Georgetown University

Washington, D.C. – Georgetown University recently received Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School’s first-ever Cristo Rey Partnership Award.

The award recognizes individuals and organizations that work with the Washington area school to provide support and resources its students.

“Partnership is joining forces -- usually for a cause,” said the Rev. Steve Shafran, S.D.B., Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School president. “Georgetown has epitomized that philosophy in a real way through Dr. Jack DeGioia, Dr. Dan Porterfield and the many members of the G.U. community who truly bring to life, the Jesuit mantra – ‘men and women for others.’”

Don Bosco presented the award at its inaugural Rey of Hope Gala. The Rev. Donald Wuerl, archbishop of Washington, and Cardinal Theodore McCarrick also received honors for their contributions to the school’s founding and initial success.

“Working with the students of Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School gives all of us at Georgetown the opportunity to live the ideals of service that we uphold as a university,” said Georgetown President John J. DeGioia after accepting the Cristo Rey Partnership Award. “We are deeply committed to Don Bosco’s success, and we thank the school for this recognition.”

The high school, founded in 2007, is part of the Cristo Rey Network, which was founded by Jesuit priests to offer disadvantaged children the chance to attend an academically rigorous, Catholic high school while earning valuable work experience.

Georgetown has played an integral role in helping Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School get off the ground in its first year. Members of the Hoya community work to support Cristo Rey’s mission -- from leadership to the alumni who work for the schools to the current students who volunteer at Don Bosco. The university also provides work opportunities through Don Bosco’s corporate work study program.

The program allows high school students the opportunity to earn money through work experiences that help subsidize the cost of their education. Presently, 19 students from Don Bosco work five full days a month in Georgetown offices as part of this partnership.

To help prepare the students for their corporate experiences, Georgetown also has offered a summer “boot camp” to Don Bosco’s incoming freshmen. Those young men and women learn basic office software programs, proper office etiquette and dress and how to operate office machinery.

“For these reasons and many others, we are grateful to Georgetown for this partnership with us and for Dr. DeGioia’s leadership and active encouragement of this relationship with the Cristo Rey movement and with Don Bosco Cristo Rey in particular,” Shafran said.

The university remains deeply committed to Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School and to the mission of the entire Cristo Rey Network, DeGioia said. This fall, the university hosted a forum of 14 colleges and universities, 12 Cristo Rey high schools and education associations across the country for a summit to discuss ongoing efforts to empower students and communities with education and the chance to go to college.

About Georgetown University

Georgetown University is the oldest and largest Catholic and Jesuit university in America, founded in 1789 by Archbishop John Carroll. Georgetown today is a major student-centered, international, research university offering respected undergraduate, graduate and professional programs in Washington, DC, Doha, Qatar and around the world. For more information about Georgetown University, visit www.georgetown.edu.