by Miranda Eby | Sep 5, 2024 | President’s Pen
“The whole world is a series of miracles, but we’re so used to them we call them ordinary things.” ~ Hans Christian Andersen
We are back at it! Only a couple weeks into the new school year and the easy rhythms of CRSM are back in swing. There is nothing better than having the school building full again with students and staff. The cafeteria and library are just a little brighter. The hallways are certainly louder. Everything feels fresh and better. The energy is palpable.
We started the year off with an all-school assembly that also marked the 20th anniversary of our school opening its doors to students back in 2004. A momentous occasion to be sure but it really was only a small supplement to the positive vibes being felt in the classrooms.
What drives the positivity of CRSM is simple. We all want to be here. Faculty can work anywhere – they really are that good – but choose to work at CRSM because of co-workers, students, and a supportive administration. Students don’t have to come here but their families make sacrifices so they can.
At CRSM, we care about each other; we look for and support the best in one another. Not in some grand or ostentatious way but in the little things. Helping keep the cafeteria clean, holding the door for a classmate, smiling and greeting a visitor, sharing a joke, helping with homework, telling someone they can do better because you believe in them, asking if someone is okay… these types of occurrences are frequent and widespread. The norm, not the exception. I like to say that at CRSM, we are living out an example of the way the world can be, not the way it is.
At assembly, our Principal shared two quotes from CRSM alumni highlighting that the cooperative spirit we nourish at CRSM has a lasting impact after students leave us. Mauricio is working full time at The Wraparound Center for Waukegan public schools. It is a one-stop location for students, families, and other residents to receive therapeutic support and access to services and resources from community agencies. He described his time with CRSM this way:
“I am forever thankful to be a proud CRSM alumnus. Thank you for all the opportunities that you have been planting and creating for students, long before they need them. That is truly God’s work. I would not be who and where I am without CRSM and its blessed staff who made sure I crossed the finish line and kept me hungry for more after.”
The other quote is from Mayra who currently works for Vital Voices in Washington, DC., a global partnership founded on the simple idea that nations and communities cannot move forward without women’s voices in leadership positions. She was interviewed recently on a podcast called, Empowering Women. At one point, she was asked about her formative high school years, and shared:
“I was already living in the US when I went to high school… I think over 90% [of us] were Latino…it was Catholic School, but I loved, loved my high school, it is the place where I learned and experienced my first community, and I learned what it means to be a member of a community, somewhere where everybody counts… what I am so thankful for that school it allowed me to dream, it allowed me to realize I could do more, that I could have an impact in my community, that I could pursue these paths that otherwise would not feel available to me… “
While we are back at it starting another school year here in Waukegan, it is also incredibly gratifying to know that our students are leaving transformed. And paying that experience forward in their lives and careers. ¡Viva, Cristo Rey!
by Miranda Eby | Sep 3, 2024 | CWSP, School News
Edward (Ed) Whemer, founder of Wintrust Financial, is a long-time supporter of education and preparing students to become purposeful professionals through the Corporate Work Study Program (CWSP). He was a key stakeholder from the very first day when St. Martin de Porres( now Cristo Rey St. Martin) opened its doors in 2004. “I think it’s a wonderful program, and it’s been perpetuated by great leadership and a great model from the Cristo Rey Network,” says Wehmer.
Wintrust Financial was one of our business partners with Lake Forest Bank & Trust hiring a team of students when the school opened. And now, here we are 20 years later with 18 students working at Wintrust Banks throughout northern Lake County. This is due in large part to Ed Wehmer’s strong advocacy for our school and our mission.
This partnership is not just about giving students work experience; it’s about creating pathways for them to achieve their full potential. “I think it’s a great thing to do, and we will keep doing it because it’s important to us and the kids,” he added.
Ed Wehmer’s commitment to CRSM is not only about fulfilling corporate social responsibility. It’s deeply personal. “You have to help whenever you can,” he stated, underscoring a belief that people need a hand up, not a handout. His experience with CRSM has been profoundly rewarding, reinforcing his belief in the power of education and the importance of providing opportunities for young people to succeed.
by Miranda Eby | Sep 3, 2024 | Campus Ministry, School News
From driving our students to their Corporate Work Study (CWS) jobs the year we opened, to helping our current students become leaders of faith, Fr. Corey Brost has been with Cristo Rey St. Martin since its very beginning.
The Viatorians, or The Clerics of St. Viator, are an endorsing community of CRSM and have been since we opened in 2004. Fr. Brost’s Viatorian background dates back to 1987. He first became a Viatorian because he “felt compelled to work with young people and show how their talents can impact those around them. Especially those who have faced systemic injustices.”
This is why, Fr. Brost states, “When it first came up that we would sponsor a Cristo Rey school, I was excited because that was in my wheelhouse. I was an educator already, and wanted to combat the systematic injustice that freezes young people out of catholic education in our country, to promote a change.”
