration.

“Choose a career you are passionate about,” Nespral told students, urging them not to let others deter them from their ambitions.

Throughout her broadcast career, she said, her biggest reward has always been in being able to make a difference in the lives of others.

Nespral’s career has been one long success story. She enrolled at UM as a psychology major, originally aspiring to be a marriage counselor. She got her first taste of the public eye during her sophomore year, when her mother secretly entered her in the 1986 Orange Bowl Queen competition. The charismatic Nespral took the crown and embraced the accompanying media exposure, including appearances on The Late Show with David Letterman and a Bob Hope special.

Graduates celebrate their academic success by making the ubiquitous U sign.

A broadcaster for the Spanish-language network Univision spotted Nespral on the parade circuit and encouraged her to audition for the variety show Sábado Gigante. That job, which she held while completing her Bachelor of Arts in psychology with a minor in communications, led to an anchor spot on another Univision show, Noticias y Mas, and on the Television Martí network.

During her commencement address last Thursday, Nespral, a past president of the UM Alumni Association, said she “made a decision a long time ago to make something of herself.” Some failures, however, are inevitable, she explained to students. “But you must learn from failure. Never lose your sense of self. “

She said UM gave her the tools she needed to succeed.

“If you’re graduating from the U, now ranked 38th of all schools in the country, you are definitely smart,” Nespral said, referring to the University’s latest ranking in U.S.News & World Report’s 2012 “Best Colleges” issue.