Cristo Rey Dallas, a college preparatory school that serves economically challenged students, hosted its inaugural graduation today at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center.
The 100 graduating seniors received acceptances to more than 119 colleges and universities and earned over $8 million in merit-based scholarships, including five students who received full scholarships.
Ninety-five percent of the graduates, are the first in their families to attend college.
“The students who make up our first graduating class have shown tremendous grit, perseverance and commitment to success at school and in the workplace,” says Kelby Woodard, president of Cristo Rey Dallas. “They’ve created a tradition of excellence that reflects their four years of hard work along with the support of the entire Dallas business community.”
These Cristo Rey Dallas students earned more than sixty percent of their four-year tuition through the school’s innovative Corporate Work Study program, where they worked over 135,000 hours during their four-year high school careers.
Through the program, the students gained valuable work experience in a corporate setting, fulfilling clerical and administrative roles in a wide range of departments such as accounting, human resources, finance, marketing, information technology, legal, records, mail, and office services.
To date, Cristo Rey Dallas has more than 144 Corporate Work Study partners, including AT&T, Hunt Oil, Southwest Airlines, Deloitte, UT Southwestern and CBRE.