Back story
Coming Through ‘Big Time’ Cristo Rey and Xavier
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avier alums are going to bat for Cristo Rey New York, one in a network of 25 Catholic college preparatory schools that serve young people with limited educational options in urban communities across the country. In addition to rigorous academics, Cristo Rey schools employ an innovative work-study program: every student works one day a week at a corporate partner site to help fund their education. That’s where Xavier alums come in. Gene Rainis ’58, partner at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., Jack Galbraith ’61, retired president and CEO of the Catholic Medical Mission Board (CMMB), Dan Denihan ’65, managing director at Tenth Avenue Holdings, John Meditz ’66, co-founder of Horizon Kinetics, Rudy Cecchi, Esq. ’69, principal of Rudy Cecchi & Associates, Inc., Bob Robotti ’71, president of Robotti & Company and Michael Conway ’86, director at Deutsche Bank Securities, are just a few of the Xavier alumni who have played a pivotal role in securing job sponsorships and other opportunities for
Cristo Rey success story. As a Cristo Rey student, Jessica Vargas (right) worked at ExecComm. She continues to work at the company full-time while pursuing a college degree.
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students attending Cristo Rey New York. “The Xavier community has been extraordinary,” said Rev. Joseph Parkes, S.J., the founding president of the East Harlem school and current chairman of the Cristo Rey Network Board of Directors. “It’s been a really, really great relationship. Xavier men have come through for us big time.” Cristo Rey students hired through the program work in a number of capacities from switchboard operations to clerical duties like data entry. Last year, students in the 25 schools earned nearly $44 million. According to Fr. Parkes, the jobs are more than a funding mechanism for the schools. The placements boost the students’ selfworth, foster new relationships and expose them to life changing opportunities. Employers, too, benefit from the program. “The companies love us and want to see our students succeed,” Fr. Parkes said. “Employers have found that having Cristo Rey students in their workplace has been good for employee morale and many have been hired back for the summer. It becomes a relationship.” Cristo Rey New York retains approximately 90 percent of job sponsorships from year to year. Therefore, the school must secure 10 new job placements each academic year to keep 50 students on the path to graduation and college. “Jobs are the life blood of the school,” said Mr. Cecchi, a member of the Board of Trustees. “There are a lot of us in a position to employ students. We give these students a real work experience. It’s not charity or a gift. They will work for their services.” Fr. Parkes hopes the Xavier community will continue to support job sponsorships. He encourages alumni to investigate the opportunity for their own organizations. “We’re still relatively new,” he said. “The more people we have involved, the better shape we’ll be in.” To learn more about job sponsorships in New York City, visit cristoreyny.org. To see if a job sponsorship program is available in your area, visit cristoreynetwork.org.