What’s in a Name?

Last Monday our school held a mass to celebrate Christ the King (the English translation of the Spanish Cristo Rey). To me, it’s always felt strange to think of Jesus as a king, and I want to consider what His reign looked like and how it informs us at Cristo Rey Boston.

Christ was a king like none other. He was a king for the poor. More importantly, he was a king among the poor. Poor, hungry, sick, imprisoned, it didn’t matter. He lived with them and broke bread with them, healed them and prayed with them. He recruited them as his disciples. He sat down with the outcasts of his time, the lepers, prostitutes, and tax collectors, and he washed their feet. Christ the King didn’t rule. He served.

Our Widening Horizons program contains a strong service component. Every sophomore, junior, and senior must complete three service activities each year. Our school offers monthly service opportunities, including chances to package meals for the sick, organize clothing for mothers and their children, and visit the elderly in nursing homes. This weekend, a group of students will be making holiday baskets.

We continue our commitment to service in our Corporate Work Study Program by placing 23 students at non-profits, such as the American Red Cross, Boston Healthcare for the Homeless, Cradles to Crayons, and United Way. We believe that the experience of serving an underprivileged population is extremely enriching for students who have spent their lives defined as underprivileged.

The point of our service component is to emphasize to our students that poor, sick, hungry, ill, and imprisoned are names that fail to account for a person’s inherent holiness. As Christ said, he is in the poor: “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40). Although our students have been labeled poor, economically limited, or low-income, we know this is a small part of who they are, and we witness their riches every day.

In thinking about names, I’m reminded of a quote attributed to St. Francis of Assisi: “Preach the Gospel, and if necessary, use words.” We speak loudest and most honestly in the way we carry out our lives. So as we prepare our students to become community leaders, professionals, and well-rounded individuals, we emphasize that our mission in life is always to serve. Not to take our talents and bury them, but to multiply our talents and share them with others.

In giving we find true wealth. In serving we become royalty.

The Why of Cristo Rey Boston

In his famous 2009 Ted Talk, author Simon Sinek says people know what they do each day. Some know how they do it. Few, however, know or think about why they do what they do.

He tells companies that people buy or support the “why”. Those driven by purpose succeed, and those who are driven by profits or self-interest alone, often fail.

The “why” of the Cristo Rey movement was the experience of the Jesuits on the southwest side of Chicago in the early 1990s. Thousands of urban young people were dropping out of under-performing high schools. Mexican-American mothers came to meetings with the Jesuits and said : “Yo quiero que mi hijo sea un profesional.” I want my son or daughter to become a professional. That meant college, and the Jesuits set up a unique college prep school called Cristo Rey.

Today there are 28 Cristo Rey schools serving 9,000 students in 19 states, and the schools have 8,200 alumni, most of whom entered college after graduation. The movement grew because it had a purpose.

Fr. John Foley, S.J., the founder of the Cristo Rey movement and a close friend, said once that humility is a requirement for success in our schools whether you are a counselor, board member, teacher, school President, or facilities manager. He said the task of educating a young person who is one to two grades below level academically in 9th grade to the point where they are ready for college and work is an extraordinary undertaking. You can’t be successful unless you’re humbled by it.

At Cristo Rey Boston, every staff member, Board member and volunteer plays a small roll in helping students go from learning basic skills in 9th grade to a score of 3 or better on an Advanced Placement exam in their senior year. No one person in the Cristo Rey movement is dominant. All of us together play a small part in helping each student. When I was on the staff of the first Cristo Rey school in Chicago in the late 1990s, Fr. Foley used to say: “It’s not about us. It’s about our students.”

The “why” of Cristo Rey Boston will begin this coming Monday when 140 freshmen and transfer students come to school to begin Foundations, a two-week training program that prepares them for school and work. We’ll succeed with these young people if we allow ourselves to be humbled by the task before us and if we never lose sight of why we do our work.

Impact

As we watch our students cross the stage next Friday at the Strand Theater, the faculty and staff will be thinking about how each has grown during their four years at our school.

Let me tell you about one young man, Ariel Soto, who lives with his Mom, four siblings, including a 14-month old sister, and the father of the 14-month old. His Dad left when he was in grade school, and he sees him on occasion. Ariel was born in Boston, but his first language was Spanish. For a few years, the family moved back to the Dominican Republic.

Ariel struggled when he first got to Cristo Rey and had many meetings with the principal and dean as he adjusted to high school.

In his sophomore year, he was placed at athenahealth in Watertown in the office services department. “I was immature when I went there,” he told me. “But, I liked the work and the people.”

Ariel was responsible for creating generic labels and tracking packages from UPS and FedEx that came to the company. He mailed items, set up rooms for meetings, assisted with Audio Visual presentations and did other work. “I learned how to help our customers and how to speak with people of high importance in the company,” he explained.

At the same time that he switched to athenahealth, he started to take school more seriously and began spending time with a group of friends who were thinking carefully about their future. “I wasn’t in the best crowd when I came here,” he said. “When I started hanging around with people in college or who wanted to go to college, everything changed.”

Ariel also has an interest in cars, and I’m the son of an auto repair/tire dealer, so we had a good talk the other day. When he turned 16, Ariel made some money, learned to drive, and bought a 1993 Honda Civic. He fixed it up, sold it, and bought another car. He did the same with that one and several others, and now he’s driving a car made in the 21^st century, a 2001 VW.

Ariel explained that he really wants to learn about computer systems in cars and go into the automobile business in some capacity. He’s looking at several colleges where he can study cars and learn about management. He will make a choice soon based on the best financial aid package.

What makes us most proud is Ariel’s self-knowledge. He spoke a few weeks ago at an assembly about his growth at Cristo Rey, the mistakes he made, and what he learned. He knows who he is now, and he has an academic foundation to turn his passion into something meaningful.

I asked Ariel what his life would be like if he hadn’t attended Cristo Rey Boston High School, and he said he probably wouldn’t be going to college and might not have stayed in school.

When you support Cristo Rey Boston, you help young people like Ariel discover who they are and what they can do with their lives if they put their minds to it. A small investment can really change a life here. We see it in Ariel and all of his classmates.

A Year in the Life: Volunteering at CRB

Admissions volunteer Rene Howard-Paez (left), with Director of Admissions Marcos Enrique (right)

At Cristo Rey Boston High School, six volunteers work full time in various capacities throughout the school – from admissions to Corporate Work Study, and academics to student life. As the school year draws to a close, our volunteers took time to reflect on their time in the CRB community. Below is our Admissions volunteer, René Howard-Páez’s reflection:

This year of service has not been easy, but it has been rewarding in ways I probably do not yet fully understand. My main role has been working in the admissions office, but my involvement stretched far beyond that.

The most memorable aspects of this year have not been the practical lessons learned, or the professional skills I gained. Instead, every great memory involves the students. Many students we work with come from broken, single parent, financially unstable homes. Most of them forget how to love themselves or how to love others. These students are lacking life, which is why we give them our own.

In our admissions talk to 8th grade classrooms, we focus on the idea that students need to choose a high school that will allow them to re-discover the beauty of their lives. Our central focus is to show them that graduating high school, finishing college and finding a good job will not improve their lives. Instead, their lives can be improved at this moment, by realizing that they are already great the way they are.

During difficult and stressful times this year, I have asked myself, “why am I doing this?” Mundane tasks can sometimes seem unnecessary, or make me feel as though I am simply being utilized. During these moments, I remember that these small tasks are a part of something larger. I may not enjoy scanning, filing and organizing over 300 files of potential students. I also may not enjoy washing dishes, but these tasks are not about me, but about what we are giving to the students. Many things during my volunteer year may not have brought me happiness, but they have brought me joy.

