by Miranda Eby | Mar 23, 2024 | Development, School News
There is so much that goes into planning a fundraising event. It takes countless meetings, logistical planning, auction arrangement, caterer sourcing, program drafting, and so much more! Without the help of a talented and dedicated group of volunteers, our Elevate and Founders’ events would not be what they are today. Our Event Planning Committee has had many wonderful volunteers over the years, and all have helped put together beautiful, successful events on all levels.
Our current committee consists of Joanne Eenigenburg, Susan Fellito, Cindy Rourke, and Ann Kendall. All of these women take time out of their busy schedules to help plan these events for Cristo Rey St. Martin. Each gala takes months to plan!
As Susan Fellito says, she and the other members are drawn in by the “contagiously positive environment,” that is CRSM. Susan, and the entire committee have dedicated evenings, mornings, and afternoons to helping ensure the event runs smoothly and wows our audience.
Ann Kendall, a member of the committee since 2013, remarks that it’s “a gift to be a part of something so dynamic and incredible”.
Cristo Rey St. Martin is grateful to have a volunteer Event Planning Committee that is so dedicated and works so hard to ensure each fundraiser is a success. We look forward to our upcoming Founders Dinner celebration, and many more events to come!
by Miranda Eby | Mar 23, 2024 | Alumni Spotlight, School News
From traveling the globe to achieving academic milestones ahead of schedule, Ada Rios’ journey has been full of excitement. Ada is a Cristo Rey St. Martin Alum from the class of 2020. After graduating from CRSM, Ada accepted a full-tuition scholarship to Hope College in Holland, Michigan, and began working right away as an intern for one of our long-term business partners, Abbvie. It was through this internship opportunity and with the skills she developed during her time at CRSM through the Corporate Work Study Program (CWSP), that Ada was able to get a job right out of college, (graduating a semester early), with AbbVie as an Analyst in the Pharmacovigilance & Patient Safety Epidemiology & R&D Quality Assurance department (or PSEQ).
Ada’s parents always pushed her to do the best she could academically. Coupled with her own internal drive to succeed, Ada was able to get what she refers to as “a quality education and a foot in the door through Cristo Rey St. Martin.” Ada is a first generation college student, and seeing the low college graduation rate in the surrounding Waukegan community, Ada knew she wanted to attend Cristo Rey to increase her accessibility to resources and chances of getting to and through college. As Ada’s family always reminded her, “donde hay querer hay poder,” or, “where there is a will there is a way.”
At Hope College Ada was able to study abroad twice! Ada first studied abroad in the Dominican Republic in the city of Santiago. Hope College provided the same scholarships that Ada was already getting on campus, so she figured “why not take the chance to study in a different country.” Then, in 2022, Ada landed another opportunity to study abroad in Madrid, Spain- something that stemmed from her desire to learn more about her mestiza heritage and culture.
In the future Ada aspires to attend law school and eventually become an AbbVie corporate lawyer. Best of luck, Ada! We have no doubt you can achieve whatever you put your mind to!
by Miranda Eby | Mar 23, 2024 | Development, School News
Dating all the way back to 2007, The Gorter Family Foundation has always been a champion of Cristo Rey St. Martin. When we were still known as Saint Martin De Porres High School, Jim Gorter took a bus tour with Addie Morrison, of Lake County Community Foundations, and saw the old campus located on Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. After seeing the crowded hallways and general collapse of the building itself, with the hard-working and driven students inside, Jim became overwhelmed with a feeling that he needed to help out. Thus starting the long-term relationship with the Gorter Family Foundation and Cristo Rey St. Martin.
For the past 17 years The Gorter Family Foundation has been a champion of Cristo Rey St. Martin. When we were still known as Saint Martin De Porres High School, Jim Gorter took a bus tour with Addie Morrison, of Lake County Community Foundations, and saw the old campus located on Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. After seeing the crowded hallways and general collapse of the building itself, with the hard-working and driven students inside, Jim became overwhelmed with a feeling that he needed to help out. Thus starting the long-term relationship with the Gorter Family Foundation and Cristo Rey St. Martin.
The Gorter Family Foundation was founded by James P. Gorter in 1978. In 2006, the Foundation decided to focus its efforts on the Lake County area specifically, in order to provide educational opportunities for families and children of limited economic resources. The Foundation is mainly centered around assisting families in the North Chicago area, one of the areas that Cristo Rey St. Martin also serves. The Gorter Foundation has adopted the motto “Look North”. This is due to the fact that the Lake County area, north of Chicago, is their predominant area of service, and the organization strives to persuade other donors to provide financial assistance in the Lake County area as well.
According to Cheri Richardson, Executive Director of the Gorter Family Foundation, Cristo Rey. St. Martin was one of the first schools that their foundation chose to support back in 2007 when they were just beginning to support the Lake County area. Throughout our journey, the Gorter Family has always “tried to offer as many resources as possible” to us, from their first contribution of learning trailers used as science classrooms at the old campus, to helping fund our Corporate Work Study Program today.
Cheri states, “just the fact that the students have the opportunity to see themselves in a business setting (through the corporate work study program) and learn skills that will help them in their post-graduate and educational careers is amazing.” The Gorter foundation has generously given us support for our educational and Corporate Work Study pursuits over the years, and their leaders like Cheri Richardson profess to be “in awe” of our “school and students themselves”. Cheri states that CRSM is a “shining example of what a high school should be. The building itself is so inviting and beautiful, and the kids just seem like they want to be there!”
Cristo Rey St. Martin is truly grateful for the Gorter Family Foundation and their continued support over the years – from our humble beginnings as St. Martin De Porres with around 160 students, to the thriving college prep high school with 419 students we are today. Without their partnership and shared vision we would not be where we are today – providing a quality education to deserving young men and women who are changing this community!
by Miranda Eby | Mar 23, 2024 | CWSP, School News
First Insurance Funding (A Wintrust Company) has been a Corporate Work Study Partner of CRSM since 2007. Currently, First Insurance employs five Cristo Rey St. Martin students, four in Office Services, and one in the Marketing Department.
Our Corporate Work Study Program (CWSP) coordinators recently sent out a questionnaire to our business partners, asking them what goals they had for their student interns, and how the students will reach those goals. Not expecting a formal plan or goal oriented assignment, Lori Bell from Corporate Work Study was pleased to hear from Blanca Vasquez at First Insurance Funding that she was creating and implementing SMART Goals for her student interns.
Traditionally, SMART Goals are to be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time Sensitive. Each student in Blanca’s Officer Services department was given a specific goal based on something that they previously struggled with or needed to complete for their job. For example, Yahir, a senior at CRSM, was given the goal of: BAI Courses – Individually Productivity Enhancement and Time Management. Following this was the SMART acronym drawn out in steps of when, why, and how to achieve this goal. SMART goals are to be completed by the end of the school year, challenging students to focus their efforts toward improving their work performance. As an extra measure of motivation for our students, Blanca encourages other First Insurance employees to recognize students’ achievements with awards and certificates of recognition to celebrate and reinforce meeting their goals.
In addition to working with our students directly, Blanca takes the time to acclimate the interns to the rest of First Insurance Funding as soon as they begin working there, by featuring each in the company’s newsletter, “First Things First”, sharing their hobbies, favorite movies, and other fun facts about each.
Thank you to Blanca Vasquez and First Insurance Funding for taking these extra steps to help our students thrive and become purposeful professionals!
by Miranda Eby | Mar 18, 2024 | In The News
A Family Reunification event that was held at Cristo Rey St. Martin was featured here in the Chicago Tribune.
