by admin | Feb 28, 2022 | Alumni Spotlight
Sebastian Rodriguez was 14 years old when he first decided he wanted to combine his passion for scientific knowledge, with his commitment for helping community members in Waukegan and North Chicago improve and safeguard the environment and their health. “I always look for something I can improve upon,” says the 24-year-old CRSM Class of ’19 graduate who now works nine minutes away from campus as an Environmental Health Safety Specialist at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science.
“Good enough,” is not enough has been the spirited approach that has been Sebastian’s hallmark since his freshman year at CRSM. That’s when he fell in love with science and “the betterment of my community.” He volunteered for CRSM-sponsored food and clothing drives, alongside his classmates (and often with his mother Edith at his side.) At his work-study job at EMCO Chemical Distributors. he spent days alongside the chemists in the lab to create more efficient technologies to protect the environment.
“There is no question that the teachings of Dr. Odiotti and everyone at Cristo Rey, and my mom, taught me never to forget the community in your hometown and to come back and make a change,” says Sebastian. “The words ‘be a person for others,’ are the soundtrack that always play in my mind.”
Graduating in 2019 with a double bachelor’s degree in public health and environmental science from Johns Hopkins University, he has spent the last three years traversing the country from Texas to Montana, Washington DC and NYC in a myriad of roles supporting research and action to help ensure healthy environments. He’s been a park ranger at Lake Roland Park in Baltimore, Maryland, an air-quality inspector, and an environmental technician before landing his current role specializing in radiation safety at Rosalind. For the last two years, he’s been part of a five-person SWAT team that monitors, controls, and reduces radiation exposure in the anatomy laboratory and other learning centers throughout the medical teaching university.
Sebastian has put his drive and determination for public health and safety to good use.
When he’s not at work, he’s a board member for the North Chicago Public Library and a volunteer at the North Chicago School District. He works part-time at Feed My Starving Children in Libertyville and was a seasonal “brick specialist” at the LEGO® store in Gurnee. The intricately detailed, 3,036-piece Treehouse and a 4,000-plus piece cityscape, along the hard hat with the sticker logos marking his portfolio of work experiences on the bookshelf behind his desk at his first-floor office at Rosalind honor his dedication to innovating and building big dreams. The Johns Hopkins license plate cover on his navy-blue Toyota Scion speaks volumes about his mantra that has carried Sebastian on his journey: “if you put your mind to something and work hard, you can make it happen.”
Lessons he’d like to share with CRSM students: “Recognize and understand there are different ways to find success. Be okay with adapting and realize that adaption doesn’t mean you are compromising. Always stay focused on your end goal.”
by admin | Nov 26, 2021 | Alumni Spotlight
“Open up and strive to learn more about yourself as a person. Raise your hand more and grab the opportunities that are being given to you.” These are the words of wisdom, Mayra Tenorio, 28, Class of 2011 alumna wants students at Cristo Rey St. Martin to hold close to their hearts as they pursue their passions and build their futures.
“I had never expected much for myself, and college just seemed like one of those unreachable dreams,” says Mayra, who at 11-years-old moved to Beach Park from Mexico with her mom and younger sister.
But as a high school student at CRSM, Mayra remembers feeling inspired and supported by teachers and administrators to contemplate life from a go-get-‘me perspective, find herself and flourish. Her CRSM mentors promised the passion she felt to help immigrants, and especially exploited women, could transform the course of her life and her words and work would someday move and motivate the people around her.
Jumping into Action
During the last 11 years, Mayra has traveled to more than 10 countries across the globe to do exactly that. Most recently, Mayra has implemented leadership programs in Seoul, South Korea, serving as cross-cultural coordinator with the Asia Foundation and supporting a global leadership program for women through the Asian Center for Women’s Studies at Ewha Womans University. She’s chronicled women’s survival stories in the Dominican Republic, Canada, Vietnam, Peru and Argentina, exploring how indigenous women in Guatemala mobilized and developed mental health and community practices to resist gendered violence.
Throughout the years, in between her journeys, Mayra returned to Cristo Rey several years ago and co-led two series of leadership workshops for female students. She worked closely with students to facilitate Know Your Rights workshops for undocumented families and chaperoned an exchange trip to South Dakota that brought together the historical struggles of Latinx and Lakota students.
Mayra’s journey underscores the capacity of young people to grab life by the horns and make bold and courageous moves to widen the world of possibilities for themselves.
Bringing Light to the World
From an early age, Mayra has been interested in women’s issues. As she grew into adolescence and early adulthood, she became more aware of and concerned with issues of marginalization and the violence experienced by so many women. She’s always been inspired by her mom, Irma, who works as a housekeeper at Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Zion and raised Mayra and her sister on her own, despite great odds. “It was hard for my mom when we moved here and she has had to make a lot of sacrifices, but she heard about St. Martin and knew this was the place for her little girl to go and be the first in all our family to aim for college,” says Mayra.