Coming into the year, I knew no one in Boston, knew none of the students or their families. Fast forward to May and I feel like I have been here for a few years. There are families I have grown very close to, especially those that have children attending CRB next year; some even recently invited me over for dinner. An awesome example of the culmination of my year can be seen through my two new goddaughters, freshmen at my school, who were recently baptized, received their first communion and will soon be confirmed. Had anyone told me any of this a year ago in college, I may have thought them to be a bit crazy.

This experience has been momentous thus far, and I cannot believe it is coming to an end. This year has had such an impact on me that I am inclined to return for another one.

Freshmen Reflection

Yesterday, one of our teachers, Annemarie Grimaldi, asked her students at the beginning of class to reflect on what they have learned about themselves this year. Annemarie wrote in her email: “Sometimes it feels like no progress is made because we see the day-to-day struggles. These responses remind me that good work is being done, and this is a worthy mission we have all committed to.”

There are just five weeks left in the school year, and Annemarie’s words really resonated around the building. Here’s what some of our 9th graders had to say about their first year at Cristo Rey Boston High School:

What I’ve learned about myself this year is that I can produce amazing work if I try.

I’ve learned never to start a sentence with a quote, or to use “I” in an essay.

I’ve learned sometimes you have to deal with people that are so different from you in order to keep going.

I’ve learned I can pass my tests and my essay proficiency on the first try.

I’ve learned that I am a hard, persistent worker.

I’ve learned that if I apply myself I can achieve anything.

I am hardworking and responsible (when I want to be). I am reliable and respectful (mostly everyday)!

I learned that I am the owner of my own education.

I learned that I am capable of completing tasks when I put in my best effort.

The most important thing I have learned this year about myself is that I am able to stay focused, get good grades, and be able to learn from my mistakes.

I’ve learned once I fall behind, it’s hard for me to catch up.

I learned not to be shy when it comes to doing new things.

I’ve learned that I talk too much, and I need to worry about myself more.

I’ve learned that I am resilient, but I can slack off.

I’ve learned that I am a person that doesn’t adjust quickly, but I am a person that grows as I go on.

I’ve learned with a little push I can get a lot of work done.

I’ve learned that I need to not have a fixed mindset and not get caught up in the distractions around me.

I’ve learned that when I try I also improve. Motivation makes me work hard and keep going.

I’ve learned how to check over my work, and figure out how to identify more complicated mistakes.

I’ve learned I am quiet most of the time.

The most important thing I learned is pain is temporary and the reward will always come some way in the end. It just takes hard work. And the more work you put in, the more success you get.

 

Adult Ownership

We humans spend a lot of time talking about the world’s problems as if there is nothing we can do about them.

“Somebody should do something about struggling schools, violence, poverty and other problems,” we say. We know that “doing something” is hard work and fraught with challenges and disappointments.

When urban students fail, some educators may say: “they gave up, they stopped studying, they let family and personal issues get in the way so what could we do?” The reaction is the same as if it were a casual discussion at Starbuck’s about violence in a faraway land.

We believe otherwise at Cristo Rey Boston High School. We don’t blame “them,” our students, when something goes wrong. We look at ourselves. What could we have done differently in the classroom today? How can I do a better job of teaching tomorrow?

Taking ownership for student success requires trusting relationships. We visit student homes, know their families, and understand their struggles but still hold them to high standards because we let young people down if we do otherwise. And, believe me, they know you’re letting them down.

The great thing about a Cristo Rey school is that not only teachers make a difference by taking ownership for student success. Corporate supervisors, more than 350 of them across Greater Boston in fact, do the same when they demand high performance from our students. Supervisors, like our teachers, want our students to do well but hold them accountable for quality performance. That’s the way it should be regardless of where you are from.

Whether it’s at work or school, adults demonstrate that they care by having the courage to demand and expect excellence.

The Playlist

All of our teachers and staff are Advisors to groups of about ten students, and this year I’m advising sophomores.

Every Monday, a group of 15-year olds comes into my office for a 30-minute activity. Over the past month and during the next few weeks, we’re guiding them through an exercise in which they are writing personal narratives. The purpose is to get them to reflect on who they are so they can think about their future.

Last week students were asked to develop a playlist of songs and explain what each one says about them as people. To illustrate, we asked students to listen to a popular song, describe what the artist was trying to express and what they feel when they hear it. Five options were available – three were artists I never heard of, one by Beethoven, and the fifth was “Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” by U-2. Wisely, I stayed away from Beethoven and chose the popular hit from U-2, though the song was from an album that came out in 1987, a decade before they were born.

“Mr. Thielman, this is about a guy who can’t make up his mind,” one told me matter-of-factly. “What are we listening to this for?”

Ivana, who decided to sit at my desk, saw the options given, and noted the “Pursuit of Happiness” by Kid Cudi was an option. “Let me help you out, Mr. Thielman,” Ivana said. “Everybody likes this one.”

So, we switched to a hip hop song, which says that everything that shines isn’t gold, and life is about the pursuit of happiness. “It means you gotta keep going, things aren’t always easy,” one said.

When the session ended, I gave the students their assignment – select 15 songs that say something about their lives and be ready to use them in another activity next week.

The next day, one student saw me after school to explain that he didn’t agree with his classmates who see the “Pursuit of Happiness” as an expression of who they are. “My song is ‘You need me, I don’t need you,'” he said, as we listened to the song by Ed Sheeran. “You’re supposed to be your own person,” he told me. “That’s my goal, that’s what the song is saying to me.”

This week, armed with their playlists, students wrote about events in their lives that impacted them and selected songs that described how they felt at the time. The events they shared were as mundane as the first time they met a new friend and as powerful as surviving a serious illness. The kids were engaged in the discussion and listened quietly to each other’s stories.

A little hip-hop, some time to reflect and write, and before you know it high school sophomores are writing intimate personal narratives, sharing them with friends and a headmaster, tying their stories to music, and beginning to write lyrics for their own unique futures.

$6,039

That’s the per capita income of our 9th graders this year. It’s the lowest in the Cristo Rey Network, an organization that exclusively serves low-income students. The average income of our freshman families is $23,824, and most of the households include at least four people. $6,039 per person in one of the most expensive cities in the U.S.

About two thirds of our students come from single families, so their mothers work at least one job, sometimes two, making under $12 per hour. Some get child support payments, but the checks often arrive late or not at all.

All of us who work and live in or near the great city of Boston complain about the high cost of living. High mortgage and rent payments, consumer debt, student loans, and the struggle to save money for our children’s college education can be overwhelming. But stretching $23,824 to feed, clothe and house a family of four is a challenge most of us could not meet. After a mom with a net pay of $375 a week pays the rent, utilities and transportation bills, how much is left when she gets to the grocery store?

That’s where our students come from, and they keep coming to Cristo Rey Boston because here they are loved, cared for, and supported. Their dreams, and their mothers’ dreams for them, are nurtured and realized. Like their mothers, they work hard, and they want something better for themselves and their families.

It is humbling to be in the presence of our families. They do more with less, and face adversity that most of us will never know.

Reason and Freedom

I’ve learned that you don’t explicitly “teach” faith to high school students. Yes, all of our students take Theology classes including Sacred Scriptures, Ethic, and World Religions. They attend masses, go on retreats, and participate in service projects. Faith is more than acquiring intellectual knowledge or simply taking action, however. Faith must be made personal.

The late Italian theologian, Fr. Luigi Giussani (1922 – 2005), who began his career as a high school teacher, taught his students a method to personalize faith, a method that would allow everyone to see the reasonableness of faith. As a young priest, he told his students that his job was to “teach you a true method that you can use to judge the things I will tell you. And, what I have to tell you is the result of a long experience, of a past that is two thousand years old.” The method that we use to help students “judge the things we tell them” requires a true education in the use of reason and freedom.

