Every single day, CMMB relies on the support of many partners, volunteers, donors, and members of staff around the world. We can’t do what we do without this collective push towards a healthier tomorrow. Another group of people we depend on and love, are the students from Cristo Rey High School.

Cristo Rey is a New York Catholic High school that works hard to:“Empower thousands of students from underserved, low-income communities to develop their minds and hearts to become lifelong contributors to society. By providing students an extraordinary college preparatory education and a unique four-year, integrated corporate work study experience, we seek to transform urban America one student at a time.”

Cristo Rey High School in New York has been partnering with CMMB for years. Students from the school are given a chance to work in our head office where they gain exposure to the “real world” of work. 

Meet the CMMB Class of 2017-2018! 

Keila is a cristo rey student

Keila Cacho

Grade: 12

What do you do at CMMB? I answer phone calls, do data entry, sort checks and create sub docs for checks without a response device.

What have you learned while working at CMMB? I learned how to communicate with others and most importantly, go outside of my comfort zone.

What world problem would you like to solve? Injustice and inequality towards people of color and people with different religious beliefs.

Imagine you are stuck in an elevator. Who would you like to be stuck with? Why? I would like to be stuck with my English teacher Mr. Page because he has a very interesting viewpoint on life and he is very smart. So, I feel like we would have an interesting conversation.

Who inspires you? How? Someone who inspires me is my mother. She always manages to get work done and excel at whatever she does, which inspires me to be good at what I want to do in the future.

What’s your hope for the future? My hope for the future is to become a better person than I am today and get a stable job to support myself and my family.

 Omar Cristo rey corporate work program

Osmairy Medrano

Grade: 11

What do you do at CMMB? At CMMB I do a little bit of everything. I mostly help with expense reports for our CEO, Bruce Wilkinson. Also, if anyone in the office needs help with expenses, or anything else I usually help them.

What have you learned while working at CMMB? At CMMB I have learned many new things, such as how to complete expense reports. But more importantly, I have also learned many life lessons through the people here. I have learned you can make friends with people no matter how much older they are than you.

What world problem would you like to solve? The world problem I would like to solve is racism. I feel like everyone should be looked at and treated equally no matter their race, ethnicity or color. God made us all in His image so we should be appreciating each other instead of spreading hate because of someone’s color. If we solve this problem, then everything will fall in place and many other world problems will be solved too.

Imagine you are stuck in an elevator. Who would you like to be stuck with? Why?  Perhaps not a surprise, but I would like to be stuck with J.Cole because I want to ask him so many questions about life and about how he got to where he is now. Also, I would like to congratulate him for his music and how easy it is to relate to him. He is just a really chill dude.

Who inspires you? My inspiration is Jermaine Cole (J.Cole). He started from the bottom and now is making a lot of money. But, he is also my inspiration because money doesn’t make him feel happy, having a close family is his happiness. He isn’t blinded by money like most people are and he really enjoys a simple life with the people closest to him.

What are your hopes for the future? My hope for the future is to go to a college with one of the top computer science programs in the country. I want to graduate with the highest honors and go on to work at a company like Google or Amazon. I want to buy my mom and dad a house to show them how much I appreciate their very, very hard work.

Anything else you would like us to know about you? I really enjoy watching and playing basketball and I also love to listen to music and really analyze it.

 Thalia is one of our cristo rey students

Thailia Ambrose

Grade: 11

What have you learned while working at CMMB? I have learned about all the people in the world who need clean water. Many families have stories and it is so sad to see how many people die because of dirty water. I have also learned about all the people who are willing to donate and build communities.

What world problem would you like to solve? I want to solve issues around education. Many kids go to school, but they generally do not get much out of it because they are bored. I joined the non-profit, “Tutor the Bronx” so I could try to improve the educational system in my community. The organization is trying to tutor kids and make school fun and easier for them to handle. Education is important and everyone deserves a form of it one way or another.

Imagine you are stuck in an elevator. Who would you like to be stuck with? Why? Beyoncé because she is amazing with everything she does. I would love to get inside her head and see how she operates and understand how she became so successful. I would want to meet her kids and maybe even hang out with them in the elevator.

