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!