An education in reason means we teach students to be open to “reality in all its totality” and not to reduce our interest to what is just entertaining, pleasing, or just familiar but to be truly curious and open, traits every faculty and staff member has to possess as well.

An education in freedom is about responsibility, which comes from the word “respond.” We teach our students to respond to the world by paying attention to everything they see, hear, feel and touch. We want them to dismiss any preconceptions they might bring to school, and through our teaching we give them the capacity to be wide open to all possibilities without precluding any.

Reason and freedom. These concepts underlie every aspect of our school from our curriculum to the way we teach to extracurricular and campus ministry activities. How has this approach worked out for us? Well, this year 40 students voluntarily signed up for a Teen Christian Initiation Program at a local parish (St. Thomas/Our Lady of Lourdes parish in Jamaica Plain/Roxbury), in the summer of 2013 ten students spent two weeks in Kenya living and working with missionaries from the Fraternity of St. Charles Borromeo, and dozens of students have become more involved in their local churches.

These kids, who are growing up in the Internet Age, have personalized their faith. They are making their own way to God, and we, their teachers, are graced by the wisdom of a 1950s Italian high school teacher who has given us a method to help a group of 21^st century Boston teenagers connect the world they are experiencing to the deepest desires of their hearts.

College Counseling Saturdays

This past Saturday morning our parking lot had more cars in it than usual because many of our teachers and staff had volunteered to help our seniors complete college applications. It takes a village to help students in their final year at our school prepare for their next steps in life.

The emotion of deciding what to do after high school, the angst about which colleges to apply to, and the need to meet application deadlines is no different than any other high school. At Cristo Rey, however, we’re helping students apply to college who are the first in their families to go through this process. Despite living in America’s college town, our families have little experience with post-secondary education. Our team, under the direction of our dedicated college counselor, Michael Mansfield, makes sure that every one of our seniors applies to multiple colleges. Michael helps students identify the right colleges, gives them a reality check on which ones are appropriate to their GPAs and SAT scores, and manages a process in which we review every application before it is submitted.

This year, Michael is the sole college counselor for 64 seniors who, we expect, will be first generation college students next fall. We plan to add an additional counselor next year to accommodate our school’s growth. Michael is supported by Beth Degnan, our Principal for Student Life (we moved her from Director of Counseling to this position this year). Beth and Michael are particularly skilled at pushing a small minority of skeptical and sometimes reluctant seniors through the intricacies of the application process.

Michael is helped by Aki Peterson, who works at our school one day each week helping students apply for financial aid. Aki’s salary is paid for by uAspire, an organization that places counselors at several schools in Boston that serve low-income students. He’s also helped by our Board member, Cathy Brennan, and her daughter, Kara, who have launched the College Perspectives Mentor Program. Cathy, who had her own college counseling consulting business for many years, has rounded up some volunteers who review essays and applications, prepare students for interviews, and sometimes drive students to see college campuses.

The goal is to get every senior to apply to a number of colleges by January 1^st, place them in college by May, and ensure that they are enrolled and taking classes in a four-year institution in the fall of 2014. Our college placement and persistence rate (i.e., remaining in college) is in the top five of all Cristo Rey Network schools – arguably the best association of college prep schools for low-income urban students in the nation.

During these cold months in New England, many people devote countless hours to help a somewhat nervous group of seniors at a small school in Dorchester apply and eventually choose the right college. The process isn’t easy, sometimes it’s emotional, but ultimately our seniors are rewarded with a clear path to a better life.

Mayor Walsh

In 2009 as we were negotiating our move from Cambridge to Boston, we connected with a little-known State Representative named Marty Walsh. Some in Dorchester’s Savin Hill neighborhood – Representative Walsh’s political base – were opposed to our move because Cristo Rey only serves low-income students and intentionally excludes families of higher economic means, including many who lived close to the building we wanted to occupy.

Marty came to our school in Cambridge, met with Fr. Jose Medina, our Principal, and me, and spoke with our students. At the end of the visit, we talked about the challenges of moving to Savin Hill. Marty told us not to worry. There would be other opportunities for his neighbors; what Cristo Rey could bring to his community and to all of Boston would help young people.

Marty’s support of our school was critical to our move. He was willing to stand up, gently and respectfully, to his neighbors and friends. He convinced the neighborhood that Cristo Rey Boston would be good for the community, and today those very people who spoke against our move to Dorchester are our biggest supporters.

Since our move, Marty, who lives right across the street from my office, has become a close friend of Cristo Rey Boston. He roots for our students, he’s spoken here many times, and when he talked with a class of juniors on the morning of his election as the 54th Mayor of our city, he told them never to let their dreams die. He also said: “I love this school.” And, he meant it.

Marty is now the Mayor of all of Boston and no longer just an advocate for those of us fortunate to work or live in Savin Hill. I can assure you, though, that Mayor Walsh will continue to stand up for young people, urge them to follow their dreams just as he did, and put the interest of kids first every time he has to make a difficult decision.

Congratulations, Mayor Walsh! Your friends and neighbors at Cristo Rey Boston High School are proud of all that you have accomplished.

Integrity

We hold a number of parents’ nights throughout the year. These are opportunities for parents, grandparents and guardians to meet with teachers and to get a better sense of how their children are doing in school. There was a lot of good energy in the building though not every conversation was a happy one, especially for those whose sons or daughters are not working to their full potential.

Marcos Enrique, our very talented and committed Admissions Director, had an encounter at last night’s parent’s night that sums up what our students and what our school is all about. Here’s what he wrote in an email to all of us at 9:58 p.m. last night:

In the middle of parent night tonight, I stepped outside to the back parking lot and since I didn’t have my keys, I opened the door all the way. Alex Nival saw me outside and came out to talk to me and noticed that there were huge trash bags piled up. He said he couldn’t stand to see that much trash together in our parking lots as parents walked by – it didn’t give a good impression. He grabbed Jay Hernandez, Juan Mendez and Emmanuel Beato and quietly brough all that trash to the dumpster. When I realized they had done that, I told them that was impressive. I don’t know what was more impressive, what they had done or Alex’s response when I told them I should give them a shout out. He said: “We don’t need to be given the glory of a shout out. We should give the glory to God.”

Just a nice experience in the middle of madness.

Work – Study – Sports

The other day, the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) held a hearing to decide if a former student of ours could play a sport for his new high school. MIAA rules prohibit students who transfer high school from playing or practicing with a varsity team if they played that same sport at another school the previous year. A waiver can be granted if the students’ family moves or if the MIAA deems it in the student’s best interest to continue playing.

The hearing room was crowded with the student, the principal of the receiving high school, an all-male panel representing the MIAA that heard the appeal, coaches, a lawyer, and family members. Our school, which was asked to speak about the matter, was represented by two women, our Athletic Director, and our Dean of Students. Other than the young man’s grandmother, they were the only women in the room.

I’m not questioning the MIAA’s right to make a decision about whether a young man can play a sport. In our opinion, the best thing for him, and the course we were planning to take this year, was that he not play sports and instead get his grades up. This is no longer our decision, however.

During the hearing, a retired principal who sat on the panel was dumbfounded by the Cristo Rey work-study program. “You mean students miss practices and games on they days they work,” he blurted. “What kind of program is that?”

“That’s correct, sir,” our young Athletic Director responded. “On work days, the students work the whole day. We’re preparing them for college and life.”

When I heard this, I could not have been more proud of our young Athletic Director, who stood up for our students and our mission in a room full of men.

