by Miranda Eby | Apr 30, 2024 | Campus Ministry, School News
Our story with the Clerics of St. Viator goes back to the beginning days of Cristo Rey St. Martin in 2004. They consistently send their members, the Viatorians, to help out with our Campus Ministry affiliated activities such as Northern Illinois Food Bank Distributions, other volunteer experiences such as St. Annie’s Soup Kitchen, and our retreats that each class participates in throughout the school year.
Brother Peter Lamick of the Clerics of St. Viator has volunteered with CRSM since 2014. He is currently working as the Vocation Director of the Viatorians. Br. Peter, CSV first started by assisting with the Freshman spiritual retreats. He now attends all CRSM retreats.
“Being with CRSM students, faculty, and staff is always a wonderful experience,” says Br. Peter.
Not only do the Br. Peter and the other Viatorians assist with community service opportunities at Cristo Rey St. Martin, but they also help coordinate, give sermons in, and attend our school-wide masses here on campus throughout the year.
Jim Dippold, CRSM Director of Campus Ministry, works very closely with the Viatorians for retreats, masses, and other service projects. “The Viatorians are an essential part of who we are at CRSM. They have a significant impact on our Catholic identity – encouraging us to live as a vibrant faith community that prays together and puts our faith into action by working for justice and social change,” says Jim.
Jim, who has known Br. Peter since he began in 2014, says that “it’s always wonderful to have Brother Peter with our students… We appreciate his generous commitment to the school.”
The CRSM community highly appreciates the assistance we receive from the Viatorians year after year, and is greatly appreciative to have dedicated members of the group like Br. Peter come to help out directly with the students.
by Miranda Eby | Apr 30, 2024 | Development, School News
Here at Cristo Rey St. Martin, we refer to our volunteers as “Angels Among Us”, because this is truly the case. Our volunteers help out in almost every aspect of our school from our Corporate Work Study Program to our Academics and Admissions events. That is why we as a CRSM community want to take as many opportunities as possible to recognize the hard work and dedication. On April 5, 2024 we hosted a Volunteer Appreciation breakfast in our Pavilion Entrance way to thank our volunteers for their selfless service over the years.
Volunteers of all departments were invited to join us for coffee and bagels, and talk about their times volunteering at CRSM. Some of the departments represented were Corporate Work Study, Development, Academics and Admissions, School and College Counseling, and General Support.
While serving them coffee and bagels doesn’t even begin to represent our gratitude to our volunteers, we are glad to have had the opportunity to give them this recognition at the event and in our Friday morning assembly that day.
Thank you to our volunteers new and old, you are a light in our community!
by Miranda Eby | Apr 30, 2024 | Development, School News
On Saturday, April 27, Cristo Rey St. Martin truly Roared Into Our 20th year. Our annual Founders’ Dinner was a huge success from every aspect. We had a wonderful planning committee that decorated the space, dedicated AV and technical operators that made sure our videos and presentations ran smoothly, caterers and bartenders that served delicious food and drinks, fantastic student and staff volunteers that dedicated their evenings to help run the event, and of course our amazingly generous benefactors, all of whom made the night one to remember. With the gracious support of over 170 guests in attendance, the Founders’ celebration brought in over $690,000! Not only is this the second highest revenue in event history at the school, but more importantly allows the deserving young men and women of CRSM to get a quality education that sets them up for success in college and beyond.
The evening program featured Terry Brady, retired CEO and President of Underwriters Laboratories (one of our long-standing business partners) as the keynote speaker. His poignant speech about his own humble beginnings was inspirational and powerful to all those in attendance.
Cristo Rey St. Martin wants to thank everyone who had a part in making this extraordinary evening possible. It is because of you we are able to continue our mission and serve this hard-working community now and for many years to come. Here’s to 20 years!
by Miranda Eby | Apr 2, 2024 | President’s Pen
Happy Easter! Here in the Northern Hemisphere, we are so lucky that the Paschal season corresponds with Spring – both times of expectation, hope, and joy. It always amazes me how quickly Spring takes root, literally. One day, you’re walking along a wooded trail with bare branches and a forest floor of old wet leaves; the next, as if overnight, there are buds on the trees and various green shoots coming up through the plant litter. Rightfully so, we associate growth, renewal, and new life with both Spring and Easter.
Part of Easter came a little early to CRSM with visits by a few of our alumni. One of the realities of being an educator is that you often do not get to see the longer-term results of all your efforts on behalf of your students. In high school, especially, the four years we have with each student fly by. While we see some amazing transformations of students from being timid 9th graders fresh out of junior high to young adults walking across the stage to get their diploma, we do not often get a glimpse of what happens after they leave us. Alumni gatherings are always gratifying but, truth be told, we usually only reconnect with a fraction of our alumni at those events. Thank goodness for social media where we can check up on some more of our former students to see how they are progressing beyond CRSM, into college and careers.
