SAN FRANCISCO — Sophomore Angelica Buncio knows her hard luck
turned to good fortune when she joined 371 female students at ICA Cristo Rey
Academy.
Established in 1883 to carry on the historic mission of Catholic
education to enlighten and empower the vulnerable and voiceless, the San
Francisco high school fulfills its ministry by joining with 152 corporate
partners to integrate professional work experience with a four-year college
prep curriculum and give economically disadvantaged girls a career-enhancing
edge.
Girls such as Angelica, who chokes up at the memory of the
travails she and her family endured after emigrating from the Philippines.
"My parents wanted a better life for me, but they couldn't
always give it to me and that's why ... " she confided, tears interrupting
her reminiscence. "It hasn't always been rainbows and all happy stuff, but
it's a lot better now."
Her prospects grew more promising with newfound aptitude and
attitude.
The former self-described "very shy, anti-social
introvert" now exudes confidence, courage and conviction born in part of a
well-rounded, in-the-field experience at Mills-Peninsula Health Services in
Burlingame, Calif., where her supervisor staggered her shifts to include
seniors, dementia patients, physical therapists, retailers and facility
managers.
"ICA has opened up a lot of doors for me and given me a lot
of opportunities that people way older than me don't have," Angelica told
Catholic San Francisco, newspaper of the Archdiocese of San Francisco.
"Now, because of my job where I met so many people in so many
areas of the hospital when I was just 14, I can talk on the phone with adults
without getting scared, I'm not afraid to ask for help, I've learned how to
branch out and try new things, like new sports and different clubs and getting
to know different kinds of people," she explained.
The story repeats with fellow sophomore Micaiah Acosta and
juniors Jessica Ferrer and Julienne Cancio, all U.S.-born children of
struggling Filipino immigrants whose future outlooks brightened with acceptance
at ICA Cristo Rey.
"I felt it was a good opportunity for me to have a better
life than what my family had to go through," said Micaiah, who worked at
UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital in Oakland, Calif.
"ICA gets us a step ahead because you don't see a lot of
teenagers in the workforce, especially at the corporate level, so it looks good
on college resumes, and it's helped me better my people skills."
As an additional bonus, tension eased between her parents, who
had divorced when she was 3, because — with an annual tuition of $2,900 and
families paying an average $1,500 — her father could finally afford the kind of
education her mother had longed to give her.
Jessica, whose parents worked at McDonald's to make ends meet
upon arriving in America some 20 years ago, felt equal relief for similar
reasons.
"My going to ICA to give me opportunities they didn't have
lifted a lot of pressure," she said.
She's had a job at Jones Day, a prestigious law firm, the sixth
largest in the United States and 13th highest grossing in the world. The job
"has definitely taught me so many things you couldn't learn anywhere else,
and the teachers have given me so much because they care and focus on every
student."
Her classmate Julienne's tale follows a similar script.
Arriving before her dad, her mom took a minimum-wage job at
Subway even though she had earned a dental degree in her homeland.
"Going to ICA definitely helped my family because the
tuition here was cheaper than my K-8 school, and it still gave me a really good
job, college prep, academics and personal payoff," said Jessica, who
worked for two years at Brown and Toland Physicians.
"If I was going to any school other than ICA, I would
probably be a nobody because before I came to ICA, I was really shy and not
comfortable talking in public."
Such transformations add evidence the unique model works in
enabling girls to "have experiences they never dreamed possible,"
said Dominican Sister Diane Aruda, ICA's president.
"Parents share how astounded they are at who their daughters
have become as mature, young women with goals."
They have statistical backing: 100 percent of students
matriculate, 82 percent being the first in their families to do so and 65
percent graduating within six years while often working part time; 95 percent
meet or exceed job expectations, and fewer than 10 percent drop out before
getting their diploma.
The impressive numbers may relate to ICA's unique acceptance
criteria that assess the "whole" applicant.
"We take it all into consideration," Admissions Director
Angelica Granera said, "GPA, test scores, family income, school
recommendations and family interviews."
The process aims for a good fit into the rigorous program that
demands four years of English, math, science and religion, three years of
social studies and language, two years of physical education and one year of
art, with honors and Advanced Placement options, in addition to four years of
corporate work study, a graded academic course.
Punctuality, performance, professionalism and proper attire —
white polo shirt, cardigan sweater or vest, khaki or black uniform pants, black
shoes — can contribute to high marks, said Bill Olinger, program director.
"We have a 90 percent sponsor retention rate, indicating
they believe in what we are doing," he said.
To get a leg up, new students participate in a two-week summer
training for clerical jobs they will be performing five days a month to earn
nearly half the cost of their schooling.
A sponsoring company pays ICA $34,000 a year for a team of four
girls — one from each grade — that rotates work days to comprise one full-time
employee.
That amounts to $8,500 per student, 43 percent of the $20,000 it
takes to educate her. Tuition adds another $1,500 to $2,900, with the remainder
picked up by donors, foundations and fundraisers.
The 136-year-old institution joined the Cristo Rey Network a
decade ago as its only all-girl school member.
Initiated in 1998 as a collaborative effort between the Christian
Brothers and the Jesuits, the network is comprised of 37 independently run
Catholic schools in 24 states, 3,450 corporate partners, 13,000 students and
18,035 graduates, making it the largest such entity in the country serving
exclusively the underserved, said ICA principal George Fornero.
"At ICA Cristo Rey, we often think of Mother Pia Backes, our
founder, who was charged with having to build a school to serve the 'young,
poor and vulnerable,'" said ICA alum Melissa Ruiz, who is director of
guidance. "That school, our ICA, was always living that mission and with
Cristo Rey we are able to enhance our resources in that path."
Wasowicz writes for Catholic San Francisco, newspaper of
the Archdiocese of San Francisco.