Fr. Corey Brost was amongst the first individuals to support and create CRSM, formerly St. Martin de Porres. Now, he works closely with our students in helping to lead and supervise retreats, leads students to the United States-Mexican border every year for the immersion trip, helps develop our students into leaders of faith in the Viatorian Youth Conference in the summer, and works with the Oportunidas Para Todos students in their fundraising efforts.
When asked what it’s like to work with our students, Fr. Brost states that “it’s life-giving. Whether it’s celebrating mass with the community, or accompanying the students to the border, every time I spend time at CRSM it’s a good day… CRSM is a gift not only to the students but the larger community. I see it in the students who are graduating, and I see it in the community.”
CRSM is blessed to have Fr. Corey Brost and the Viatorian brothers assist our students in campus ministry-related activities as they do. We are thankful for all of the support from the beginning, and looking forward to our future endeavors in working together in faith and justice.
by Miranda Eby | Aug 30, 2024 | Development, School News
Cristo Rey St. Martin College Prep (CRSM) began the celebration for its 20th birthday on August 19 with an all-school assembly, presents for our students and staff, special visits from our board members, and so much more!
This year is extra special for our school and community, as it marks 20 years of academic excellence, faith-based service work, and creating purposeful professionals within the Waukegan and North Chicago areas. CRSM started as St. Martin de Porres High School in 2004 in a small office building in downtown Waukegan. Since then, the school has taken many forms from a CLC hallway, to an old elementary school, to our new state-of-the art campus that was formerly a K-Mart.
Throughout all of the different spaces our students and staff have inhabited, one thing has remained constant: our passion and dedication to this community. The Monday morning assembly on the first day of school began with the usual prayer and announcements from school leadership, followed by a video montage featuring images of our different graduating classes, buildings, and staff throughout the past 20 years. Robert Daily, a founder and original board member of Cristo Rey, was in attendance at this celebration, along with current and former board members.
The assembly concluded with President Preston Kendall leading the entire room in the singing of “Happy Birthday” to CRSM, and the students receiving a special gift on their way to work and class.
This is only the beginning of a year that will be filled with celebratory events for our 20th anniversary, so stay tuned! We look forward to what the next 20 years will bring and to celebrating this milestone with all of you!
by Miranda Eby | Aug 30, 2024 | Alumni Spotlight
Below is a copy of a speech by CRSM Finance Director and CRSM 2010 alum Viridiana Fajardo:
Good morning,
It’s an honor to stand before you today as the Director of Finance and Operations at Cristo Rey St. Martin College Prep, a mother of two, a wife, a student at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern, and the owner of a franchise of Pepe’s Mexican Restaurant. I am also a proud first-generation college student and the oldest of five siblings, all of whom attended CRSM. My journey is a testament to the power of education and how it can transform lives, shape futures, and open doors to opportunities beyond what we might initially imagine.
After graduating from St. Martin de Porres High School in 2010, I embarked on a journey that has taken me through various stages of growth, learning, and achievement. My first step was at Lincoln Tech, where I earned a certificate as a Medical Assistant. It was a practical choice, and it gave me the foundation to start working in the medical field. But I knew that my journey didn’t end there. While working, I continued to pursue my education at the College of Lake County, where I earned my Associate’s degree. This milestone was crucial, as it represented my commitment to continuous learning and personal development.
With my Associate’s degree in hand, I went on to Robert Morris University, where I obtained my Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. This was a pivotal moment in my life, as it opened the door for me to return to Cristo Rey St. Martin, this time as a professional. I started as an Admissions Coordinator, a role that allowed me to connect with students who were in the same place I once was. For seven years, I worked diligently in that department, learning, growing, and contributing to the mission of CRSM.
Education didn’t just change my career; it changed my life. It gave me the skills, the confidence, and the resilience to pursue bigger dreams. After seven years, I was promoted to Director of Finance and Operations, a role I’ve held for the past 2.5 years. In this position, I’ve had the privilege of overseeing the financial health and operational efficiency of the very institution that helped shape my future.
But my journey didn’t stop there. During the pandemic, I became a business owner, launching a franchise of Pepe’s Mexican Restaurant—a venture that taught me as much about perseverance and innovation as any classroom could. And, because education is a lifelong pursuit, I decided to push myself even further by enrolling in the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, where I am currently working toward my MBA, with an expected graduation in 2025.
The impact of education at Cristo Rey St. Martin goes far beyond the classroom. It instills in students a sense of purpose, a drive to succeed, and the belief that no goal is out of reach. My journey from a high school graduate to a director, business owner, MBA student, and balancing it all as a mother and wife, is proof that with education, anything is possible. CRSM didn’t just provide me with an education; it provided me with the foundation for a future filled with endless possibilities.
As we celebrate 20 years of Cristo Rey St. Martin’s mission to empower young people, I am living proof of that empowerment. Education is the key that unlocks doors, the light that guides us through the darkness, and the engine that drives us toward our dreams. I stand here today as a proud example of what CRSM can do for its students, and I am deeply committed to giving back to the institution that gave so much to me and my family.
I cannot wait to see all of you all on this stage one day, telling your story to the future generation of Cristo Rey students to come.
Thank you.