So, having alumni on campus is incredibly rewarding because we get to see our great expectations for students coming to fruition. A CRSM senior once told a group of our freshmen, “Our teachers see things in us that we often do not yet see in ourselves.” We care deeply for our students and want them to follow their dreams. We also have faith that, in part because of their experience with us, our graduates will become persons who use their talents throughout their lives to better the lives of others.
Our Corporate Work Study Program (CWSP) joined forces with our Development Office to host monthly “Lunch & Learn” sessions where we bring in Alumni in certain professions to talk with students about the path they took to get there: how they became interested, what courses they took, how they applied for their first job, and any subsequent moves they made in their careers. Two alumni working in the justice system visited just before Easter break. Armando (CRSM ’18) serves as a police officer in Pleasant Prairie, WI and Melissa (CRSM ’11) works as a Victim Specialist in the Gun Violence Prevention Initiative at the Lake County (IL) State’s Attorney’s Office. It was standing room only when they spoke.
Armando had been interested in law enforcement since grade school. He joined the Gurnee Explorers Program while at CRSM. After first starting a Nursing degree at Dominican University, he transferred to North Park to receive his Criminology degree and enter a career in policing. Armando came in full uniform and body armor since he was headed directly to work after his talk. He was able to stay a little while after the event, visiting with former teachers until his shift began. He cut quite the impressive figure in our cafeteria that day.
Melissa received her bachelor’s in criminal justice with minors in Sociology and Women’s Gender Studies from Concordia in 2015. After working as a Juvenal Counselor at A Safe Place where, not coincidentally, she worked as a CRSM student. She credits her work-study experience with influencing her career choice. From A Safe Place, she joined the State’s Attorney’s Office staff. She also shared that another job she held as a student in the CWSP was as a teacher’s assistant at Our Lady of Humility school where her own daughter now attends classes.
Another of our early Easter surprises came when CRSM hosted a public meeting by US Rep. Brad Schneider announcing the re-activation of a special visa program to reunite family members unable to see one another for many years due to immigration restrictions. The program was originally begun by US Sen. Mark Kirk who was also in attendance for the announcement. After Schneider and Kirk spoke (Kirk completely in Spanish), a third speaker was introduced. The person responsible for bringing the program back to life was none other than a CRSM alumna. Laura (CRSM ’13) who went on to get her undergraduate and master’s degrees in Engineering from Milwaukee School of Engineering. Laura had family members who benefited from the program previously and decided, while a full-time engineer at a firm in Chicago, that she would dedicate her free time working to resurrect the program so other families could get similar assistance.
Just as Easter calls us to live with joyous hope in the Resurrection – the ultimate example of God’s love for humanity, these alumni visits fuel our commitment to our students and mission. They feed our joy in seeing their dreams (and ours for them) coming true! Happy Easter!
by Miranda Eby | Mar 23, 2024 | Campus Ministry, School News
In 2005, former US Senator Mark Kirk, R-Highland Park of the 10th Congressional District, instated the Abuelitas program. This allowed for Mexican grandparents to visit their children in America, who now had children of their own that the grandparents had not been able to meet due to geographical barriers. This program was recently reintroduced by US Representative Brad Schneider, D-Highland Park.
The program provides short-term tourist visas to these grandparents, and on Sunday, March 10th, Cristo Rey St. Martin was able to host these families as they reunited for the first time after being apart for so long. Originally, it was CRSM alum from the class of 2013, Laura Pizano who reached out on behalf of a club/volunteer organization she belongs to in Waukegan called Club San Jose to have this event at Cristo Rey St. Martin. Since the event aligned with our mission of being people for others, CRSM gladly hosted 16 grandparents and their families for this special occasion.
Our student-run organization, Oportunidades Para Todos (OPT), was involved with the event as well, greeting families and welcoming them to the school, along with physically setting up and cleaning up the event. “This event overall has been extremely heartwarming”, says one OPT member. “When I spoke with the families here, it felt like I was speaking to my own family.”
Both Mark Kirk and Brad Schneider were asked to give speeches and speak with the families on behalf of the Abuelitas program. “It’s great that our representatives showed up,” adds another OPT member, “it shows how close they are to the people.” Laura Pizano, an alum of CRSM, also spoke on behalf of Club San Jose.
Club San Jose and Laura Pizano are continuing to find grandparents to participate in the program. The club members travel to and from Mexico with the Abuelitas. Cristo Rey St. Martin is proud to have an alumna dedicated to this cause, and to provide the space for this very special meeting of multi-generational family members. We hope to see more reunifications in the future.
