For graduating senior Julio Perla, being accepted to Georgetown University is a goal he has worked toward since middle school. During Don Bosco Cristo Rey’s College Signing Day on April 30, he had the opportunity to announce to all of his classmates that he had finally achieved that dream.

Perla said in that moment, when he stood at the front of Our Lady of Sorrows Church in Takoma Park, looking out on pews full of smiling classmates, family members and teachers and announced he would go to Georgetown, “I really wasn’t thinking; just feeling.”

“It was the compilation of the last four years; the hard work of teachers, administrators, peers and myself, working together.”

“It was the compilation of the last four years; the hard work of teachers, administrators, peers and myself, working together,” he said, adding that he was on the brink of tears.

Perla is a first generation college student. More than 80 percent of Cristo Rey’s students are the first members of their family to attend college, and Perla said his dream to attend Georgetown “was my family’s dream as well.”

“Education means a lot to them,” he said, noting that his mother and grandmother were there to watch him on Signing Day. At Georgetown, Perla plans to study international politics.

Perla’s family is from El Salvador, and he said, “They understand how difficult it is to succeed in the world without a proper education.”

Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School in Takoma Park was founded in 2007 as a partnership between the Archdiocese of Washington, the Salesians of Don Bosco, and the Cristo Rey Network of schools to give students with limited financial resources the opportunity to receive a quality education and later attend college. All of the students who attend the school participate in the Corporate Work Study Program where they gain professional experience and also make money to pay for a portion of their education.

Since its founding, 100 percent of the school’s students have been accepted to college, receiving more than $16 million in merit and need-based scholarships.

At the Signing Day, the school celebrated the most recent installment of college acceptances, as students, parents, teachers, and corporate sponsors came together to cheer on the graduating seniors as they announced their plans for the future. Modeled after “National Signing Day” every February where athletes announce which college they will be playing for, Signing Day has been the school’s way of celebrating academic excellence since 2012.

(CS photo by Jaclyn Lippelmann)

Similar college signing days now happen nationwide, and since 2014, former First Lady Michelle Obama has traveled to a new state every year to celebrate with graduating seniors.

To open the day, Salesian Father Michael Conway, the president of the school, said, “Today is a day of rejoicing.”

“Our mission is truly a blessing from God. From day one we have striven for this moment in time…(to) make something of ourselves to strengthen our families and communities,” he said, adding that, “This day would not be possible without first and foremost the guiding hand of God.”

Father Conway noted that it was important for younger students to be there to witness the day, so they can see that “They can be successful in life; they can be in college and make something of themselves.”

Before the announcements began, the Don Bosco Christo Rey Choir sang renditions of “Rise Up” by Andra Day and the Gospel song, “Oh Happy Day.”

Elias Blanco, the assistant principal for student life, recounted the growth in students graduating with honors since their first graduating class in 2011, which had seven students graduate with honors. In 2014, 12 students graduated with honors, in 2017, the number had risen to 27, and this year, the graduating class of 2018 has 32 students graduating with honors.

As Jacqueline Pendergrass, the senior college counselor, walked to the podium, the church resounded with applause and cheers coming from students and parents.

“This occasion is one you should all be proud of,” she told the students.”…But your job is not yet done…you are the author of your next chapter, and with God as your master editor, anything is possible.”

The announcements began with a slideshow of students, showing their picture, name and where they would be attending college. Once the slideshow had finished, they moved on to the students who were graduating with honors, who were invited to come forward when their name was called.

Each student came forward to receive a framed photo of the logo of the school that they would be attending, which was covered with a piece of paper. As they stood in front of the church, they ripped off the paper and announced which college they had chosen to attend. The announcements culminated with the salutatorian, Diana Mendez, who will be attending the University of Maryland, and the valedictorian, Juliana Ramos, who will be attending the University of Notre Dame.

Cristo Rey salutatorian Diana Mendez will be attending the University of Maryland. (CS photo by Jaclyn Lippelmann)

Some of the other schools that the graduating students will be attending include The Catholic University of America, the University of Maine, Towson University, Pennsylvania State University, Loyola University of Maryland, Trinity Washington University, Marymount University and American University.

The students in the pews cheered, clapped, and videotaped their friends as they processed forward to the front. Parents held back tears and sometimes got up to embrace their child in a big hug.

“You all have beat the odds,” Pendergrass told the students.

Larry Savoy, Cristo Rey’s principal who was recently named as the new president of Archbishop Carroll High School, thanked the parents “for believing in the mission of Don Bosco Cristo Rey” and also thanked the school’s board members and corporate sponsors, because “you give [the students] an opportunity to believe in their tomorrow.”

Savoy recalled how each of the graduating students began as a young 14-year-old who was thrown into the corporate environment and asked to do things that sometimes college freshman cannot do. And while they may have been underprepared at that time, “through handwork, dedication, and commitment” they persevered and improved.

Salesian Brother Tom Sweeney, a former teacher at the school, returned for Signing Day to present a gift from his brother, who donated a $50 Staples gift card to every student to help start them on their college journey.

“No matter what walk of life you come from, anything is possible if you work hard,” Pendergrass told the Catholic Standard. “Students at Don Bosco Cristo Rey continue to defy expectations. They deserve to be celebrated.”