by Miranda Eby | Jan 16, 2026 | Campus Ministry, School News
During Flex time on Tuesday, January 13, 2026, students gathered for a Lectio Divina prayer session led by Vincent, CRSM Class of 2028. Lectio Divina, Latin for “sacred reading,” is an ancient way of reading and praying with Scripture, inviting God’s word to speak to us and to rest quietly in our hearts. Vincent began hosting these weekly Tuesday sessions after a meaningful experience at the Viatorian Youth Congress this past summer.
Reflecting on his motivation, Vincent shared that he organized the gatherings because of his “powerful experience at the Viatorian Youth Congress during the summer and wanted to share and expand [his] faith with the greater CRSM community.” Jim Dippold, Director of Campus Ministry, said, “I’m grateful for Vincent’s leadership and the example he gives to others, students and staff — his genuine desire to grow in his own faith and to invite others into prayer helps to make God’s presence more visible in our community.”
According to Mr. Dippold, Vincent has been leading Lectio Divina during the Flex period for the past few months. Attendance has remained small but consistent, bringing together students from multiple grade levels along with staff members, including Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Kendall. This student-led initiative highlights the impact of retreat experiences and the leadership students bring to the spiritual life of the CRSM community.
by Miranda Eby | Jan 16, 2026 | Development, School News
For nearly seven years, Susan Felitto has been a dedicated volunteer at Cristo Rey St. Martin, supporting students through the college application process and serving on the Event Planning Committee. What began as working directly with students quickly grew into a deep connection to the school’s mission and culture.
Susan started volunteering in college counseling in 2019. “This has been my seventh year of the college counseling process,” she shared. “First, it really started with the students, but then it just kind of transcended everything, just being at Cristo Rey and being in that environment.” Wanting to do more, she later joined the Event Planning Committee, where she has volunteered for the past three years.
Susan says the school’s culture is what keeps her coming back. “From the minute I met one of the students for the first time, there was just something so special about the dynamic and the culture,” she said. “You could really feel it, and it made for such a rewarding experience.” She describes CRSM as collaborative, faith-based, and committed to excellence across students, staff, and volunteers alike.
Some of Susan’s most meaningful moments come from working with students on their college essays. “Their willingness to be completely open and vulnerable, sharing their personal stories, really struck me,” she shared. “When we finished their essay, and they felt so proud of it, it honestly gave me the chills.”
Through her work on the Event Planning Committee, Susan has also seen the impact of CRSM on a larger scale. Attending her first Elevate event was especially powerful. “Watching the story unfold made me very emotional,” she said. “To know I was even a small part of something that brings so much pride and joy was incredible.” Seeing the school’s strong outcomes has only deepened her commitment. “The numbers back it up,” she added. “Admissions, retention, college acceptance, it is so wonderful to see.”
Susan often brings friends and family to CRSM events and says the enthusiasm is contagious. “People quickly say, How could you not support this?” she shared. “It is such a great story.”
Reflecting on her experience, Susan shared, “In a time when so many things can make you feel hopeless, this really lifts me up. It is so empowering to be a part of.”
We are grateful for Susan’s continued dedication and the impact she has on our students and community.
by Miranda Eby | Jan 16, 2026 | Alumni Spotlight, School News
Alondra Murillo, a Cristo Rey St. Martin Class of 2018 graduate, is a powerful example of how the Corporate Work Study Program can shape long-term success and come full circle. Now a Senior HR Operations Specialist at AbbVie, Alondra is also supervising a current CRSM student intern in the same department where she once worked as a student.
After graduating from CRSM, Alondra balanced full-time work with college, earning her bachelor’s degree in HR Management from UIC and later a Master’s in Business Administration from Dominican University. For the majority of her undergraduate career, she continued working at AbbVie, transitioning from a student worker to an intern and finally to a full-time employee.
This year marks the first time in five years that Alondra’s team has hosted a Cristo Rey student. Drawing from her own experience, she is intentional about creating a supportive environment.
“I know coming in as a student, it’s very frightening because your grade depends on it and your tuition depends on it. I really try to take that pressure off.”
Reflecting on CWSP’s impact, Alondra credits the program with opening doors she had not originally planned to pursue.
“When I realized I didn’t want to be pre-med anymore, I had options, and the corporate world was one of them because of the Corporate Work Study Program.”
Now stepping into a leadership role, Alondra sees supervising a student as a way to give back.
“I’m hopeful I can give back by mentoring somebody and helping them grow into wherever they’re meant to be.”
Alondra’s journey highlights the lasting impact of Cristo Rey’s Corporate Work Study Program and the power of alumni who return to support the next generation.
by Miranda Eby | Jan 16, 2026 | Academic, School News
Cristo Rey St. Martin College Prep is proud to announce that we have earned Platinum recognition on the 2025 AP School Honor Roll, the highest level of distinction awarded by the College Board, for the third consecutive year.
