Greetings Cougar supporters!
It is hard to believe we are already wrapping up the first quarter this week! The start of the school year is always an exciting time – students reuniting with friends, fall sports beginning competition, and the announcement of new job assignments at our annual Draft Day celebration. After a few weeks, students settle into their new routines, digging into their challenging curriculum and learning new professional skills at their job sites. For seniors, not only are they working hard in their classes and at their jobs, but college and scholarship applications require their focus as deadlines quickly approach. The first quarter is such an important building block towards having a successful school year – a firm foundation on which the rest of the year’s challenges and successes will grow.
But academic and professional successes are not all that we are building at Cristo Rey Columbus. Each school year, we define a new theme to guide us on the year’s journey. This year’s theme is “Building the Kingdom.” This means that we take responsibility to develop our gifts as much as possible for the service of God and others. The work we do is important and needs to have a positive impact on the world. This is why we encourage and expect much from our students – we want them to have sharp minds and kind hearts to help build the Kingdom of God in the here and now.
Staff Updates
We are happy to welcome some new – and returning! – faces to the CRC staff:
- John Petro, Director of Partner Development
- Robin Scott, Director of Admissions and Community Engagement
- Leanna Greenlee, PWSP Relationship Manager
John Petro, Director of Partner Development
This August, John Petro, rejoined the Cristo Rey Columbus team. From 2015 through 2019, John was instrumental in helping our PWSP program grow from its infancy to adolescence.
Since 2019, John has been working at his family company Together & Co. with his wife Angela, optimizing business operations so they can get more of that delicious food to more happy customers! John also serves the community as the current Board Chair at United Schools Network, one of the larger feeder school systems for our school as well as a PWSP business partner.
We are pleased to welcome him back as Director of Partner Development to bring more business partners to our Professional Work-Study Program and maximize the support of the community!
Please feel free to connect – or reconnect! – with John by phone or email: 614-223-9261 ext. 005 or jpetro@crchsworks.org
Robin Scott, Director of Admissions and Community Engagement
Our Admissions department gained a new team member this summer in Robin Scott, who joins us as our Director of Admissions and Community Engagement. For the last 15 years, Robin has worked in banking, focusing on small business development and community engagement. She learned about Cristo Rey through various channels, most notably during her time at First Merchants Bank (one of our original business partners!) where she worked with Cristo Rey students as part of our Professional Work-Study Program.
In April, Robin retired from foster parenting after 17 years, but wanted to continue having a lasting impact on children’s lives as they transition into successful young adults. Her new role at Cristo Rey allows her to engage with potential students and their families and assist them in making the right decision for their education and future success. Welcome to the team, Robin!
If you know a student who would be a great fit for Cristo Rey Columbus, please contact our Admissions department to let them know! Call 614-223-9261 or email admissions@crchsworks.org
Leanna Greenlee, PWSP Relationship Manager
One other name on this list that may sound familiar is Leanna Greenlee, who joined us in June as one of our PWSP Relationship Managers. Leanna is a member of the Cristo Rey Columbus Class of 2019 and graduated as co-Salutatorian. After Cristo Rey, she spent a year at Loyola University Chicago before transferring to The Ohio State University where she earned her bachelor’s in business administration with a marketing emphasis. Having been a CRC student herself, Leanna is able to bring a personal perspective to the Relationship Manager role that allows her to assist both our partners and our students in a uniquely valuable way.
Leanna recently sat down for an interview with our own Cristo Rey podcast to talk about her new role and what she enjoys most about working with CRC students – click here to listen!
Student Spotlight
The stars of Cristo Rey Columbus are our students! Get to know a little about senior class member, Pure, by clicking the image to the right.
Get Your Cougar Gear!
Alumni in Action
We love checking in with our alumni to see what they’ve been up to since they’ve graduated from Cristo Rey Columbus!
Carlia Lopez, Class of 2022
Q: We heard you were working on a special research project this summer – can you tell us about it?
A: I worked as a student researcher in the Denison University biology department for 10 weeks. Two days a week I would go out to Highbanks Metro Park for mosquito trapping, then bring the traps back to the lab to process, analyze, and curate a mosquito collection.
Q: What exactly are you researching?