Cristo Rey breaks every category that people have about education. Yes, our students miss games and practices if they are scheduled during a 9-5 day, though most sports practice after 5:00 p.m., when the work day and a homework period are done.

Our mission is very clear, and it works. For the past four years, 100% of Cristo Rey Boston’s seniors have been accepted to four-year colleges, and students who enter our school 2-4 grades below level end up going to some great colleges and universities because they work and study hard during their four years at Cristo Rey.

What kind of a program do we have, sir? I’d say we have one that delivers results for students who want to work hard for a better future.

What’s at Stake

On the eve of the first day of academic classes, one of our teachers, Mike Kauffmann, sent around a brief essay written by a freshman. Our Foundations class, a two-week summer orientation program for new students, begins in mid-August with an exercise in which each young person answers three questions: who are you, why are you here, and who do you want to be?

In the essay, the 9th grader said her parents had passed away, she was living with her grandmother, multiple cousins, and siblings, including one who attends our school, and she was the first female in her family to go to high school. She did not want to become a statistic, a victim of drugs, violence or teen pregnancy, she said. Instead, she wrote: “I want to be the change. I want to be confident and strong.”

That’s what the entire Cristo Rey movement with 8,000 students attending 26 schools in 17 states is all about. It’s about change – confident and strong, a belief that we can educate urban young people for college, form them to be young people of faith, purpose and service, and create a better world.

Our mission is a pretty serious one. We take young people who enter high school anywhere from 1 to four years below 9th grade level, push them as hard as we can, and prepare them for college. The road is never easy. Many of our students (and sometimes our staff) want to give up. But, our name is Cristo Rey – Christ the King – the one who preached to the poorest in His time that the world could be better and more just. Our faith tells us that we can always overcome.

We begin year 10 of the Cristo Rey mission in Boston with 368 students, 125 corporate partners, and hundreds of believers who follow our work and support our young people. Cristo Rey keeps going in Boston and beyond because our students, like the young woman in Mike’s Foundations class, want to be the change, confident and strong. We cannot let her or her classmates down.

Thank you for being part of Cristo Rey Boston, and stay tuned for an incredibly exciting year.

Valedictorian Speech by Rebecca Rojas

Valedictorian, Rebecca Rojas, speaking at CRB graduation 2013

On Christmas Eve of my freshman year, I was on a plane on my way to Nicaragua for what my parents called a “nice vacation.” Now, for those of you who aren’t geographically savvy, Nicaragua is in Central America, the biggest (and poorest) country there. My parents were both born in Nicaragua and we were spending our Christmas break volunteering at a church in an under-resourced town. The mere thought of the heat that was destined to come made my blood boil. In spite of this, I knew the people of this beautiful country; I saw them as my compatriots, as people who would understand and welcome me.

When we arrived at the airport, people immediately recognized us as “gringos,” as Americans. Without even speaking we were Americans. Even though we looked like them, had the same skin complexion, same type of hair, etc., we were still Americans to them. And why? I followed their eyes to the “American Eagle” logo on my shirt and to the red Converse star on my sneakers. This difference in clothing was how they could tell that we were not from there. Everywhere we went, we were stared at intently, even followed by some of the children; the glares they gave showed that they resented us, that they felt like we were intruding on them and their land.

I was being judged, judged by a people who I called my own. In America, I felt Hispanic, but in Nicaragua, I felt American.

This was a cataclysmic moment I would meet with many times over the years. I suddenly realized that people were going to judge me everywhere I went; even in places that I thought I was going to feel comfortable.

The good news is this: you’ve made it this far, you’ve made it through all of the ups and downs in high school. You’ve made it through the some tedious assignments at your corporate work study jobs. You’ve made it through the awkward conversations with people who were visiting the school. You have officially made it through the place that everyone deemed would account for the “best years of our lives,” but which we ourselves came to realize was often wretched. You have made it through high school. This is a big milestone but you know that you will be judged even more harshly when you go out into this world. Fortunately, you have been well equipped for this. Throughout these four years, you have acquired skills and characteristics that you need to survive. You are a wiser, more mature, more professional, greater and better version of yourself than the person that first arrived at the front doors of North Cambridge Catholic. You have grown thick skin and you know your own self value.

Regardless of the clothing you wear, the accent with which you speak, or the profession you choose, there will always be those who judge you. When this happens, be the best person you are capable of being. Do not let the judgment break you. Keep marching on, keep striving for your dreams, and keep showcasing your best qualities. Smile through your hard times and smile even harder through your better times. This may be the end of your high school life, but after today, this is just the beginning of your future. Once again, congratulations on making it this far. This chapter of your life, filled with great and awful moments, has ended but you still have the rest of your book to fill up, chapters to unfold before you, changes that you yourself can make in the world; you have the rest of your life to live.  Congratulations to the class of 2013!

On behalf of the senior class of Cristo Rey Boston High School, I would like to thank Father Jose Medina for all of the hard work, dedication, and wisdom he has contributed to our school community for the past six years. As Father Medina prepares to move on from Cristo Rey Boston, the seniors would like to present him with this journal – signed by each of us- as a token of our appreciation. We know that serving as principal of Cristo Rey Boston has provided you with a lot of good stories over the years, so we hope you use this journal to write them all down. Thank you, Father Medina!

Salutatorian Speech by Misa Nguyen

Salutatorian, Misa Nguyen, speaking at CRB Graduation 2013

Class of 2013, today our 4 year journey together ends. Today may be the last day we will ever spend together in one room surrounded by the people who love us. We came a long way to be here today. From our first steps into NCC to our last steps at CRB, we are creating memories that can never be washed away.

Do you remember when we spent the long, hot summer days learning skills for our first day of work? What about the wonderful times, throughout the past four years, when we gave it our best to win spirit week – from designing t-shirts to decorating hall ways, participating in team games, donating money to win the penny war, and running around like a stampede of animals to earn those last few points?

And the times when you would promise yourself you would do homework during study block but then end up sharing stories with friends?

What about when we stayed late one night scrambling to finish our college applications in the computer lab? This was one of the most memorable experiences that we will ever share. We spent twelve hours in a cramped room the night before Christmas break stressing out over what to put on the college applications, and cheering for each person as he or she pressed submit.

These are the moments that make us one, the moments that define us as the Class of 2013. I want you to always keep these memories close to your heart. Never forget where you came from, and to never forget who you are.

We are going off to college in just a few months. We are leaving for Washington DC North Carolina, New York, and other places in order to achieve our dreams. We will be far away from the place that has been your home for the past 4 years. Our families, our teachers, and our friends have each taken a turn to help develop us into the individuals we are. Now it is our turn to take the reins.

You may dream of being the mayor of the city, the president of the United States, or even the king of the universe. I am here to say that whatever your dreams are do not let go. Don’t let a bump in the road make you turn back around. Smooth it out and keep on going! You all have definitely heard that college is difficult and stressful, but you also heard that high school would be intimidating and scary and look at where we are now. On the day of our graduation, we have conquered our fears of high school and we are ready for the next challenge.

Take up your spears and charge into college with heart and courage. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do it; don’t let anyone stand in your way. Because I know, along with everyone else in this room, that you will succeed. Cristo Rey Boston has prepared you, your family has prepared you, and your friends have prepared you. Trust me – you are ready.

The memories that you hold in your heart will always be there for you when you need help. Remember that you are never alone. I wish you the best and I hope you keep fighting until you reach your goals and fulfil your dreams. Congratulations, Class of 2013.

Graduation Day Speech by Jeff Thielman

On behalf of our faculty and staff, I am pleased to welcome our parents, grandparents, guardians, Trustees, alumni, corporate sponsors, and benefactors to the Commencement Exercises for the Cristo Rey Boston High School Class of 2013.