Of the 15,887 eligible schools nationwide, only 7% achieved Platinum status. This recognition honors schools that are expanding access to Advanced Placement coursework while ensuring strong student outcomes.
Earning Platinum distinction reflects excellence across three key areas:
-
College Culture: Students taking and succeeding in AP courses
-
College Credit: Students earning qualifying AP exam scores
-
College Optimization: Students taking multiple AP exams to build strong college readiness
The Class of 2025 exceeded the College Board’s Platinum benchmarks across every metric, underscoring the hard work of our students, the dedication of our educators, and the strength of our broader school community.
Cristo Rey St. Martin is honored to be in excellent company among Illinois schools earning Platinum recognition, including Regina Dominican High School, Saint Ignatius College Prep, Lane Technical College Prep, Walter Payton College Preparatory High School, Whitney M. Young Magnet High School, DePaul College Prep, Fenwick High School, Jones College Preparatory, Northside College Preparatory, and other distinguished college-preparatory institutions across the state.
This achievement affirms our mission to prepare students for success in college and beyond.
May we seek “ever to excel” in all we do.
by Miranda Eby | Dec 19, 2025 | President’s Pen
“Joy to the world! The Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And heaven and nature sing…”
Friday afternoon, and the remaining few students have completed the last of their semester exams. The school is empty, and I’m walking past our chapel, where a small Nativity scene is set up at the entrance. Above it on the wall are posters our students made weeks ago when ICE’s presence in Waukegan was peaking, and several neighbors and even parents of our students were seized. They offer gospel-based messages about loving our neighbors and welcoming those who are different. We didn’t actually plan to have the posters and Nativity together, but the coincidence is certainly a good representation of who we are as a school community.
In fact, we hadn’t planned on a Nativity at all this year until one of our maintenance team members brought in a handmade stable with figures of the Holy Family and the Magi. Clearly, a labor of love that he wanted to share with others. What began as a simple and sparsely populated panorama of Christ’s birth began growing over the last couple of weeks as students started supplementing the basic set with extra animals, more greenery, paper flowers, a star, and some miniature Christmas decorations. Even a snowman, Santa Claus, and some cartoon characters came to pay homage to baby Jesus at the center of it all.
As you can imagine, the sizes of many of the animals and other figures vary – some disproportionately big or small compared to the core figurines, but all added with care and good intent, using what was available, even if not a perfect fit. The result is a slightly edgy but highly inclusive and respectful creche.
It’s a reminder that the birth of Christ is an incredibly radical story. Not just the incomprehensible act of our Creator loving us so much that he chooses to become one of us, but more importantly, that God chooses to be human in the most humble and vulnerable way possible. Look at the central characters: Joseph, a refugee and not the biological father of the baby; Mary, the pregnant teenager repeatedly turned away by innkeepers; the Magi, distant foreigners of a different faith; nomad shepherds, some of the poorest and roughest of society; and, of course, baby Jesus, born under Roman occupation whose first bed was a feeding trough in an unheated shed. These are not the powerful or privileged, they are not Roman citizens or the respected of society. They are the marginalized, the rejected, the outcasts. Christmas slaps us upside our heads and proclaims that our God is a God of the humble, a God of the poor, a God who turns the world upside down with priorities and values that are very different from our human and societal expectations. Christmas demands that if we truly believe in the Christ story, then each of us is called to greater inclusivity and accompaniment.
Although there are examples everywhere, a Catholic church in Massachusetts recently received lots of media coverage and resulting mixed responses to their Nativity scene when parishioners added signage about ICE and the current cruelty, violence, and indignities our government is inflicting on immigrants (and even American citizens they think look like immigrants). Their Nativity intentionally connected the present brutality and viciousness in the United States with that ancient, sacred birth, whereas ours just happened that way!
When you consider the actual Christmas story, it’s impossible not to see similarities. The priest at the Massachusetts church said something profound, “[The Nativity scene] is not supposed to be something that you look at and admire. It’s supposed to challenge you, to move you, to help you see things differently, to maybe force some questions that you know need to be answered.”
Christmas should scandalize us out of our comfort zone. The radically inclusive nature of the Christmas story, with its message of embracing the marginalized and displaced, is more important than ever. At a time when so many forces are working to divide us and deny at least some of us our humanity, the Nativity scene should be a reminder that God is found among the poor, the suffering, the excluded, the persecuted, and the oppressed. God sides with the vulnerable and implores us to love them and act for justice on their behalf.
This Christmas, let’s allow God to turn our expectations and our priorities upside down. Let that baby at the center of the Nativity scene lead us to a new way of living, to a new way of looking at the world, where comfort and joy are not what the season brings to us but are what God calls us to bring to those on the margins. This Christmas, let every heart prepare Him room!
¡Viva, Cristo Rey!
