by admin | Oct 29, 2021 | Alumni Spotlight
Marathoner. DePaul University graduate student. Jesuit Volunteer Corps immigration law advocate. Political science graduate Carthage College. Explorer of 12 national parks. Intern for former Congressman Bob Dold and Governor Bruce Rauner and CRSM campus ministry volunteer, to name a few of the achieved goals on Dulce Zariñana’s checklist.
And that’s just the last few years.
Now 23, Dulce is a graduate student studying gender and women’s issues on a full-ride scholarship at DePaul University. She’s also a frequent CRSM campus ministry volunteer, loading cars with food through the Northern Illinois Food Bank pop-up distribution, accompanying students to Feed My Starving Children and helping at the freshman and sophomore retreat.
“This school changed my life,” says Dulce. “I want to give back.”
Recently Dulce added “marathoner,” to her title, completing the Chicago Marathon earlier this month.
Five years from now, Dulce envisions herself working in a Mexican border city trying to put behind the decades-long injustices and violence against women.
Post-graduation from Carthage College, in 2020 and the first half of this year, she spent a year of service through the Jesuit Volunteer Corps working at the New Mexico Immigration Law Center in Albuquerque. There, she served on a team that focused on helping undocumented immigrant children who were abused or abandoned by one or both of their parents.
Graduating (a semester early) with a B.A. in Political Science and minors in Spanish and Women’s Gender Studies, Dulce has a special place in her heart for advocating for the rights of Hispanic women and their children. “I’ve seen the injustices firsthand especially during the last year, and I want to work at the United Nations or on one of the borders helping to right those wrongs.”
She’s forever grateful for the springboard CRSM created for myriad opportunities. She’s traveled to Salamanca, Spain to study and to Toronto with the Model United Nations program for its annual conference. During college, Dulce received the Political Science Eric H. Olson and Anna Olson-Thom Scholarship.
“I have one working parent, and paying for college was difficult,” she says.
Dulce also was part of the Women’s Cross Country and Track and Field team, a member of Phi Theta, the Black Student Union, Phi Alpha Delta and Alpha Mu Gamma.
“Political science has broadened my perspective of world politics,” says Dulce. “You learn about things you never thought about and use a lot of critical thinking skills, which I believe is good for the long run.”
Looking ahead, she’s also on a mission to travel to all the national parks in the United States.
“I’m obsessed with national parks and the beauty of nature,” says Dulce.
by admin | Oct 29, 2021 | Academic
It was a tough year in education for everyone. Little in-class time and so many Zoom rooms. But try running a drama club on Chrome books.
The good news: The CRSM thespians are back, 65 students strong — bigger and better than ever. Two afternoons a week, they’re busy rehearsing, directing, building stage sets, designing costumes, and creating a publicity plan for the March 3, 4, 5 and 6, 2022, performance of Dracula, their sixth drama and first on CRSM’s new stage.
“It’s my freedom,” says Sofia, a junior, a member of the stage crew. “The drama club is a safe place where all of us can be creative and express our true selves.”
Alyssa, a sophomore and producer for the play says, “I was super quiet when I was a freshman and never would have put myself out there. But Mrs. P encouraged me and now I am so happy and loving this.”
Amid a tough year, Elizabeth Partenach, English and theater teacher, had a front row seat to the highs and lows of the extraordinary year of schooling in a pandemic. Though those challenges took a toll on many educators, she kept her students motivated and the hope for a vital theatrical troupe alive with her tenacity, charm, and commitment.
Operating from a hybrid schedule of at-home virtual learning and distanced learning in the classroom, she was dogged in her determination not to lose momentum for CRSM’s arts and humanities endeavors. A mom of two, she often had a co-creator at her side, eight-year-old daughter Gloria. Gloria, who was doing her own second grade remote learning, often commuted to CRSM with her mom and became an honorary part of the student body attending gym classes, physics and shadowing her mom. (Pictured above.)
She worked hard to keep her students emotionally connected and engaged in learning.
Partenach is passionate about the potential of theater to transform student’s lives.
“There are some students who were very shy and scared when they were freshman, but the drama club welcomed them into the fold,” she says. “Here they find camaraderie, and great support creating something together. You can physically feel the energy of them growing and discovering their own unique talents and gifts.”
Dracula promises surprises big time. “We said, let’s dream big,” says Partenach, There will be flying bats, trap doors and Dracula in a coffin.
