Students
Summer Enrichment
University of Pennsylvania: Kermit R. ‘14
My culinary experience at the University of Pennsylvania actually provoked me to consider the Culinary arts as a career in my future. At the start of our day, our instructors would start off by giving us a demo of the recipes we would be cooking for the entire day. The recipes would vary from different cuisines such as: Italian, Asian, Native American and African. After the demo, the students would go off to their groups and gather all the ingredients needed for the day's recipes and start cooking it from scratch. There were four little stations equipped with an electric stand mixer, cutting boards, knives, portable stove top burners and measuring accessories. Also, there was a professional kitchen available to the students for the time being, where we would rotate daily, so that everyone had a chance to experience how to cook with professional appliances.
By the end of the three weeks, the students held a gala, where their parents would come in for dinner and be served what their kids prepared on their own. My three weeks at UPENN were AMAZING. I learned the hardships and struggles on how hard and stressful becoming a great chef may be. The main reason I love to cook is because I like putting smiles on people faces after they eat a great meal I prepared. Next summer, I am looking forward to take an internship in a restaurant to broaden and fortify my skills in the kitchen.
Fairfield University: Reuben W. '12
My week at Fairfield University was one to remember. Every moment spent there was a moment in which I felt closer to the ideal thought of a home away from home. As the days stretched through the week, I began to realize the value of this opportunity. One of them would be the amount of people who I met both from the University and from other Cristo Rey Schools. The other students who attended resembled our own thriving for success and expressed it with great enthusiasm as we Cristo Rey lions do. With that personality that we all shared, a sense of comfort grew between us and bonds were built. However, this experience was a surprise for me.
Before arriving at Fairfield University, I thought that our differences and backgrounds were going to impede that growth of friendship which people long for. This experience was an “eye opener.” All our fears, from dorming with people we do not know to having to talk to people we have never seen before, were diminished. My college plans have been impacted because of this experience. I no longer fear traveling on that road away from home, or waking up to a stranger who might be my potential friend for life. I noticed that we cannot learn about life without an experience like college. College isn’t just a place of studies or success, it’s your home for the next four, six, or even eight years. I do not only need to thrive for excellence in a University, I need to live through it.
Sarah Lawrence College: Patience O. '12
The Sarah Lawrence Writing Workshop taught me that writing is not all about essays but instead about spreading awareness, releasing emotions, giving voice to topics that would remain voiceless otherwise. The program challenged me to step out of my description of writing to do exercise such as tossing balls around to enable my mind to function better while writing. The program gave me the opportunity to open parts of myself that remained dormant due to many other issues. In less words, the program allowed me to build on my character so that I could be the person I never thought I could be. What surprised me the most is how fast I connected with certain people in my group and in the program in general. What was shared and what I shared with those who became some of my closest friends is what I treasure most from the program.
