Overview

In order to make private, college-preparatory education affordable to at-risk young people from Pilsen, an economically challenged area of Chicago, Cristo Rey developed an innovative work-study program for high school students called the Corporate Internship Program (CIP), which combines two commonly used business concepts, employee leasing and job sharing.  This initiative gives our students the means of financing their education. Incorporated as the Cristo Rey Work Study Program, Inc., the CIP allows each of our students to earn 65% of the cost of their education by working five full days each month in entry-level positions at corporations in downtown Chicago.  Over 90 companies participate in the CIP – Chicago’s major banks, law firms, hospitals, and consulting firms – such as JPMorgan Chase, Ernst & Young, Leo Burnett Worldwide Advertising, Jenner & Block, and the Loyola University Health System.  Students also work at several non-profit agencies.

While initially the Corporate Internship Program served as a financial proposition to pay the costs of running the school for students who otherwise would not have the financial opportunity to attend a private, college preparatory school, we have discovered many real world benefits for our students. The CIP has evolved into an innovative means of providing students with crucial hands-on, white-collar work experience, while simultaneously empowering them  to take an active part in financing a major portion of their education. As a result of working in a business environment, students acquire desirable job experience and marketable skills, develop a network of business contacts, gain exposure to a wide variety of career opportunities, refine a strong work ethic, and increase their self-esteem.

Would you like to learn more?  If so, please take a moment to read through a more complete description of the Cristo Rey Work/Study Program.