Every one of you is on your way to a four-year college or university this fall. Congratulations.  That is an extraordinary achievement.

St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, the religious order that started the Cristo Rey movement, taught us that “recognition and gratitude for the good things and gifts in life is greatly esteemed both in heaven and on earth.”  For Ignatius, the first requirement to becoming a complete person is to be grateful for the people we meet, the things we learn, and the challenges we face and overcome every day.

Gratitude is a necessary virtue for men and women of faith, purpose and service, the values of our school, and the values each of you have developed during your four years at Cristo Rey.

One thing we know for certain about the Class of 2013 is how grateful you are for all you have experienced these past four years.  That was apparent to everyone on Wednesday night at the Baccalaureate Mass & Awards Ceremony, and it has been evident in the way you’ve conducted yourselves at school the past four years.  Your sense of gratitude would be the envy of many educators.

It is important that the same sense of gratitude you had at Cristo Rey stays with you as move forward in college and life.  Be grateful as you meet and become friends with the new and interesting people you will meet in college and in your careers. Be grateful for their different perspectives and talents. Be grateful for what you will learn and experience every day in college.  Be grateful for what you will bring to the classroom and what you will bring one day to the boardroom.

On this theme of gratitude, I want you to join me in thanking someone who has devoted countless hours every day for the past six years to our Cristo Rey mission in Boston, Fr. Jose Medina. Fr. Jose is taking a new leadership role in our Church, and we will miss him dearly.  I am grateful for every day that Fr. Medina spent with us, and I can tell you that this school would not be where it is today without his care and concern for everyone in the Cristo Rey community.

Congratulations Class of 2013.  It has been a privilege to know you, to teach you and to support you.  You have the skills, the character, the grit, and the talent needed to reach all of your dreams in the years to come.  You will always part of the Cristo Rey family, we look forward to seeing many times in the future, and we wish you the very best.

Cristo Rey Boston College Placement Process

Every year at Academic Signing Day, our top scholars choose between elite schools like MIT, Bates, Skidmore, Holy Cross, and Georgetown.  This is one exciting aspect of the college placement journey at Cristo Rey Boston High School.

Perhaps even more precious to us are the stories of students who, though not at the top of the class, have made enormous strides in their four years at Cristo Rey Boston.

One young man with challenging family circumstances worked mightily to get his grades up, took on a challenging Advanced Placement Government course, and gained admission to Eastern Nazarene College. This small, private college just south of Boston will provide our graduate with the social and academic support he will need to study engineering or business at the college level.

Our goal at Cristo Rey Boston is to place every graduate in a four-year college or university. Over the past four years, 100% of our seniors have been accepted to four-year institutions, and 92% have directly enrolled in them after graduation from high school.  Why a four-year school?   Statistically, students are much more likely to earn a college degree if they attend a four-year institution as opposed to a two-year college, where graduation rates range from 10 to 25%.  Of even greater significance is that college graduates earn 50% more than those with high school degrees and 22% more than people with associate degrees, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

Of our 42 seniors, 13 will be attending Massachusetts state colleges and universities in the fall, including Fitchburg State, Framingham State, Salem State, UMASS Amherst, and UMASS Boston. This is the highest percentage (30%) of students going to state colleges in our history.  These schools are competitive, offer a wide range of majors, and have strong summer bridge programs designed to help first-generation students prepare for their first year of college.

We make sure that every senior goes to a college they can afford. The average college graduate in Massachusetts has $27,181 in debt according to a recent study from the Project on Student Loan Debt, and on average, low-income Black and Latino students leave school with higher debts than their White counterparts.  Nationally, almost 13% of all student loan borrowers owe more than $50,000, and 4% owe more than $100,000.

By contrast, the average Cristo Rey Boston alum will graduate college with less than $20,000 in student loan debt. Our students’ loans are a combination of federally guaranteed Stafford and Perkins loans and Massachusetts No Interest loans that target students with limited resources.  Cristo Rey Boston High School’s seniors this year have an average expected unmet need for their first year of college of $2,695, which they can make up by working, something they know a lot about!

All of this success is the result of a rigorous academic program and a devoted team that works closely with each senior as they make their college decisions – Director of Counseling, Beth Degnan, College Counselor, Maria Theodorakakis, uAspire financial aid counselor Kristin Shapiro, and several volunteers, including one of our Board members, Cathy Brennan.  They gain the trust of our students and their families each year, and their tireless work is producing incredible results.

A letter to the Cristo Rey Faculty and Staff regarding last week’s events

Dear Faculty and Staff:

Welcome back from vacation. I hope and pray that you, your family, and friends were not harmed during last Monday’s tragedy. I know you join me in praying for the victims, especially for the four young people – ages 8, 23, 26, and 29 – who died in this senseless crime spree.

As our political leaders said at last Thursday’s memorial service, the tragedy brought out the very best of thepeople of Boston. Kevin Cullen, a Globe columnist, said that Boston is known for three things – sports, politics,and revenge. Revenge, he said, will be that our city will emerge stronger and more resilient than it was before last Monday’s bombing. I think he’s right.

On Saturday, my son and I were at the Red Sox game, and we witnessed an opening ceremony and game like no other. Victims, first responders, police, and government leaders were honored. Major League baseball players bawled like babies during the ceremony, there were very few dry eyes in the stands, David Ortiz told the crowd that no one should mess with our city (my son pointed out that he used a curse word as an adjective), Neil Diamond himself came to sing Sweet Caroline in the 8th inning, Daniel Nava hit a three-run homerun after Diamond’s surprise appearance to give the Sox the lead, and the Red Sox won 4-3 (Andrew Bailey nearly blew the save in the top of the 9th, but that’s another story).

The scene at Saturday’s Red Sox game put Boston’s greatness and compassion on display for the world to see.  We are lucky to work in this great city. In my opinion Boston is the best city in the world, a city with caring and resilient people. Boston, as Adam Sandler said in a tweet, is probably the only city in America where if you hurt one of our own, we’ll shut the city down and hunt you down until we find you and bring you to justice.

Our school mirrors the character of our city. We’ve worked very hard this year, and you have performed miracles– kids who couldn’t add or subtract fractions are now poised to complete 9th grade and begin a more intense college prep experience, students who didn’t know how to work are performing better in Boston area companies because of the tireless efforts of our CWSP team, and because of the work of our student life and campus ministry team, our kids feel more loved and cared for than they have in their entire lives. There are countless other stories of students whose lives have been changed forever because of the work you do.

Thank you for all you are doing to help form young people who will become the future leaders of Boston. I’m grateful for the opportunity to work with such a great team in the heart of the greatest city in the world.

Jeff

The Election of Pope Francis

What an exciting time for the world and for the Catholic Church!  A Jesuit from Argentina – a Latino – is now the head of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics.  My wife commented this morning that like Republicans and Democrats in the United States, the Catholic Church is courting the Latino vote!

Our students seem happy that a Latino is the new Pope. Spanish-speakers are the fastest growing segment of the American Catholic Church, and they make up more than 50% of our population at Cristo Rey Boston High School. But, the fact that Francis is Latino may not be the only thing drawing our students and others to him.

The former Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio lives simply and has devoted himself to serving the poor. A former provincial of the Jesuits of Argentina, he took his name from the founder of the Franciscans, Francis of Assisi, a saint who dedicated his life to the downtrodden.  This Pope took a bus to work, talked about his favorite soccer team with his fellow passengers, lived in a sparse apartment in Buenos Aires, famously washed and kissed the feet of AIDS victims, visited the slums around Buenos Aires often, and celebrated Mass with the homeless and prostitutes, people shunned by most of society. He worked with leaders of other faiths and was unafraid to point out inequalities and injustices in his native land.
He began his papacy wearing a simple white robe and iron cross, eschewing the red cape traditionally worn by popes, and he asked for and received a powerfully silent blessing from the 100,000 people who came to St. Peter’s Square to greet their new leader.  The morning after his election he stopped by the hotel he stayed at for the Conclave to pick up his luggage and pay the bill himself.

