FEATURE

RISE to the Occasion

In 2021, Cor Jesu Academy admitted two students from St. Cecilia Academy. Famous for its Lenten fish fry, St. Cecilia serves a largely urban, Spanish-speaking population. Though separated only by about seven miles, the parish school had never sent a student to Cor Jesu. Galicia Guerrero was St. Cecilia’s graduate support director at the time, helping students discern their high school paths.

“We were unsure about the process with Cor Jesu,” she remembered. “But we were excited to learn about the financial aid available.” The year those two students applied happened to be the year CJA introduced the Blessed Clelia Scholarship (BCS) Program. Inspired by donors seeking to remove barriers to high-quality Catholic education, the BCS Program covers all costs of the full Cor Jesu experience—from tuition and books to dance tickets and a junior ring. Both applicants were invited to be part of the program. Both applicants accepted, and both enrolled in the Cor Jesu Academy Class of 2025. And from that first class of Blessed Clelia Scholars, another idea began to take shape. “I arrived at Cor Jesu Academy in the summer of 2020,” said Sr. Mary Grace Walsh, ASCJ, Ph.D., president of CJA. “The world was four months into a global pandemic and in the midst of a social reckoning—one that demanded we look deep within ourselves and ask difficult questions.” For Sr. Mary Grace, one of those questions struck at the core of the school’s Catholic identity: “How are we truly honoring a cornerstone of our Catholic faith— our unwavering belief in the inherent dignity of the human person?” Motivated by that question, she began working with members of the faculty and staff, including Danielle Harrison, Director of Mission and Charism, and Katie Magee Thiemann ’81, Director of Leadership Giving. “We aren’t doing anything to honor our mission if we create a program but neglect to support it with services,” Danielle said. Like all students, the first BC Scholars arrived at Cor Jesu with unique needs. While all were academically capable, some faced roadblocks like language barriers or gaps in their learning history. “Our goal has always been to surround the students in our building with the support they needed to thrive,” Danielle said. “But the real question was how could we help prepare young women earlier, before they become students at Cor Jesu or any other high school?” They looked to existing programs, like the TEAK Fellowship and REACH, based in the New York City area, and the Hurtado Scholars in Kansas City—all of which focus on helping students prepare for high school while still in middle school. And then they turned to a St. Louis-based organization. In 2018, the Boniface Foundation began a collaborative study on how to improve secondary and post-secondary success for students of need in values and faith-based middle schools. The results of that process highlighted academic and social/emotional interventions that could improve outcomes—if initiated in the middle school years. “Boniface believes that every student has the potential to succeed and lead regardless of their life circumstances, and every student deserves equitable access to high-quality education and transformational experiences which lead to a better future and world,” said Kelly Wetzler, Executive Director of the Boniface Foundation.

Leaning into those findings, Katie Thiemann presented Boniface with Cor Jesu’s proposal. CJA would create the RISE program, which stands for Readiness, Intellect, Spirituality and Empowerment, with 20 rising 7th grade young women from schools in the greater St. Louis metro area. The program, launching in the summer of 2023, would be a tuition-free middle school academic and leadership development program, with the purpose of strengthening learning and development for students from lowincome level households. “The goal of the program isn’t necessarily admission to Cor Jesu,” Sr. Mary Grace said. “Rather, we want to change the trajectory of students in this economic stratum. We want to arm them with the additional academic and life skills necessary for success in a collegeprep high school, and, later, in college.” The curriculum would focus on Math and English Language Arts, two critical and overarching areas. The program would also prepare a student for the transition from her elementary school to a competitive high school, where she will encounter students from a wide variety of backgrounds. The Boniface Foundation responded with resounding support, agreeing to fund the first two years of the program and consider additional funding after that point, provided the data and metrics indicate positive outcomes in the academic performance of RISE participants. With a financial foundation secured, Sr. Mary Grace set out to hire a director. One application stood out above the rest—one submitted by Galicia Guerrero. As part of her job as a graduate support director, she followed the area high schools on social media and saw the job posted on Cor Jesu’s Galicia Guerrero, Facebook page. CJA RISE Program Director “I thought, this sounds a lot like what I do, and what I could do!” Her interest and passion are largely personal. “I’m a first gen[eration] college student,” she shared. “And I know how difficult it can be to enter these new spaces, navigate them and get the most out of these opportunities.” Galicia earned her Bachelor of Arts in Social Work from Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Ind. She then went on to earn her Master of Social Work from Washington University in St. Louis. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Educational Policy and Equity at Saint Louis University. On August 1, she began as Cor Jesu's RISE Program Director. While she researches best practices and begins developing the curriculum for the summer program, set to launch in 2023, she is the primary point of contact for Cor Jesu’scurrent Blessed Clelia Scholars, serving as a tutor, translator and role model. “There’s a lot of wisdom I can impart to the girls,” she said. “I think it’s really important for them to see women who look like them who have walked this path, and who can help them pave their own." The two students from St. Cecilia who came to CJA in 2021 may have been the first, but more quickly followed. Another two St. Cecilia students were admitted to the Class of 2026, a class that will also include the first student to enroll from Blessed Teresa of Calcutta in Ferguson. And if the RISE program is the success Galicia and the administration at Cor Jesu hope to make it? According to Galicia, “These students will see that the sky is the limit.”