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.
by Miranda Eby | Aug 30, 2024 | Academic, School News
With a 93% teacher retention rate, Cristo Rey St. Martin ranks number one in all of the Cristo Rey Network for this metric. Many members of our faculty and staff have remained throughout the changes in buildings, branding, leadership, and many other elements in the past 20 years. Patricia (Pati) Ferrer has been a Spanish teacher at CRSM since 2006, just two years after the school opened; the school was still called St. Martin de Porres at this point. “I remember the challenges we faced,” Ferrer recalls, “but at the moment, we just knew we would figure it out- whether it was the neighborhood, the building, or the academic challenges. And we did (figure it out).”
Pati began her career the year the school moved into the former St. Joseph’s Parish building on Martin Luther King Jr. Ave in Waukegan. “We began classes a month later than usual because we spent significant time preparing the space, and all classes for our students. We cleaned and painted classrooms, sourced tables and chairs, and selected textbooks from donated books.”
During this time of setting up the school for students, Pati Ferrer recalls that “the initial month was truly unique; it was during this time that the strong sense of community, which CRSM is known for, began to form.” Community support and engagement were what the school was known for then and to this day.
Looking forward to how far we have come today at CRSM, Ferrer remarks on how “over the past 18 years, my colleagues and all my coworkers have been one of the greatest aspects of working at CRSM… [they] have become my chosen family, and I am incredibly proud of that.”
Teachers like Patricia Ferrer, who have weathered the school’s many changes, exemplify the commitment that has defined CRSM’s community for nearly two decades. Their steadfastness not only reflects the strength of the school’s mission but also emphasizes the deep bonds that have turned colleagues and students into family. As CRSM looks to the future, this sense of community will continue to be its cornerstone.
by Miranda Eby | Aug 26, 2024 | In The News
Click here to read The North Shore Weekend article about our eight CRSM students who went on the July 2024 summer trip to Camp Owakonze in Ontario, Canada!
