Cristo Rey Boston High School student Breana Mendes works at the drive-up teller window of the Randolph branch of Rockland Trust Nov. 5. Pilot photo/Wes Cipolla
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RANDOLPH -- For a senior in high school, Breana Mendes has had quite the career.
As a freshman, she created her own business and sold merchandise. As a sophomore, she worked in a lab at the Broad Institute in Cambridge, learning CPR and watching scientists work with animals. In her junior year, she worked in the billing department of the Ropes and Gray law firm in Boston, observing the attorneys at work and attending meetings. For the past month, she has worked as a bank teller at Rockland Trust in Randolph.
"It's given me a lot more experience," Mendes said during a break from her bank job on Nov. 5. "I feel more comfortable in such big areas now."
Mendes's impressive resume wouldn't have been possible without Cristo Rey Boston High School in Dorchester, where she and 250 other grade nine to 12 students participate in a work-study program preparing them for college and the workforce.
"I've seen a tremendous impact," said Cristo Rey Boston Director of Corporate Work Study Marcin Kunicki, "from helping to shape a student's field of study, to really crystalize the idea of why college is important to get a good job in the future, but also to provide them the intangible necessary professional skills to interact with adults: Multitask, time management as well as project management skills."
The model originated in the 1990s with the establishment of Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Chicago. The Cristo Rey Network now has Catholic schools located throughout the country. In these schools, students attend traditional classes but spend one day a week working in a corporate setting to receive on-site skills training and the students' wages go to offsetting their tuition. Cristo Rey Boston has over 100 corporate partners representing various industries in the Greater Boston area, including Rockland Trust, JP Morgan Chase, and MassGeneral Brigham.
"We like to think a bit more about the Catholic values of generosity, growth, perseverance," Kunicki said. "And so the students, taking part in a Catholic education, really are entering the society of what it means to be a good human."
Cristo Rey Boston was founded as North Cambridge Catholic High School in 2004 but relocated to Dorchester in 2010 to be closer to the students it serves -- 90 percent of its racially diverse student body lives in Boston. Students must demonstrate financial need to attend the school. A large percentage of Cristo Rey Boston students are foreign-born, much like Kunicki himself. He was born in Poland, and his family came to the U.S. to provide him with a good education. He now wants to provide "the American Dream" to his own students.
"It wakes you up in the morning," he said. "It gets you up and in the office and working as hard as you can to make sure that they have this opportunity in front of them."
Mendes grew up in South Boston and attended public school until ninth grade. Her school was in contact with Cristo Rey Boston.
"They picked at least three or four of us who they thought should go there for better opportunity," she said. "My parents thought that was the best idea."
Mendes's parents did not want her to attend public school in Brockton, where she lives now. At Cristo Rey Boston, she said, the community is closer and she has more one-on-one time with teachers. Her younger sister attends public school and wants to attend Cristo Rey Boston when she's old enough.
"I used to go to a very big school that had a lot of people, compared to Cristo Rey Boston," she said. "It's more of a smaller school, so it's easier for people to connect and get to know each other."
In the future, she wants to be a forensic psychologist and is currently applying to Emmanuel College and Providence College. At Rockland Trust, she has learned interpersonal skills along with the inner workings of a financial institution. She has found that her work has made her more confident and mature when interacting with those who are older than her.
This is the first time that the Randolph branch of Rockland Trust has partnered with Cristo Rey Boston. Kunicki said that it is not common for a student to work in a forward-facing position such as a bank teller.
"We're grateful to Rockland Trust for taking that leap of faith to prepare students for that type of work," he said.
Branch Manager Necasty Vilnaigre said that he wants the branch to play a more active role in the community.
"Breana definitely has been doing great -- excellent as a high school student," he told The Pilot. "She's very mature. She does well. She's a great listener. She does well with the customers or clients that she interacts with. The Randolph branch loves having Breana here."