Message from President

Last month, one of our alums graduated from Marquette University with a degree in engineering.  I believe he is our first engineer.  We had a conversation the day after his graduation and he compared his college experience to that of a boxer’s, like Oscar De La Hoya.  He said like prize fighters, he had to work extremely hard and sacrifice evenings out with friends in order to achieve his dream.  To him, walking across the stage to receive his college diploma was winning the title.  His entire family was there to celebrate this accomplishment; he is the first in his family to obtain a college degree.   He also talked also about his previous summer internship with a small engineering company.  He saw his father in the people assembling refrigerators, a factory worker like them.  Now as a graduate, he is excited about connecting his father’s world with his new world of engineering.

A few weeks ago, I heard one of our freshmen at lunch proclaiming to his classmates, “This is a really good school, our teachers really care about us.”  What we provide here at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School is an opportunity.  We offer our center city students an excellent Jesuit Catholic college preparatory education.  All our graduates are accepted into college after 4 years of hard study.  Their hard work in our Corporate Internship Program pays for 75% of their tuition, making this education affordable.  Our hope is that their years here will prepare them for college, allow them to know Christ better, love Him more, and serve as Christian leaders for the rest of their lives.  We offer an opportunity but it is our students’ and their families’ sacrifices that allow them to win the title.

I often acknowledge how blessed we are here at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School. Our families and students are extremely grateful for our school.  Through our corporate sponsors and benefactors, we are offering an opportunity and providing hope for a better future.  I often remind our students that blessings are to be shared rather than possessed. 

I thank God for your generosity, and may we continue live our Christian vocation of loving and serving others.  God bless you and your family.

Sincerely,

Jim Gartland, S.J.
President