New Catholic high school offers workshop
Metro-area students toured downtown Oklahoma City businesses and organizations as part of a three-day workshop hosted by the new Cristo Rey Oklahoma City Catholic High School.
Cristo Rey, an affiliate of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, will open in fall 2018 in leased space at Oklahoma State UniversityOklahoma City, 900 N Portland Ave. The school is part of the Cristo Rey Network of 32 Catholic college preparatory high schools that combine academics with real-world work experience for lowincome students.
More than 20 youths participated in the tour on July 28, the last day of Cristo Rey's Summer Success Training seminar.
School leaders said the program was designed to help rising high school freshmen develop skills that will be useful to them in many facets of life.
Renee Porter, Cristo Rey-Oklahoma City president, said participants in the summer seminar had expressed interest in attending Cristo Rey, but they will be high school sophomores by the time the school opens for freshmen only in its inaugural season.
Porter said school leaders wanted to thank the young people and their families for their interest in the school by providing them with a shorter version of Cristo Rey's in-depth orientation program.
"What we recognized is that these are skills we could give them in things that could help them be successful," she said.
Porter said seminar speakers discussed such topics as note taking, office etiquette and jargon, responsible social media and interpersonal skills.
Cody Yocum, school principal, discussed good study and work skills, while Carl Martincich, Love’s Travel Stops and Country Stores vice president of human resources, led a talk about the importance of first impressions and a strong work ethic.
Several Oklahoma State University officials gave a presentation on the importance of continuing education beyond high school. Ava Doyle, outreach specialist for Oklahoma Money Matters, spoke about financial literacy. Gene Rainbolt, chairman of Cristo ReyOklahoma City's board of directors, gave closing remarks.
"It's an exciting thing to help create an Oklahoma and a nation where very child has an opportunity to be all he or she aspires to be," Rainbolt said of the Cristo-Rey model.
Scavenger hunt
The youths started out the touring day at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art and then visited The Oklahoman, Inasmuch Foundation, the Federal Reserve, Oklahoma Natural Gas and BancFirst.
Porter said the businesses the students visited will be part of Cristo Rey-Oklahoma City's corporate work study partnership. All Cristo Rey students receive financial aid as part of a corporate work-study program funded by local businesses, working one day a week at the partner company
Students participated in a scavenger hunt designed to familiarize them with the city's business district and introduce them to office environments.
Yocum said the seminar focused on workplace skills and professional development because a central part of the school model is real-world work experience.