Who inspires you? How? My mother has recently passed and she is someone who inspired me to do better and be better. My grandma inspires me also because everyday she tells me she loves me and expresses how proud of me she is. I want her to always be proud of me.

What are your hopes for the future? I want to become a teacher and teach at the first school I ever went to. The school needs a change. It is not in the best neighborhood and what it really needs are teachers who care. I want to make a change. I also want to go to St. John’s College and take there five year masters program in adolescent education.

Anything else you would like us to know about you? I love kids, I find them so cute. I’ve been dancing all my life (about 13 years ). I am a hard worker and do not mind being put up to the test.

Arianna Moore our CMMB cristo rey student

Arianna Moore

Grade: 10

What have you learned while working at CMMB? At CMMB, I have learned the power of hard work, strength, and responsibility. I have also learned how to relax and persevere when the work gets difficult.

What world problem would you like to solve? The problem I would like to solve is world hunger.

Imagine you are stuck in an elevator. Who would you like to be stuck with? Why? If I was to be on an elevator, I would like to be stuck with my sisters, Anaiya and Mikayla, because they would comfort me and I would be happy to have someone I love with me.

Who inspires you? How? The person who inspires me the most is my supervisor, Marivette Canon. She works really hard and motivates me to do my best. She has taught me how to act professional in the office and other life lessons such as respect and kindness.

What are your hopes for the future? My hopes for the future is to graduate high school, attend and graduate college, become a teacher and journalist, and volunteer at a charity or organization.

Anything else you would like us to know about you? Yes, I love working at CMMB and I am really happy to be a part of the CMMB family. Everyone at the office is so nice and friendly. They have all contributed to my great experience in the office and I am glad to be working with them every week.

 Amber Cristo Rey

Ambar Alvaado

Grade: 9

What do you do at CMMB? I answer and forward calls to the right people, work on donor’s mail and removal, distribute mail and file donor names.

What world problem would you like to solve? I would like to help with diseases and aid in curing the people that are suffering from them.

Imagine you are stuck in an elevator. Who would you like to be stuck with? Why? I would love to be stuck with any member of the boy band BTS (Behind The Scenes, Bangtan Seoyeondan). I really enjoy their music and they are hardworking. They are from South Korea, so they don’t get to come here often but when they do, they put on a show and make sure to do their best. They also pick each other up when they feel down, which is something I greatly admire.

Who inspires you? How? Someone that really inspires me is my father. He goes to work and still helps around the house and cooks from time to time. He is also very independent and hardworking.

What are your hopes for the future? My hopes for the future are to manage myself and become independent. I don’t want to have to rely on my parents or anyone else for money, food, or anything. I also want to be able to give back to my parents for all the sacrifices and effort they put into my childhood.

Anything else you would like us to know about you? I am Dominican and I immigrated here with my mom thanks to my dad, who immigrated here before us. I came here when I was five and have stayed in the Bronx ever since.

Cristo Rey

Crisleydi Paulino

Grade: 9

What do you do at CMMB? I answer phone calls and distribute mail and help manage data (like addresses of donors).

What world problem would you like to solve? If there’s any world problem that I would like to solve it would be discrimination. Although discrimination has changed over the past years, it still continues to happen till this day. I’ve always asked myself, “What’s the point of discrimination if everybody is a human being?” And although this may be impossible to solve, I still have hope that it can change.

Imagine you are stuck in an elevator. Who would you like to be stuck with? Why? If I was stuck in an elevator I would like to be with my mother. The reason for this is because when I panic, she will be there with me to calm me down. And even if she’ll be equally as scared as I am, she wouldn’t demonstrate it.

Who inspires you: My older brother inspires me to do better because he’s constantly telling me that I can make it somewhere in life. Even though we don’t live together, he’s always motivating me to do good in school and to work hard to achieve my dreams.

What are your hopes for the future? In the future I hope to graduate from the university and become a professional worker. I hope that I can create my own Dental business but if this so happens to change, as long as I’m in a very well paid job that requires me to be financially stable, then I’ll be happy.

Learn more about the corporate work study program at Cristo Rey Catholic High School