Hello! I am Liz Webb, a rising junior at The Ohio State University studying Public Affairs with a specialization in Education Policy. This summer I am working at Cristo Rey Columbus High School. Cristo Rey empowers Columbus students from economically disadvantaged families to graduate from both high school and college to achieve ultimate success in the future. To fund their rigorous college-prep education and prepare students for their bright future in college and the professional world, students at Cristo Rey participate in our Professional Work-Study Program. This is a program where every student spends 5 days a month working full-time at a business in the Columbus area. Cristo Rey’s transformative approach to education produces exemplary results, too. Every graduating class since the school’s opening has achieved 100% college acceptance!

I was already bursting with excitement to get to work, but my enthusiasm only grew when I walked into school in the midst of the last week of classes. Within the building there were too many festivities to count with ice cream parties, student potlucks, staff and faculty appreciation lunches, the annual food truck rodeo (yeehaw), and graduation events. Immediately I felt embraced in the supportive community Cristo Rey creates between students, faculty, and staff.

While I’m painting my first week as one big party, I do actually spend my days working on various projects for the school. Primarily, I am spending a portion of my first few weeks creating a report and site map for the school as we revamp our website. It is my job to improve the user experience of our website. By doing so, I hope for it to fully capture the impressive nature of Cristo Rey and attract prospective students, donors, and work-study business partners.

Additionally, this week marked the beginning of my other major project: creating an oral history of Cristo Rey Columbus. Throughout the summer, I will formulate questions, interview integral members of the Cristo Rey community, and edit the audio to generate a history that encompasses the journey of Cristo Rey from its developing stages in 2011 to the present-day school that has already celebrated the graduation of three classes. This will be a big undertaking, but I am looking forward to starting these interviews. It almost feels as if I’m a producer at NPR!  

Even though classes end this week and graduation is held tomorrow, it is still full steam ahead for me this summer. While I am still adjusting to my new environment and all that comes with it–like being introduced to students as Ms. Webb, not Liz–the community within our school has already helped me feel like part of the Cristo Rey team. My direct supervisors have been unbelievably welcoming, along with other staff and students I meet every day. I cannot be more excited to see what is in store at Cristo Rey!