That led her to Swarthmore College, where she studied sociology and anthropology After graduation in 2015, she won the prestigious Watson fellowship and became a Gates Cambridge Scholar in 2017, where she completed an MPhil in Multi-Disciplinary Gender Studies at the University of Cambridge and conducted research on indigenous women’s mental health groups in Guatemala. While in Korea, she supported the advocacy efforts of various Korean NGOs on issues around digital sex crimes and ME TOO. She also taught a class on gender for young Koreans in collaboration with the US Embassy and helped plan an interdisciplinary feminist conference for leaders across Asia. During COVID-19, she was tasked to be the sole coordinator for the Luce Scholars program in Seoul.
The Next
Now, back in Beach Park, Mayra is contemplating her “next,” hoping to bring dedication to finding ways to uplift women and girls and empower changemakers around the world. Mayra aspires to grow as an educator and advocate that brings women’s experiences and community voices to the forefront. “I’m hoping to work in a major city like D.C. or Boston for a foundation or non-profit,” she says. “I saw during COVID how foundations were able to mobilize funds and resources quickly and directly to those who need them most. I want to be part of something like that.”
When she’s not sending out job queries, Mayra has been substituting teaching at CRSM, and in her “free time,” watches Korean TV shows to keep her language skills honed.
“Ms. Eby, Dr. O, Mr. Dippold and the CRSM community have always been there for me,” says Mayra, “They encouraged me to strive for opportunities that would challenge me and said if I worked hard, one day I would be successful. To this day, I continue to have the support of CRSM and feel very lucky to have a community that not only celebrates my successes, but will always cheer me on, on my way to accomplish more.”
by admin | Aug 30, 2021 | Alumni Spotlight
Brian De La Cruz, CRSM Class of 2017, and a first-gen college graduate, lives by the words of Principal Dr. Michael Odiotti in his steadfast commitment to building a career in public service and equitable healthcare: “The gritty person has the ability to never give up.”
The past year was one that has brought numerous unforeseen challenges — the 22-year-old was called home to Waukegan to care for his mother, father and older brother who all were hit with serious cases of COVID-19 at the beginning of the pandemic. But, Brian, 22, graduated with a Business and Economics degree from Wheaton College and landed the position of Business Operations Coordinator for the American Medical Association (AMA’s) Education Center. It’s a position he strived hard for during his internship last year for the premier national medical association. The organization supports physicians, residents and medical students at every step of their education and careers.
In his role at the AMA, Brian works on the AMA Ed HubTM to provide high-quality education for physicians and other medical professionals so they can stay current and continuously improve the care they provide.
Brian is passionate about working to advance health equity and end healthcare injustices, to disrupt and dismantle the systems that aren’t working and reimagine and rebuild these systems to ensure justice. He’s already envisioning a 10-year career plan, a plan inspired by growing up in Waukegan.
“I want to elevate the needs of my community and center them in the discussion to improve their health outcomes”says Brian.
He knows firsthand about some of the challenges facing people living in Waukegan and towns where their zip codes thrust them into the crucible of racism and low socioeconomic status and produce harm and inequalities in education and deep-seated barriers to medical care.
This fact hit like a bolt of lightning during the last year when the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic revealed deep-seated inequities in healthcare for the community living in the 60085 zip code and amplified the social and economic factors that contribute to poor health outcomes. It was brutal watching his parents and brother battle the virus and struggle for access to treatment. Waukegan as the sixth hardest hit town in the state for COVID-19 cases.
“I saw firsthand what happens to people with chronic disease and the brokenness of the healthcare system,” he says. “I feel the need to champion the stories behind this unfairness and continue to shine the light on them.” Thankfully, all of his family members have recovered from COVID-19.
Grabbing on to the grit bandwagon
It hasn’t been an easy road for Brian, who is the first member of his family to graduate high school and go to college. He was a “C” student in middle school. That changed when he entered high school and was embraced by a supportive community of caring educators at CRSM who pushed Brian to reach his full potential, he says.
There’s no question, he says, that his perseverance and dedication to long-term goals took root at CRSM where he maintained a 4.0 GPA all four years, was the senior class president, a National Honor Society student and president of the Student Ambassadors. Through the Corporate Work Study department, he worked in the multi-cultural marketing department at Walgreens’ corporate headquarters throughout high school. During the summer before college, he worked as a full-time intern on the development team at College Bound Opportunities, where he was also a scholar his junior and senior year.
Brian feels called to give back and to serve others through ministry and volunteerism. He’s been a youth coordinator at Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe Parish and helped create the youth group at Kingdom Voice Ministry, when the church was just starting in Waukegan.
“Cristo Rey created a path for me to follow and now I want to do that for other young people,” says Brian, who serves on the board of directors for the Wheaton College Alumni Association. “I look back and think about walking into Cristo Rey and how I learned as a freshman in high school to carry on conversations with adults at work. I can’t imagine many freshmen are able to do that. And Dr. O. really inspired me that no matter how difficult things are, to never give up. As a first-generation student, the barriers to overcome were many, but with the support from CRSM and CBO, I knew I could dream big.”
Advice for CRSM students: “Dare to break the systems and barriers that get in the way of your personal journey.”