The first homily by Pope Francis was an off-the-cuff sermon about the courage to walk with God, to build the Church by serving others, and to profess the Gospel, the story of Christ’s life on earth.  I don’t think we’re going to see a radical change in the Church’s teachings. After all, our Church changes slowly. But, I think we’re in for something special with this Jesuit pope. He will challenge us all to live like Jesus did and to better serve the poorest among us.  For those of us who work in the ministry of education with the urban poor, Francis is a pope who understands our struggles and our joys, and as the leader of a small school in Boston, that gives me great hope.

Our Students – The Reality of What They Rise Above

If you’re a teenager with limited resources in Boston, you have a lot to overcome if you want a better life.

First, the statistics. More than a fifth of American children live in poverty, the second worst of all advanced economies. Mexico has a slightly greater percentage of children living in poverty than we do; Greece, France, and Spain all have about half has many children in poverty.  Massachusetts does better than the national average with one in seven (or 15%) of children living in poverty, but in Boston’s Dorchester, Roxbury, and Mattapan neighborhoods, where many of our students live, 42% of children live in poverty, the densest cluster of childhood poverty in the state, according to The Boston Foundation.

The way out of poverty, of course, is an education. That means completing high school and earning a college degree.  Going to college for many young people, especially those with few resources, means taking on debt.  In fact, student debt surpassed $1 trillion a few years ago, meaning Americans have more educational debt than credit card debt.

Our job at Cristo Rey Boston High School is to prepare very poor students, who have not had a strong K-8 education, for college.  If you walk our halls, it may look like the work we do is easy.  Our students follow a strict dress code, they’re orderly and polite, and they straighten their ties, fix their blouses and greet visitors warmly.  They look very put together.

But, the counseling reports I read on our students tell a much different story.  This past month I took a particular interest in our team’s efforts to keep students in the school and on the path to a successful life.

I read the profiles of students that showed a much different reality than is seen walking the halls of Cristo Rey Boston. One student was born with morphine in her blood and spent her early childhood bouncing around the homes of different family members before ultimately being placed in foster care. Another student visits her father, who is incarcerated for drug related offenses, on the weekends while struggling to keep up with her academics during the week. A young male student is charged with the responsibility of being the “man” of the house, taking care of his sick mother while assisting in raising his nieces and nephews who live with the family.

For these students and countless others at Cristo Rey Boston, the challenge of successfully completing high school and moving on to college goes far beyond the walls of the classroom. One student recently wanted to leave Cristo Rey and go to a public school.  Why?  Well, it was easier to run than to stay at Cristo Rey and work hard. Another student also recently contemplated transferring to public school. The daughter of a heroin user, she struggles with anxiety and was tempted by an easier path. Other students are attracted to the instant gratification that comes from earning a weekly paycheck, working long hours at local grocery stores.

While a few of these students may ultimately succumb to the daily challenges they face and leave Cristo Rey Boston, many realize that staying at Cristo Rey, where people care about them, is the best option. Our dedicated staff work tirelessly to help students realize their potential and believe in their ability to succeed. It’s not uncommon for our principal and support staff to visit families at their homes or even show up at students’ jobs in order to speak with them. The conversations are raw and emotional, but in the end students often realize that the team at Cristo Rey Boston want what’s best for them. We are often able to convince students that getting grades up, completing high school, and eventually going to college is the best choice.

It’s interesting to watch policymakers debate ways to reduce child poverty and student debt.  Me, I like the view right here on the ground, where some of the most dedicated people you’ll ever meet work hard for a lot less than they would make elsewhere to help kids who had the bad luck to be born into poverty. We will not save every student, but our model – strong academics, an extraordinary opportunity to work in a Greater Boston business and see the endless possibilities of an education, the tremendous love and support of our staff, and an aggressive college counseling effort that ensures our graduates will leave college with as little debt as possible – keeps our students moving towards a better and brighter future.

Patriots vs. Ravens

Boston versus Baltimore has become quite the rivalry in recent years, and it extends from the football gridiron to the Cristo Rey Network. Last year, we made a friendly wager on the outcome of the AFC Championship game with our counterparts, Cristo Rey Jesuit Baltimore. They sent us some delicious crabcakes!

Go Patriots!

Days of Thanks

It’s hard to find anyone who doesn’t like Thanksgiving – it’s probably the country’s most popular holiday. For most Americans, the day is marked by traditions – football, turkey, beautifully prepared vegetables, stuffing, pies, eggnog and other beverages. Families come together, celebrate, reminisce, and enjoy each other’s company. No doubt, there is tension in some households, and some yearn to get through the exercise of eating dinner as a family as quickly as possible in order to watch football.

At Cristo Rey Boston High School, like any workplace, you can get lost in the challenges of doing your job. But, I’ve learned that it is critical to step back and be grateful for the incredible opportunity to be devoted each day to a mission that is greater than all of us – the mission of helping young people from the city find their potential and go on to better and happier life. A former Cristo Rey Boston teacher who came for a visit said to me this morning, “You have a good thing going here, Jeff.” She married last year, moved to a new city with her husband, and found a job she likes at a new school. She walked around the school, hugged old friends, and we had a nice chat. “This place is just special. It’s hard to put into words. I like what I’m doing, but it will never be Cristo Rey.”

Today, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, our school is saying thank you during a “Community Day.” We learned long ago that it is challenging to do a good job teaching students the day before Thanksgiving – everyone’s mind is on family, fun, and food! During today’s activities, we celebrated the rich culture and traditions of our school. At an assembly, two of our teachers gave the entire student body a reflection on their experience in other countries. Students strung together flags of the various nations that make up our community. Groups of students then performed traditional dances in their native cultures. Where else can you see dances from Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Cape Verde performed by a great group of young people but Cristo Rey Boston High School?

We ended the day by going from classroom to classroom sampling traditional dishes from the various countries that make up our community – Haiti, Cape Verde, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Guatemala and many other countries. Many of our parents contributed food that is absolutely to die for. While I love turkey, pie, and every traditional American Thanksgiving food, you haven’t lived until you’ve tried fried yucca, grilled octopus, bacalhau stew, sweet papaya, corn pudding, rice djon-djon, pumpkin soup, Dominican sancocho, kipes, empanadas, mangu, tostones, flan and much more that our wonderful families have brought to Greater Boston.

Tomorrow, I’ll give thanks with my family in a very traditional American way, but I’ll thinking about and will be grateful for the families and students whose cultures and traditions enrich both our school in Dorchester and the very Commonwealth where the tradition of Thanksgiving was born nearly 400 years ago.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone, and thank you for all you do for our students and for young people everywhere.

A Jew, a Muslim, and Four Priests

A Catholic high school in the center-city is counter-cultural by its very nature.  Yet even in an era when religion remains one of the Big 3 taboo subjects, young people and adults at Cristo Rey Boston High School freely explore their own faith, the faith of others, and even the absence of any faith in their personal lives.

Every student takes classes where they learn about the Old and New Testament, religions of the world, and ethics.  All students take part in at least one retreat a year, community-wide Masses are celebrated about once a month, and every day two Masses are offered by one of the four Roman Catholic priests who work at our school.

You heard correctly. Four priests from the Fraternity of St. Charles Borromeo work as teachers and administrators at our small school of 348 students.   The students gravitate to them. At our fall Community Day, a day of reflection, activities, and a cookout, our Campus Minister, Fr. Franco Soma, fscb, gave a beautiful talk to the students about gratitude. He spoke about how lucky he is to work at Cristo Rey Boston High School. One of my advisees, a junior named Chris Young, told me that it was the best speech he ever heard.

