Here I am Lord
Is it I Lord
I have heard You calling in the night
I will go Lord
If You lead me
I will hold Your people in my heart
That St. Louis Jesuit hymn speaks to all of us at times in our lives. It spoke loudly to me one night as I was contemplating a decision to leave behind my law practice and apply to be President of Cristo Rey Columbus. I am humbled to have been given this opportunity to help make this wonderful dream a reality. I am also thankful for the tremendous work and support of the many people who have committed themselves to bring Cristo Rey to Columbus. While we still have work to do, this mission would never even have gotten off the ground without the sponsorship and strong encouragement of Bishop Campbell. Nor would we have made the great progress to date without the generous support of our donors and work-study employers, the leadership of our Board, the energy of our volunteers, and the tireless work of our Program Director, Barbara Brown. God has called us all. We can do nothing greater and nothing less than to answer that call.
All of us have much in common with the freshmen who will be coming through the doors of our school beginning in two years. We are on a journey that will require a lot of hard work and sacrifice, and may have bumps along the way. For us—just like those future freshmen—this school is an opportunity. Having opportunities is certainly better than not having them. But at the end of the day, it is about what we make of those opportunities. All of us—like our students—are going to have to work hard, to persevere, to overcome obstacles, and to give this effort our hearts and souls, our minds, and our hands.
I am confident that we will do everything that needs to be done. In Cristo Rey, we have an amazing model that has worked in 24 other high schools to bring a high quality, Catholic, college preparatory education to economically challenged students of all religious backgrounds. We will create an academically rigorous program, and give our students the tools to succeed in high school and college. The corporate work-study program will provide our students the opportunity to pay for most of their education. It will let them experience professional job settings they would never have had a chance to be part of. Through those jobs, our students will learn first-hand the value of the education they are receiving and the importance of obtaining a college degree. We will make “learning to work and working to learn” a reality in Columbus.
Indeed, we are already well on our way. We have identified our school building. We have received offers from many businesses to be part of our work-study program. We have made significant progress on our fundraising goals. Next year, we will be adding staff and reaching out to the community and our future students. Our Board, volunteers, and supporters will be hard at work to put the final pieces in place for our 2013 opening. In the end, I have faith and confidence that we will make real what our students could barely have dreamed of. We look forward to graduating and sending on to college the future leaders of our community. In doing this, each of us will be, like Mother Teresa, “a little pencil in the hand of God who is sending a love letter to the world.”
Thanks to all of you for your interest and support.
Jim Foley
President
Cristo Rey Columbus High School
(614) 395-1505
JimF@cristoreycolumbus.org
