Who's Who?

.Here are a few short profiles of the young men and women who will be serving as volunteers during the 2007-2008 school year. The entire Cristo Rey community is grateful for their generous commitment of time and talent. We are truly blessed to have them with us!

* * * * *

Mike Kauffmann hails from Wayne, Pennsylvania.  He graduated from Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia in May 2007.  He spends his days teaching English to sophomores and technology to freshmen.  This year he is working on establishing a percussion ensemble at Cristo Rey.  When/If ever free time presents itself, he likes to become immersed in music, a cup of tea, and a book, and generally seek adventure.

Maria Khoury is from Rochester Hills, Michigan. She graduated from John Carroll University in 2007 where she majored in Spanish, minored in Business, and studied abroad in Granada, Spain. Maria enjoys a good thrift store, traveling, coffee, books, laughing, and making friends in unlikely places. This year Maria finds herself in Campus Ministry working as Rector for the Kairos retreats and ministering to the Cristo Rey community in many other capacities. She is also teaching an economics class to Juniors and is a Student Council moderator.

Sarah Miller is originally from Seattle, Washington.  As a native of the Pacific Northwest, she loves the earth, strong coffee, and hiking mountains.  She graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 2007 with a bachelor’s degree in English and International Peace Studies. While not teaching Civics and English as a Second Language, coaching basketball, leading Elections in Action, the Model United Nations, or working on the school play, Sarah enjoys making the Dead Poets proud by sucking the marrow out of all Chicago has to offer: poetry, music, markets, parks, coffee shops, baseball games, and used bookstores, just to name a few. 

Teresa Olson is from Orland Park, Illinois. She graduated from Loyola University Chicago in May of 2006 where she majored in Biology and minored in Chemistry.   She studied abroad in Rome for a semester.  She enjoys tutoring children, reading, and traveling.  Teresa teaches Physics to sophomores and seniors.  As head coach of the girls varsity volleyball team, she led the girls to second place in the conference this year.  She enjoys working with the exceptionally bright students of the National Honor Society as co-moderator.  Teresa is also participating in a teacher coaching program at Cristo Rey as part of her professional development.

Beth Sands is from Syracuse, Indiana.  She graduated from Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana in May 2007, where she majored in Spanish and minored in secondary education.  She also traveled abroad to Spain for a semester.  She enjoys cooking, sewing, knitting, reading, and traveling.  This year at Cristo Rey Beth is teaching sophomore Global Issues in Spanish and freshman Intro to Technology.  She is also a co-moderator for Peer Ministry and Peer Tutoring Club.    

Dustin Smith is from Detroit, Michigan.  He graduated from Villanova University in May of 2006, majoring in Philosophy, minoring in Business and Spanish, and spending time abroad in Spain.  He generally delights in running, cycling, travel by train, beet farming, reading, flönkerton and good coffee.  He spends most of his time in our Corporate Internship Program office as a Program Coordinator, but also teaches a Freshman Intro to Technology class and a Junior Civics class. He is presently adapting CIP’s internal web-based database for use by all Cristo Rey Network schools, as well as developing a program that will allow every Cristo Rey student to attain a Microsoft Office Specialist certification.

* * * * *

Katie Mitchell is the JAV Program Coordinator. She is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, where she studied biology and theology. With the Alliance for Catholic Education, Katie earned a Masters in Education while teaching for two years in Los Angeles. Katie joined the Cristo Rey community as a Biology and Physics teacher. She also co-moderates the National Honor Society, and is accompanying student groups on a Kairos retreat and the Journey for Justice Trip to the School of the Americas.

John DeCostanza is the JAV Program Chaplain. After graduating from St. Joseph 's University in Philadelphia, John volunteered with Jesuit Volunteer Corps for a year in San Diego, CA as an organizer with the Interfaith Committee for Worker Justice. He continued volunteering with the Christian Brothers in Chimbote, Peru for two more years. John is married and lives in the South Shore community with his wife Susan.  John also serves as one of two Deans at Cristo Rey, and coordinates the Student Leadership and Activities program.  John is pursuing Master’s degrees at Loyola University Chicago in social work and theology.