A Day in the Life

A Day in the Life

Meet Ashley Fonseca, CRSM Class of ’22. At Augustana College in Rock Island, IL you will find her preparing for a career as a veterinarian, working out, or she could be found exploring new opportunities in the college’s crochet club and the LatinXUnidos club. She’s also an intern at a nearby animal clinic.

“I owe my confidence and quick adjustment to college to Cristo Rey, which really prepared me,” says Ashley. “I am surprised at my independence, but I was taught to pursue my own path and to overcome disappointments when they come my way. But I do talk to my mom every day.” Her dogs, Sparky and Snoopy are regulars on the FaceTime mom-daughter chats.”

Last year, Ashley was honored with the Spirit of St. Martin de Porres Award, given to the graduate who best exemplifies the CRSM mission academically and as a person for others. She is a College Bound Opportunities Scholar and was a regular volunteer at Feed My Starving Children, the Northern Illinois Food Bank pop-up distributions and Beacon Place and served as a senior class representative.

Recently, Ashley shared her “day in the life of a freshman” experience. Check out her Instagram Takeover on YouTube.

Unbroken and Unstoppable: Senior Breaks Down Barriers to Follow His Dreams from Mexico, to CRSM, to College

Unbroken and Unstoppable: Senior Breaks Down Barriers to Follow His Dreams from Mexico, to CRSM, to College

Despite the challenges of not being able to speak English, moving to a new country and the pandemic, senior Jesus T. is geared up and ready to head to one of a handful of prestigious colleges where he’s already been accepted — including Augustana, Marquette and Lake Forest College.

A College Bound Opportunities scholar, treasurer of the Student Council, member of the National Honor Society, regular food bank volunteer, admin at a charter school as part of the work-study program and a strong force on the soccer team, Jesus has traveled a long way from Jalisco, Atotonilco el Alto Jalisco, Mexico where he grew up.

A strong student in Mexico, Jesus’ parents decided when he was 14 that he would have a brighter future if he moved to Waukegan to live with his cousins and attend CRSM where they were enrolled.

For Jesus, the 2,000-mile trek was both disappointing and a new start. Just weeks after the freshman in high school moved here and applied to CRSM, his aunt told him, that though he showed lots of promise, CRSM did not have any openings in the upcoming sophomore class. His language barrier also was prohibitive. Jesus could read but could not speak English. “I was devastated,” he says. “I had left everything I knew, my family, my friends, my town, my lifestyle, to move to my aunt’s.”

Noemi,” Cuesta, Director of Admissions, says she remembers seeing “so much promise in Jesus.” She encouraged him to stay in Waukegan, attend Waukegan High School, study hard, master his language skills and reapply to CRSM.

“It was a really tough decision, but after analyzing it, I decided the best thing for me to do was to stay in Waukegan and put in a lot of effort in order to accomplish my goals,” he says.

Jesus continued to persist.

At Waukegan High School, he was thrown into a sea of sophomores who had already bonded as friends their freshman year and into the bi-lingual program where students “basically just spoke Spanish.” He pleaded with and convinced his academic counselor to put him in regular English-speaking classes. “I wanted to challenge myself, to go for it.”

Passionate about staying connected to CRSM, he volunteered many of his after-school hours in the CRSM parking lot packing boxes of food into cars during the Northern Illinois Food Bank pop-up distributions.

Armed with top grades after learning to speak English, Jesus was accepted to CRSM the second semester of his sophomore year.

Then COVID-19 hit. The dream of marching into the glitzy bright-colored former K-Mart-turned-high school was dashed and replaced by a virtual ZOOM reality from the kitchen in his aunt’s home. During this time, in addition to schooling, the soccer team and his corporate work-study job, Jesus also worked two part time jobs in landscaping and construction to pay for his room and board and living expenses.

“My father always told me ‘I want you to be someone who can do the desk job, but also comfortable at working in the fields and getting your hands dirty,” says Jesus.

This May Jesus is slated to graduate on the honor roll in AP classes. He’s also waiting to hear from Notre Dame, Northwestern University and the University of Illinois/Urbana-Champaign.

He plans to major in business and someday be in management or helm his own company. He’s keenly aware that perspective is everything. “I’ve learned to never lose my focus on my final goal,” he says. “Life is not easy, but the more times you fail means the more times you are trying really hard to succeed. They’re your dreams, and you have to go for them.”

Jesus says he knows firsthand what it must feel like to be a Forrest Gump kind of guy. But like Forrest, Jesus’ mother and father assured him miracles do happen. “And I learned they do,” he says.

Hope Forward: College Surprises Seniors with Hand-delivered Acceptance Letters

Hope Forward: College Surprises Seniors with Hand-delivered Acceptance Letters

Seniors Gallery, Eliza and Judy thought they were meeting with other members of the Class of 2022 and Principal Mike Odiotti to discuss outstanding details they needed to clear up before graduation next June; instead, the trio and 14 of their peers found a representative from Hope College waiting for them with surprise acceptance packages and a sea of congratulations.

“This is so exciting,” said Judy, who will be a first-generation college student. “It’s almost unbelievable to think I’m holding this and that it is real.” A member of the National Hispanic Honor Society, the National Honor Society and a Student Ambassador, Judy is looking forward to college and possibly pursuing a career in forensic science.

The trio were among the 18 students who received hand-delivered acceptance packages to Hope College, on Nov. 17. Hope College is a four-year liberal arts college in Holland, MI, which shares a like mission with CRSM, said Kayleigh Wonch, a CRSM English teacher and graduate of Hope College. Fifteen percent of students there are considered first-generation college students.

“At Hope College, we know that how we lead is how we live: with passion, curiosity and an anchored conviction to serve the world, which is very much like what you do at Cristo Rey St. Martin,” said Allison Bulson, admissions representative for Hope College who presented the acceptance packages.

Representatives from College Bound Opportunities and Waukegan to College also attended the acceptance event.

For CRSM seniors, ‘tis the season when they start hearing back from the colleges and universities they’ve applied to, and have shared their dreams in personal statements. Acceptances are just starting to dribble in.

“This is huge and makes it all seem like it’s really happening,” said Gallery, who is looking to pursue opportunities in environmental science.