“The play and the club are giving students the chance to express things they might not get to express. It shows them that there is something bigger and that they are valued and celebrated.”
by admin | Sep 30, 2021 | President’s Pen
“The value of life does not depend upon the place we occupy. It depends upon the way we occupy that place.” – Saint Therese of Lisieux
Lately, people have been asking what it is like to be back in full-time classes at CRSM. My response is a single word, “Joyful.” It’s true. It is something more profound than happiness and is rooted in something bigger. When you walk down the halls or stop to chat with students in the cafeteria, there is a strong sense that everyone wants to be here and is ecstatic to finally be back together. Our new spaces certainly enhance being back together – the gym, the student union, and La Mesita de Martin coffee shop. At lunch, these places are teaming with students. The foosball and ping pong tables are constantly in use. La Mesita just started selling juice and snacks. (Faculty and staff are eager for the coffee equipment to arrive but even La Mesita can’t escape supply chain issues from the pandemic.) Yesterday, I wandered into the gym. There was a pick-up basketball game in one corner, a circle of students juggling a soccer ball in another, some others practicing volleyball digs and passes, and still others hanging out on the bleachers doing homework or talking with friends. If not for the masks, it was almost an archetypal pre-COVID high school moment – except, of course, CRSM never had a gym or any of these spaces before the pandemic. The fact that these scenes are now unfolding daily at CRSM is truly a gift! For so many years we did without such universal high school locales. Now that we have them, our students certainly aren’t taking them for granted.
The new space is truly a blessing and even more important now because of the deliberately gradual return-to-work timetables many of our business partners in the Corporate Work Study Program are implementing. In the program, four students job-share a full-time position at professional workplaces so, typically, 25% of our student body is out working every day. With some CWSP jobs still working remotely and others delaying their re-openings, we currently have thirty more students in the building each day than planned. Even with the new build-out, our 400-student campus was designed with the idea there would only be 300 students here on any given day. But, we are accustomed to making the best with what we have and we have so much more space than ever before! Since it is not yet consecrated, our chapel is temporarily serving as the students’ office for remote work. Having them here with us for their workday rather than staying home is a vast improvement because here they have reliable Wi-Fi, can eat lunch with their peers, and can access our own work-study staffers for any questions or issues that may arise when their supervisors are not available.
The classrooms are full, we are back to having lunches prepared on-site instead of bringing in pre-packaged fare. Faculty have returned to making “learning walks” with our Principal and Assistant Principal – visiting one another’s classes and sharing observations. There’s a welcome return to increased informal communication with one another in the hallways; it all seems so much more efficient… and fun. We may not see each other’s full facial expressions but at least we can look one another in the eye and see eyes smiling back. It feels like progress, like we are getting back into our proper orbit.
To give you an idea just how important it is to be back together, consider our September progress report. Each year at mid-month, we track the number of failures for all classes. We have four hundred students and each student takes seven classes. In 2019, before the pandemic hit, we had 90 failures out of a possible 2,800. In 2020, at the height of quarantine, we experienced 196 failures. This year, back to full-time school, we have 57 failures – fewer than before COVID! This speaks volumes about how much our students and teachers missed one another – everyone is working hard and the results show it. Old lyrics say, “You don’t know what you’ve got until you lose it.” I would add, “When you find it again, you value it more than ever.”
Which brings me back to the quote from Therese of Lisieux, The Little Flower. The only value a place possesses comes from what transpires between and among the people who occupy it. Cristo Rey St. Martin isn’t a building, it’s a community. What makes CRSM so special and effective is our culture. We respect and care for one another and that is expressed most fully when we are physically together. In 1 John, it is written, “No one has ever seen God. But if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is made complete in us.” The key word is “us.” You cannot love alone; it’s a team sport. Love reaches its fullest expression in us… and “us” begins by being together. Thank you for all you do for CRSM!
by admin | Sep 29, 2021 | Academic
More than 50 admissions counselors from colleges and universities filled the chapel and conference rooms, at Cristo Rey St. Martin Sept. 24, 2021, to help students decide their next steps after high school.
The third annual college fair was organized by the college counseling department and was open to all CRSM juniors and seniors and their parents. The event gave students and parents an opportunity to speak directly with college representatives and learn more about programs, financial aid, and school culture.
CRSM senior Ashley, plans to study veterinary medicine and was able to narrow her choice of schools after speaking with college representatives at the college fair. She’s got her sight set on The University of Wisconsin/Madison, Lawrence University and Augustana College, her top three picks.
