We are excited to report that we have raised $850,000 for Academic Signing Day. Thank you to our incredible supporters and everyone who attended the May 6, 2025, event. We are close to achieving our $1,000,0000 goal and will continue to raise funds over the next few weeks. If you haven’t had the chance to contribute yet, please consider donating to help continue our important work.
We are pleased to share the speech delivered by our 2025 honoree, Jim Wayman, whose heartfelt message deeply resonated with our guests.
Good evening and welcome to Cristo Rey Boston Academic Signing Day.
I’m Jim Wayman, and I am totally honored and thankful for all of you being here today.
Twenty years ago, Tom O’Neill, along with Mayor Marty Walsh, was the driving force behind transforming the North Cambridge Catholic School to Cristo Rey and moving it to a vacant grammar school in Dorchester, which we rent from the Archdiocese of Boston.
CHRIST THE KING is the literal translation for Cristo Rey. Our school was the second Cristo Rey school to open in the U.S. There are now 40 Cristo Rey schools in various cities around the country. The main distinction for Cristo Rey Boston is that our school is the only one that is totally tuition-free, receiving NO outside funding. We are totally supported by generous donations from people like you.
I was introduced to the Cristo Rey model by my daughter Lia, while she was working and living in New York City and volunteering at Cristo Rey Harlem. I was totally BLOWN AWAY.
The concept of how the school operates was the brainchild of the Jesuits, who established the first Cristo Rey in Chicago in 1996. The work/study concept was initially driven by the need for funds, but its benefits have resulted in so much more. Freshmen through seniors job share, each working one day per week. The companies where the students work contribute their salaries to the school. The original mission, as ours is today, is to develop the whole person with an emphasis on service, while giving each student the pride in knowing that their outside work has contributed to their education.
I was lucky enough to be born in this great country and raised by two parents who provided me and my siblings with a debt-free college education. Cristo Rey students come from low-income, hardworking families that value education but make less than $40,000 annually. Tuition to a good high school, let alone college, is out of their reach.
This has been an incredibly difficult year, both politically and economically. What distinguishes our students is that they are committed to helping fund their education, which builds determination, grit, and character and prepares them for life. Whether a data entry job, receptionist at a law firm, hotel, or dental office, these jobs expose students to a world most have not had access to, giving them the confidence, drive and desire to attend the amazing and prestigious universities that clamor for them upon graduation.
As a member of the Board of Trustees as well as the Jobs Committee, I am tasked with finding and securing jobs to offset the shortfall in annual tuition.
Originally it was easy, tapping my friends who owned and managed businesses, but being retired I am no longer in the work world, nor are most of my former colleagues. Now we look to you and others to help us find jobs for these very special students. Take a moment to think about people you know who are in a position to help us employ our students. The students are hard workers and eager to learn.
There are many other ways to support Cristo Rey besides helping to provide jobs. Of course there are tax deductible donations. For those of you who have reached the ripe old age of 72, you can give the distribution that is required to be taken out of your IRA, directly to the school. This distribution is taxed as regular income, but it is tax free to the school which gives it a greater impact.
I want to give recognition to my good friend Paul Gaynor and his continued support of Cristo Rey. A few years ago Paul spoke to me about his desire to donate to an educational cause as a tribute to his parents and sister. As a result of Paul’s generous donation to our school, today we have the Hope, Tom and Martha Gaynor Environmental Science Lab. We were able to hire a PhD in cell and molecular biology to teach environmental science.
We are all asked to contribute to many worthy causes. I could not think of a more impactful way to give my time and money and directly impact not only a young person’s future but the future of our country, by giving to the education of young men and women who otherwise would be left out.
Recently, Cristo Rey nationally celebrated 40 under 40. We had three honorees from our school. Kati Fernandez, senior director and head of development at ESPN; Yarlennys Villaman Hale who is the senior director of community affairs at the office of Governor Maura Healy, and Kelley Garcia, Chelsea City Councilor at Large. We are incredibly proud of the outstanding graduates of Cristo Rey Boston. Let’s give them a big round of applause.
As an entrepreneur, I have faced many difficult challenges in my business career. However, nothing that I have faced compares to what these students face each day. Often, they have long commutes to Dorchester, working their part-time jobs, and concentrating their rigorous college curriculum into 4 long school days is difficult. They also play sports, are in school clubs, and often help support the rest of the family. Truly, having a member of one’s family attend Cristo Rey is a source of pride and sets an example for younger siblings!!
Thank you for listening to the story of Cristo Rey. I hope you were as BLOWN AWAY as I was.