Cristo Rey St. Martin College Prep hires alumna to science department

Submitted by Cristo Rey St. Martin College Prep

Darline Alonso stands barely five feet tall, but her recent words spoke volumes when she discussed the life changing impact Cristo Rey St. Martin College Prep has on its students.

The 2008 graduate addressed 150 guests at the school’s annual golf outing, which took place at Glen Flora Country Club in Waukegan and raised nearly $150,000 for tuition assistance. She described how her own parents had quit school at the age of 12 in order to work, and how, after coming to the United States from Mexico, her father rode a bicycle six miles each way to work as a cook, while her mother worked at a cleaners for below minimum wage.

“I am a first generation high school graduate,” Alonso told a hushed crowd. “Before St. Martin’s, attending a private school was not an option, let alone college.”

“Without my parents’ sacrifices, I wouldn’t be a college graduate,” she added, “and I wouldn’t be the first alumna to get a job at Cristo Rey St. Martin.”

Preston Kendall, president of Cristo Rey St. Martin, announced to the crowd that Alonso had been hired to teach biology, drawing a long applause.

“This is a true success story,” Kendall said. “She not only was the first in her family to earn a college degree, but she has returned to us to help build up her community.”

Alonso earned her education degree from North Park University after completing her student teaching at Cristo Rey St. Martin. She will teach biology in the fall.

“My parents used to always say, ‘un dia tu seras alguien,’” Alonso said. “‘Someday you will be someone.’”

Guests at the outing included many of the school’s business partners from its work study program, which includes more than 75 businesses and corporations in Northern Cook and Lake counties and enables students to help pay for their college preparatory education.

Proceeds from the golf event will help bridge the gap between what students earn at their respective jobs — working on site five days each month — and the true cost of educating them.

“We’re in a community that desperately needs a quality education,” Kendall told the crowd. “Our students are playing uphill, against the wind. But that’s why you’re here, to help even the playing field.”

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