“I loved it,” says Ashley, who also is a College Bound Opportunity Scholar, works at the student-run La Mesita De Martin coffee shop and works weekends and after school at Starbucks. “It was amazing, and the reps were so happy to talk to us. I am passionate about working as a vet to help animals who have been abandoned and are in poor health become healthy again. I’m looking for a school that really cares about students, has diversity, and will offer me the best opportunity. It all just clicked for me and now I know where I want to be.”
The 50 colleges and universities included: Arrupe College of Loyola, Xavier, DePaul Marquette, Lawrence and National Louis universities, along with the College of the Holy Cross, Lake Forest College, Davidson College in North Carolina and more.
Last year, in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, CRSM was unable to hold the college fair, so this year’s event is even more significant, according to CRSM’s college counselors, Sharon Holdvogt and Lori Felix. “We’ve very excited to bring back this opportunity to our students again,” they both agreed. “We strongly believe that college changes the trajectory for our students and so we do everything we can to educate them, and their parents, about what that experience will be like. This was a great way to rejuvenate the excitement about the college experience.”
CRSM college counselors have been receiving very positive feedback from the college reps who met with students. “The fair was an awesome experience, and the students were unbelievably engaged and asked some incredible questions,” says Mike Andelbradt, Assistant Director of Enrollment, John Carroll University. “We hope to have some of them coming our way here outside of Cleveland, Ohio.”
Margaret Ford, an admissions counselor at Marian University says she was “very impressed,” with CRSM students.
“You have a very diverse group of students here and put a lot of emphasis on academics, culture and faith, which are also the core values of Marian,” she says.
Maira Rodriguez, Associate Director of Admissions at Augustana College says: “The students here are incredible. They’re energized and know what questions to ask.”
Since the fair, Holdvogt says she’s been approached by students who say they’ve added new schools to their list and are eager to make in-person visits. CRSM has distributed gas cards to students so that they can make treks to college campuses with their parents.
For more information on college counseling at CRSM, contact: Sharon Holdvogt, College Counselor
sholdvogt@cristoreystmartin.org or Lori Felix, College Counselor lorifelix@cristoreystmartin.org.
by admin | Aug 30, 2021 | CWSP
It is no small feat, the business of keeping 400 student-workers on-the-job because many corporations are still working remotely and cannot have students come in for internships. But, through pivoting, innovating and firm resolve; 94% of students have been placed in jobs for the 2021-22 school year.
“This is a huge testament to the great work our corporate work study program team has done,” says Dr. Michael Odiotti, principal. The ranks of working students are up 40 percent from last year when the pandemic walloped the workforce.
“Pivoting and meticulous protocols were put in action from the earliest days of the pandemic,” says Brian Weinberg, Director of the Corporate Work Study. “The program continues to adapt, innovate and meet the needs of our partners and prepare our students to be flexible, agile and experience meaningful work.”
Many of the loyal standby companies, Abbott, AbbVie and Discover Financial Services, are on board again this year, along with a host of non-profits, arts centers and elementary schools who are providing jobs for the students. These include: The American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities. (AAAASF), the Evanston Arts Center and the Ragdale Foundation.
In an effort to provide onsite support to students who are working remotely, CRSM has transformed its chapel into a corporate board room of sorts with about 30 students checking in daily for their nine-to-five offsite work experience. More students are scattered in conference rooms and any available space throughout the Waukegan school.
Discover came to the school to train the more than 20 students who work with them on how to work remotely and gave them all company laptops.
“We adapted to provide a professional environment for students to do their jobs knowing from last year about that the challenges of working from home, the distractions and the limited WIFI,” says Weinberg.
Over the summer, a handful of employers including Abbott, AbbVie, Baxter International Inc., Hollister Co., Snap-on Credit, First Midwest Bank. ABIS and ITW employed 45 students full-time.
Through the Corporate Work Study Program, CRSM and Cristo Rey schools around the country operate on a unique model in which students receive a college-preparatory education and spend five, eight-hour days a month working at local corporations earning over 40 percent of their tuition. The internships take students out of their comfort zones, build social capital and experience interacting with adults in a professional work environment..
For more information on becoming a job partner with Cristo Rey St. Martin contact Brian Weinberg at: (o) 224-219-9724 (m) 847-769 -1751 BrianWeinberg@cristoreystmartin.org.