A: My research is about what the mosquito populations’ abundance and diversity looks like in an urban forest. But to more specifically answer the question, Do Urban Forest Edges Serve as Mosquito Breeding Sites? Columbus Metro Parks are especially interesting because they are parks that experience habitat fragmentation meaning that a large space of land is broken (fragmented) into smaller areas. This fragmentation has a large impact on mosquito populations and their behavior. So, I decided to look into how that impacts their population abundance and diversity rates, and how this connects to the larger idea of community public health.
Q: Why do you enjoy this work?
A: This is actually my second summer of doing this work. This is a longitudinal study that I have grown to love because not only do I have the opportunity to gain real-world experience in urban ecology, but also because this is meaningful work for the public health and safety of my community. I also enjoy the fact that I am able to learn so many cool and interesting entomology and vector biology skills!
Q: Where has this work taken you?
A: Last year, I presented my work at the Denison Summer Scholars Symposium, and I will be presenting this year as well. Last semester, I gained a directed study position working in the lab doing data analysis and curation of excess mosquito samples. In the midst of continuing my field work this past summer, I had the opportunity to present my work in front of the Board of Columbus Public Health in July 2024. Finally, I have been selected to present my work at the upcoming National Science Foundation American Association for the Advance of Science conference in Chicago, IL in November. I am also in the lab again this semester as an independent study student, conducting a qualitative mosquito nuisance survey to gather responses from residents living along the southern edge of Highbanks Metro Park. I will be studying abroad next semester in Quito, Ecuador and plan to conduct an independent study project of mosquito community behavior in urban settings.
WOW! How impressive is that? Congratulations on your accomplishments so far, Carlia, and keep up the good work!
The regular season for Boys’ and Girls’ Soccer, Cross Country, and Volleyball is winding down! Be sure to catch your Cougars in action by clicking the link below!
GO COUGARS!
Did you know? You can give to Emmaus Road, the Diocese of Columbus’s separately incorporated Scholarship Granting Organization (SGO), designate that the funds benefit Cristo Rey Columbus, and receive a dollar for dollar credit on your Ohio taxes!
Your gift will support making our unique college preparatory education and professional work-study program experience affordable for our students and their families, at no cost to you!
More information is available on our SGO Flyer and you can visit the Emmaus Road website to donate online by clicking the links below. Be sure to select “Cristo Rey Columbus High School” from the drop down under “School Designation.”
Faculty Feature
What makes the faculty at Cristo Rey Columbus so special is their passion and dedication to our mission. We took a moment to catch up with 9th grade English teacher, Ms. Rachel Dues, about his experience as a first-year member of the CRC faculty and more:
Q: What made you want to teach at CRC?
A: I’ve been drawn to the Cristo Rey school model since I graduated college in 2014. I have always wanted to work in an environment that made space for students’ faith and future. Cristo Rey really does that, without downplaying the benefits of college. We are able to prepare students for their adult lives not just in academics, but in relational values, character, and spiritual development.
Q: Freshman year is a crucial time for our students as they transition to a college-prep curriculum. How do you approach teaching your freshman English classes to ensure your students are able to handle academic challenges?
A: Ms. Letizia, Ms. Colecchi, and I make sure freshmen are growing in their literacy abilities by helping them add substantial vocabulary to their mental dictionaries. While we do that, we also make sure students are engaging with material – not just looking for a correct answer. Without a dedicated effort to reading and taking on new material, students really struggle to learn and develop comprehension and analysis skills. When the world often encourages them to get an answer, any answer, and move on, we spend time and effort encouraging them to do the hard work and ask questions about the material. We also require them to research, draft, write, and revise so that they can communicate and explain themselves in a professional, academic, or social setting.
Q: What is a favorite experience that you have had at CRC so far?
A: I have loved saying hello to sophomores and juniors I taught last year and the year before, and having them not just respond in kind, but actually engage in conversation. Seeing our students develop from nervous, new students to confident, professional young adults is so impressive and inspiring. It makes me so proud when a student thinks to ask an adult in the building “my summer was great, how was yours?” I think that alone makes it worth it – knowing that our students want to know about other people, and that they don’t have the typical high school experience of being in a bubble of teens who have only a few role models for engaging with professionals and adults.
The Cristo Rey Podcast