It is uplifting to walk through our hallways and see four priests and their lay colleagues of Catholic, Jewish and Protestant faiths joking, smiling, and encouraging our students.

The other day I was chatting with Nada Shaaban, one of our sophomores. She’s a Muslim who lives with her Mom and two siblings in Jamaica Plain.  I asked her why she decided to attend a Catholic school. “I came for a visit, and it just felt like the school for me,” she said.  “I like the attention we get from teachers. They are always encouraging me, they’re always very positive. And, I like learning about different religions.”

Shortly before my brief conversation with Nada, I gave a tour to a Jewish woman who is fascinated by our mission.  I took her to see a number of classes, including a class that was discussing Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist.  She loved the discussion and waved me off on two occasions when I moved towards the door to escort her to another class.

In a world where faith can be exploited for political and personal gain and where schools do everything in their power to avoid any mention of the word God, Cristo Rey Boston High School is a place where a Jew can be fascinated by a class on Jesus, a Muslim student finds a home, and four young priests provide a rich presence to students and staff.  Despite our differences, we come together at Cristo Rey – a place where we boldly celebrate the reign of Christ the King.

Globe Names CRB as Big Idea in Education

Dear friends:

The Boston Globe Magazine recently published their “Education Issue,” highlighting Cristo Rey Boston as one of five big ideas that just might transform the classroom. It’s my pleasure to share this article with you.

Cristo Rey Boston is larger than ever before, now serving 348 young people of limited economic means. We are so grateful for the Globe Magazine’s recognition of Cristo Rey Boston as we continue to grow in our mission to help our young people become men and women of faith, purpose, and service. The attention we have received thanks to my article published in Catholic Education: A Journal of Inquiry and Practice and the awards the Cristo Rey Network recently won has been overwhelming, and the year is just getting started!

I look forward to sharing more of Cristo Rey Boston’s accomplishments as the year progresses. Thank you for your help and support of our students.

Gratefully,

Jeff Thielman
President

School Turnaround Article Published

Dear Friends:

I wanted to share an article I wrote for Catholic Education: A Journal of Inquiry and Practice on the turnaround of Cristo Rey Boston High School. You can read more by visiting our website.

I hope you get a chance to read it and learn about the hard work of our team here at Cristo Rey Boston High School.

Gratefully,

Jeff Thielman
President

Plight of the Production Team

This summer at a training program for leaders of the Cristo Rey schools we did an exercise in which we were divided into two groups – the management team and the production team.  The groups were asked to solve a problem, and I happened to be on the management team.  Working on our own, the management team fared poorly. So poorly, in fact, we couldn’t even finish the project assigned to us!

What happened? We waited too long to consult with the production team, the people who were going to do the work.

The training program gave me a lot to think about as the head of a school with staff in so many different areas. I need to keep in close contact with my different production teams, including teachers, office administrators, and even our student workers, making sure each group has the resources they need.

The feedback I received helped form this year’s Foundations training. Teachers and administrators came together to bring a fresh approach to transitioning freshmen from the 8^th grade students they were just a few short months ago into the confident and capable young men and women who are ready to excel in the workplace. This detailed approach to forming both hard and soft skills, as well as the Microsoft Office training from the incredible staff of CompuWorks, resulted in our latest grade of student workers, a group far more prepared to enter the working world than the average teenager.

The production team exercise had clear applications for our program, but I’ve been thinking about it from another point of view recently.  During the past week I’ve been in three places where our students worked last year, and a supervisor, a front desk manager, and an operations person came to me and said “we need more student workers.  We can’t keep up with the work in our department.”  I asked these folks if they talked to management, and each asked if I would on their behalf!  Now, of course, I’m more than happy to do this, but the interactions brought me right back to the production team exercise.

Many times well-meaning senior managers in businesses, including good friends of mine, fail to consult the production people. So, I’m going to ask my friends to do me a favor. Spend a few minutes talking to the people in the copy center or the mailroom or the front desk. Ask them if they are able to get all their work done. If not, let’s talk about whether well-trained student workers can help make your company more effective and efficient.

There are a lot of production teams with work that needs to be done in corporate Boston, and we want to help you do it.

Best,

Jeff Thielman

Valedictorian Speech – Madeline Sencion

On behalf of the Cristo Rey Boston Class of 2012, I am honored to welcome you all to to this momentous occasion and thank you for being here to celebrate with us on this joyous day. I promise not to bore you with a long, verbose speech; those of you who know me know I am a woman of few words. There are just a few things I would like to say.

Senior retreat we sat together, crying, reading letters from our loved ones, be it family, friends, or faculty. How did we get to this point in which we could be completely vulnerable in a room surrounded by people who four years ago were strangers? I realized, over the years we have become a family.

Not in every school will you find students in the building anywhere from 6:30AM to 7:00PM, sometimes even later. Freshmen year we would all show up as late as possible and leave as early as possible. But, senior year I have seen many of us sitting in Ms. Searby’s room an hour before school starts, many of us spending the entire afternoon, night, and even vacation days, in Ms. Theo’s room. I have seen many of us sitting with Mr. Harkins while he eats lunch and staying at checkout talking to Mr. Daye or Mr. McNicol. I have seem many of us stopping in the hallways to chat with Mr. Trapani or rub Mrs. Wagner’s belly. I have seen many of us going to Fr. Colombo’s room during free blocks and after school and stopping by Fr. Medina’s office at any point in the day just to talk and get out whatever is on our minds. How many of us have come to school at 6:30 in the morning or stayed until 7 at night and have been able to find an adult available to help us with whatever it is we need? Our great faculty and staff has enabled us to transform school into a second home.

But, this unity wasn’t just created because of our faculty and staff . It was created by every single one of us through all our happy moments and rough ones as well. Now, I won’t lie and say that we have all become the best of friends, but I am almost positive that each one of us can look around and see at least one person who we truly consider a friend, one person who has been there for us through our ups and downs. I know I can. We have made strong bonds here along with great memories that we will always take with us, such as winning spirit week two years in a row and sitting by the campfire at retreat with Mr. Horgan singing. If I could reminisce on them all now I would, but we would be here for days.

After four years of creating these strong bonds, our time at Cristo Rey Boston has come to an end. We leave here knowing many things but still with much more to learn. All of us know a little something about quadratic equations, how to write the perfect English essay, or the causes of the Revolutionary War. Our most important lessons, however, cannot be recited or written down and turned in for a grade. At the time, all of the essays we wrote, the tests we took, the projects we did, they were all cruel burdens. Looking back, staying up all night writing a 10 page paper taught us more than just about the media’s impact on society. It taught us important lessons involving hard work, resilience, and dedication.

Now we begin a new journey. We go to being nervous, excited, uncertain freshmen once again. We will no longer be in the comfort of a familiar environment. Now we must learn and adapt to a completely new system. It is like a new beginning, but I believe we are all equipped with the right tools we need to succeed and overcome our obstacles. Never forget the lessons learned throughout these four years and always remember your Cristo Rey Boston Class of 2012 family.

To our parents, thank you for guiding us and always giving us the love and encouragement we need. We would not be here today without you. To our faculty and staff, thank you for providing us not only with your knowledge and wisdom, but also with your care and attention beyond the classroom. Thank you very much for working so diligently to get us to this point. And finally, to the graduating Class of 2012, congratulations to each and every one of you, and thank you for all of the memories. We have achieved things not everyone has and all have very much to be proud of. No matter where we are headed in the future, I am certain that we can achieve anything. In the words of a great philosopher, Henry David Thoreau, “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams; live the life you have imagined.”

