SUMMER BRIDGE CURRICULUM TEACHES ENTREPRENEURSHIP SKILLS

CRJ students present their beverage stand business to their class as part of the Ignatian Innovation Summer Bridge cirriculum designed to teach students about entrepreneurship.

As part of the Class of ‘29 Summer Bridge programming, students learned about digital literacy, design, and communication skills through the Ignatian Innovation Summer Course. Their final project was an entrepreneurship challenge where they worked in groups to brainstorm, design, plan, and pitch a beverage stand business. 

Teams of 3-4 students spent two weeks creating their beverage stand business. The young entrepreneurs created a menu of beverages and identified a target audience their business would appeal to. As they developed their business model, students built spreadsheets to explore expenses, revenue, and profit margins. Additionally, the teams created a logo and marketing materials for their beverage stand as well as a poster for their ‘Shark Tank’ style presentations to their fellow classmates and members of Cristo Rey Jesuit’s faculty and staff.

Through the project, they learned how to start using AI ethically, how to use Canva to design logos, how to use spreadsheets to create budgets, and how to give strong presentations. “Given the interest that our students have shown in business and entrepreneurship, we wanted to design a curriculum that let our incoming freshmen get a real sense of what it takes to create and run a business. This project also gave them a chance to learn communication and presentation skills as well as developing data and spreadsheet capabilities that will benefit them in their Corporate Work Study Program placements,” said Innovation Lab Coordinator Andrea Spykstra, who created the Beverage Stand Entrepreneurship curriculum.

Rising freshman Angel said, “It was a really fun project! It was really interesting to think about everything that goes into starting a business, from creating a name for our beverage stand to creating a logo to thinking about how to make a profit. It was also a great way to meet some of my new classmates!”

Rocky Mountain National Park is beautiful this time of year. My family and I took a road trip to Colorado a couple weeks ago, and this spot was on our list to see. As the winding road led us to higher and higher elevation, we could see the terrain and ecology change. The strength of my wife’s grip on the interior car door handle greatly increased as well as I steered around the curves with no shoulder and steep ravines below off her side of our car. 

When we arrived at the Alpine Visitor Center, the highest elevation visitor center in the national parks system at about 12,000 feet, we parked and hiked the area. As we explored the tundra landscape, some of our kids felt headaches from the altitude, ears popped from the pressure change, and we noticed that we ran out of breath much faster. When we reached the highest point on the mountain hike, we had the opportunity to pause and take in the scenery. It was figuratively and literally breathtaking. The grandeur of the mountain ranges, the distance that was visible from the top of the mountain, and the scale of the vastness of what we saw was something that no camera could capture no matter how many pictures we took.

As I absorbed the incredible views of vast mountain ranges with snow still lingering in July towards their peaks, I realized that the experience shaped my perspective. Sure, to get to the summit we experienced some things that could have deterred us from getting to the top. But once we were there and could take in the view, those things didn’t seem so big of a deal any longer. On top of that, we couldn’t help but look for the higher mountain tops as if they were beckoning us to consider what it would be like to reach the peaks of those mountains.

As we conclude our 10th anniversary celebration at Cristo Rey Jesuit and reflect on our students’ experiences, it is my hope that their perspectives have changed, despite the challenges in getting to this summit. As a Catholic and Jesuit high school, it is part of our mission to help students develop critical thinking skills by challenging their assumptions and pushing them past the difficult learning terrain. A major goal of our program is that students reach the point where they stand in awe because they see the world and their place in it fundamentally different through the lens of our core values - being open to growth, loving, intellectually competent, religious, committed to justice, and work experienced - just as Jesuit education has impacted generations of young people before this.

As an institution, we now also look to the horizon for the next highest peak. Having started the climb from the very bottom of the mountain years ago, I feel blessed by the generous community who has joined us in our ascent. We know that it is difficult to find words to adequately capture our vision, or the generational impact of our school on Milwaukee’s young people. When we take time to see how this vision is unfolding in front of us, however, we stand in awe of how God is at work in this mission and are energized by the climb of the higher peak on the horizon!

INSPIRING FUTURE CLASSROOM LEADERS

CWSP EDUCATION CAREER TRAIL

Marquette University education major and CRJ alumna Casey Lopez, '20 (pictured here in 2017 at her CWSP placement at Marquette) will be working with current CRJ students interested in pursuing an educational degree.

U.S. historian Henry Adams once said, "The influence of a good teacher can never be erased." CRJ recognizes the transformational role teachers play in the lives of students on a daily basis. With that in mind, CRJ’s Corporate Work Study Program (CWSP), in partnership with Marquette University’s College of Education, is launching the Education Career Trail this fall. 

The Education Career Trail places students in area elementary schools for their CWSP assignment while deepening their knowledge and skills with MU professor-lead seminars. College level instruction will focus on lesson planning, curriculum development, classroom management, and careers in the education field. 

In addition, current CRJ students will work with MU education major and CRJ alumna Casey Lopez ‘20. Casey is now pursuing an educational degree inspired by her own CWSP school-based placement while at CRJ. It sparked her interest in a career in education, and she is excited to help prepare future generations of Trailblazers for an educational career!

Whether students are already considering a future in education or are simply curious about the profession, this Educational Career Trail experience will help inspire and equip our next generation of educators.

SUPPORTING CRISTO REY JESUIT

Cristo Rey Jesuit is able to provide educational, professional and spiritual offerings and opportunities for students because of the generous support from people like you. There are many different ways and opportunities that you can support Cristo Rey Jesuit students. Learn more about the different ways you can give and/or volunteer using the links below.

SAVE THE DATE: MILWAUKEE STARS MERENGUE 2025

Milwaukee Stars Merengue

Saturday, November 15, 2025 | Baird Center - Rooftop Ballroom

Downtown Milwaukee

Don’t miss this opportunity to see Milwaukee celebrities take the stage with a professional dance partner to entertain and raise funds to benefit Cristo Rey Jesuit High School’s rigorous academics, innovative Corporate Work Study Program and faith formation.

Is your business interested in partnering with our work study program?

We would like to speak with you about how your business or organization can partner with our Corporate Work Study Program! Contact Everette Fernandes at 414.436.4600 Ext. 3141 or efernandes@cristoreymilwaukee.org.

Make a difference in the lives of CRJ students!

The generous support of Cristo Rey Jesuit donors like you makes it possible for us to offer a Catholic, college-prep education combined with unique professional work experience to young women and men of all faiths and limited financial means. Consider a gift today or email Shannon Watry to discuss a planned gift for tomorrow.