Community Fellows Blog Posts

Working at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in San Jose has allowed to me to take much of the knowledge I learn in the classroom and apply it to my daily work routine.  Most specifically, I have been able to apply course material from my management courses to the primary projects I have been working on throughout this year at Cristo Rey.  Up until now, my primary role has been to research summer programs for Cristo Rey students that they have the opportunity to apply to during the summer, and thus attend a wide variety of enrichment programs..   As a part of this project, I have had the opportunity to get in contact with student sponsoring organizations who, along with the other counselors here, have been able to put on workshops for students to become aware of these great summer opportunities.  What stands out most in relation to my management classes has been the application of organizational strategies that have helped the whole project run more smoothly.  For example, I have learned in my courses the proper ways to go about working at a non-profit, with minors, and how to systematically relay to them information in the most effective ways possible.  I have been able to help students stay on track  by sending them a spreadsheet with all the summer program names, descriptions, links to apply, and important deadlines.   

In terms of working at Cristo Rey as a whole, I have been able to appreciate the organization’s goals and standards for what they would like to see the students here accomplish in the near future.  I have never worked at a high school before, especially one with the organizational structure that Cristo Rey employs, and have, over the last few months, recognized the collective commitment that each faculty and staff member here has towards the students.  The primary focus of all staff here is to provide these students with the best resources for them to grasp, grow from, and distinguish themselves among peers in their home communities where in the long run they will be able to make a vast difference.  Cristo Rey is, at the core, a selfless organization, which contrast with many in the nearby region whose motives are centered around profit and competition.  In this way, working here has provided me with a different perspective on organizational motives and success that I believe should be a model for other organizations and companies alike.