Congratulations Class of 2012!

Salutatorian Speech – Lisa Edouard

As I stand here in front of all of you today, my heart is filled with joy. I am joyous because in this moment I get to share with you the adventures, the perils, and the triumphant moments my classmates and I have gone through together these past four years. Moments so precious and irreplaceable that they suddenly make every hour spent completing homework, studying for exams, and staying up late finishing up projects all worth it.

Over the past four years, my classmates and I have all had moments to be proud of, moments such as passing our English and math proficiency exams freshman year, and moments such as winning spirit week in both our junior and senior years, which would not have been possible if our class wasn’t filled with the best Oreo stackers, Sudoku players, creative thinkers and basketball players in the entire world. These, by the way, are all skills I can promise you we will use again in the future, because you never know when someone might pull out a box of Oreos and challenge you to an Oreo stacking contest, right?

But on a serious note, many of us have been waiting for this day since our freshman year of high school. A day in which we would all be standing side by side with the biggest smiles on our faces because we knew after today we would have accomplished one of our biggest goals – graduating from high school. A moment that seemed years away when we were freshmen but suddenly became all that we could think about the minute our senior year began. Getting to this day however was not always easy; there were days when many of us forgot to study for an exam, left the math homework that we worked on the night before for two hours in our lockers, and even forgot our notes at home sitting on our desks (which of course all apply to me, just ask Mr. Trapani about the one time I forgot my notes, an instance he still won’t let me forget to this day). However, even on our darkest days my classmates and I always seemed to pull through and execute the most difficult tasks with grace, and it is this same resilience and determination that will make us all successful at our universities this fall.

When begin college, we will once again find ourselves stepping into the unknown, but there are a few things that I want you all to remember. Graduating today is a big accomplishment but our lives have just begun, in the next four years there are many things that we will experience, that we will see, and that we will do that we might have never thought about before. So always be open – try new things, join clubs, make a difference at your universities. We are all capable of doing as much, we have the skills and the tools, and now it is up to us to apply them. Believe in yourself and in your dreams because no matter what your past looks like, we have all made it this far. There will be times when we find ourselves discouraged but always remember that you can do anything you set your mind to. Never give up or give in because each and every one of us has an array of gifts to offer the world, which many of the teachers, faculty and staff here at Cristo Rey have never let us forget. It is because of their support, teachings, and kind words that we stand here today. With that being said, I want to say thank you – thank you for making yourself available whenever we needed you, thank you for getting to know us both as students and as individuals, and thank you most importantly for believing in us and never letting us give up on ourselves, no matter how much we complained. It’s hard to imagine attending classes next year and not seeing Mrs. Wagner in the front of the room making a new sound effect. It’s hard to imagine not walking into Ms. Searby’s room in the morning and receiving my daily insult. It’s hard to imagine not singing along to “I Want Candy” with Ms. Enrique right before Thanksgiving break, swapping music with Ms. Brito, giving Fr. Colombo my daily hug, sharing laughs with Mrs. Vargas, and even walking into Mr. Trapani or Ms. Sweeney’s room just to talk. Graduating today and leaving them behind is bittersweet; however, I am more confident in my abilities because of each and every one of them and I am truly glad that I was able to have such amazing people in my life. I would also like to thank our principal, Fr. Medina, Ms. Degnan, Ms. Theo, Ms. Williams and every other faculty member and teacher that my classmates and I have had the opportunity to know and be students of. You too, were a major part in our success and I want to thank you for all the hard work that you put towards the class of 2012.

Our teachers and faculty could not have done such an amazing job, however, without our parents. I would like to take a moment to acknowledge all of the mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters and families of the graduating class of 2012. We have all made it to this point because of your support, your encouragement, and your love. Thank you for standing by our sides when times got tough and for being our cheerleaders these past four years. I would especially like to thank my own parents, Claude Edouard and Ermite Thelusma. As I stand up here today I hope that in some way I have made you two proud. Thank you for always supporting me, believing in me and never letting me give up on myself. It is because of you that I have made it this far and from the bottom of my heart I want to say thank you and I love you both. I would also like to thank my brother and sister who have come here today to share this special moment with me, and thank my aunts, uncles and cousins for being my rock throughout high school.

Before I forget, I would like to take a moment to thank all of the Corporate Work Study Sponsors who have stuck with us for the past four years. Thank you for your guidance, your patience, and for the skills you have helped us develop within these years. I would especially like to thank my supervisors and coworkers at the New England Aquarium, Ironshore, and Greater Media. You have all made my experiences meaningful and ones that I will never forget.

Finally, I would like to say thank you to my fellow classmates. These past four years have been an amazing experience and they are years that I would never take back. Each and every one of you has taught me something that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. There are a million things that I will miss but I will especially miss the morning walks to school when we were in Cambridge, the after school trips to Verna’s just to buy a donut, moving into our new school and trading in Verna’s for McKenna’s and donuts for iced coffees, breakfast sandwiches and dozens of plates of cheesy fries. I’ll even miss hearing Irvin’s incredibly loud voice in the hallways and the cyper sessions in the cafeteria. The laughs shared, the hugs given, and the moments spent I will always be held near and dear to my heart. This journey has been an incredible one and I hope that it meant as much to you as it did to me. We may be going our separate ways but I am always a text, a phone call or a Facebook message away if you ever need me. I wish you all the best and most importantly CONGRATULATIONS, WE MADE IT!

President’s Graduation Speech

On behalf of our faculty and staff, I am pleased to welcome our parents, grandparents, Trustees, alumni, corporate sponsors, and benefactors to the Commencement Exercises for the Cristo Rey Boston High School Class of 2012.

We are proud of each of you, and we are grateful to everyone who made it possible for you to receive an extraordinarily unique, Catholic college preparatory education.
Each of you is special to us.  You were the class that helped move this school from Cambridge to Boston.  You had faith in our mission, and we are forever grateful.

You jumped into a new curriculum that began as an experiment in your freshman year, you succeeded beyond our expectations, and along the way you created a culture that has profoundly changed teaching and learning at our school. Your success – 100% of you on your way to college this fall – has helped Cristo Rey Boston High School rise to the top ranks of schools in our great city.

As you go into the world, I want to leave you with three thoughts.  First, be the thinker we taught you to be.  Recall the times when you thought one way about the world, and then a book, a discussion in class, or a scripture reading made you think differently.  As graduates of this school, you have the capacity to separate bias from fact, to look critically at the world around you, and to find solutions to problems and challenges that others may not even see.

Secondly, we want you to follow your passion.  If at some point in life, you find yourself doing a job or in a career where you continuously look forward to the end of the day or the end of the week or the end of the job, then chances are you are doing the wrong thing.  We have trained you to do what God calls you to do.  We won’t be happy if you visit us years from now and simply say that I’m a doctor or a lawyer or an accountant. We’ll be happy if you are truly happy.

Finally, the world you enter will change, you will change, and you must be prepared to move in directions you have yet to imagine.  You are all on a linear path towards a college degree, and we do not want you to deviate from it.  One day, however, you may feel a call to move into something entirely different, something for which you have not studied or prepared, but something you are called to do.  And, that’s a good thing.  Fr. Medina was a civil engineer who answered a call to the priesthood and became an educator.  I was a lawyer who transitioned into education.  The work we do was not envisioned by those who taught us years ago, but the training we received prepared us for our life’s work.

My friends you have made a difference in the classroom, in the workplace, and in the community. Your teachers, our staff, and I know how great you are, and soon the world will know the same.

Congratulations Class of 2012.  We are proud of each of you, and we are excited to see the new world you will help to create.

Jeff Thielman
President