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President Clem Martin's Remarks - 2019 King of Hearts Gala

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good evening I mean half of our board chair Dave Nicolai our school principal Temple pain will give Dave a few claps faculty and staff or students and their families I like to welcome you to our 11th annual King of Hearts Gala I'd like to begin by saying thank you your presence here tonight in support of our mission in support of our young women and men helps make many amazing things possible so thank you especially like to thank Bob and Maria westrip our chair couple for event this evening when is the 10-year anniversary anniversary party we had last year would be tough to top but Bob and Maria have done an incredible job this year we are very grateful for your leadership and your generous support not only of this event but all you do to support our students thank you how much we also had an incredible host committee they're mentioned earlier and they're listed in the program books that can be found at your table this group was instrumental in making tonight in credible success from centerpieces to the silent auction they can do it all thank you very much and finally I'd like to thank the team from ctk pipe it up Maureen Kelly Sarah Gibbs Mike Smith Tony as a pop bottle and Chase Stein they do a tremendous job everyday at a responsible for much of the work behind the scenes that makes this a special event every year you guys are incredible thank you when friends come to call is the happiest season of all It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year for tonight's speech I was going to start out singing 10-4 better of it as a Jesuit school we often talk about gratitude be very grateful that you didn't have to hear me sing anything the lyrics I began with him song are easily recognizable especially since the Christmas season past when friends come to call it's the happiest season of all It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year there a few times each year that I get that feeling at Christ the King that it's the most wonderful time of the year one of them is an December is not because we have a two-week break around the corner Christmas it is because that is the time of year when many of our alumni come back to Venice come back to visit they finish their semester exams and they stop and visit their teachers their counselors administrators friends off and they come by and groups of two or three El Dante were the mayors has told us he's known on the campus of Saint Mary's in Minnesota came by and talked to us about his upcoming graduation this spring his desire to give back to others I do service program after he graduates he shared his service was a part of who he was and that was one of the things I really liked and learned by being at ctk the Jedi just returned from Guatemala and will be in DC completing an internship the spring semester she's at Dominican University the race is in her second year at a roof paint is off to Spain this summer she's on the Dean's List there is expecting your associate's degree in August Jerry finish the semester of school in Iowa but was struggling back at home is working and taking a few classes at Triton and working with our counselors to determine possible next steps CJ finish this Bachelor's in criminal justice more than a year ago is now the Chicago Police Academy OB on the street serving our city in the months ahead Tatiana just finished her master's degree in social work in January and is ready to join the workforce Destiny 2 drop by drop by after dropping her mom off at work SF minister at ctk she came in to see Miss catledge but share with those of us being the front desk that should be graduating from Loyola the spring with an undergraduate degree and staying for next year to complete an MSW it was a long road your first two years of Triton before being able to transfer to Loyola Jada is a member of the National Guard as a role that Western Illinois the list could go on and on and on it's always great to see these kids when they come back each one of them is proud accomplishments we can see it in their faces we can feel any emotion of their voices as they share the news with us and we are very proud of them success is far from guaranteed for our young men and women and it does not come without sacrifice with a median family income of just over $20,000 what are the lowest in the crease the right networks and if any judge would School in the country are parents make sacrifices to pay what they were able to send their children to Christ the King knowing that the money they invest their today will lead to a brighter future tomorrow our faculty and staff member sacrifice they work evenings and weekends complete additional professional development workshops over there summer breaks right countless letters of recommendations Kairos letters and complete many many different tasks that aren't found in their job descriptions they do it because they believe in the mission they believe in our students our students make sacrifices would be easy to go to school without uniforms these are grading scale 1 that you don't miss basketball practice or a softball game because you got your cwsp job one that doesn't ask you to complete almost 100 hours of community service before you graduate they come to Christ the King because they want to be challenged they understand that the expectations are higher and are willing to work hard at school and in the work-study jobs in pursuit of their dreams different Frieza race schools around the country use variations of the phrase a school that works I've been at Christ the King now for six years and I witnessed firsthand a school that does indeed work I witnessed a transformation that occurs from the time a student first arrives and ctk to their senior year and then again when I return as alumni arriving for summer business training before their freshman year most center with uncertainty of quiet trepidation about what that what the next four years on sale announce as alumni when they return to Christ the King there, empowered in college or employed full of conviction and full of Hope with your generosity you make this transformation possible we are president's Retreat for the crease or no crease of right Network earlier this week we talked about hope we talked about the leaf and we talked about faith we're fortunate to have Father John Foley with us on a retreat and he celebrated mass for us during his homily he told us to be delusional we all chuckled when he first said this and then he repeated himself and told us again that we should be delusional he said if we have faith if we have hope we should make tremendous plans and trusting God to help us achieve them think of the Jesuits and their partners that they started the original Crystal Ray school and the idea of the corporate work-study program I'm sure there was someone here that thought they were delusional and now think of it 3535 schools and a few thousand study partners all across the country delusional indeed has been our second decade. the king we are acutely aware of our current needs especially the need for more corporate work-study opportunities for our students we need more jobs but we must be at least a little bit delusional as we dream of Tomorrow what tomorrow can bring we have dreams of converting our old computer labs and part of the library into a steam space a place where students can learn to code learn computer-assisted design create music experiment with video production use 3D printers and later laser cutters to build and create new things we have dreams of building an endowment that will help support student scholarships allow faculty and staff to continue to grow and develop as professionals and to ensure that all our students are provide I need opportunities to be successful and most importantly we must allow our students to dream when they enter our doors we want to be sure to spark their curiosity and to challenge them academically and spiritually encouraging them Define oppression and to see the world as it can be not as it is eating and flamante Omnia just assignation sent out as companion judge with centuries ago we want our students to go forth and set the world on fire thank you for walking with our students and for opening the mini doors to opportunity that allow them to grow and develop that allows them to make Big Dreams thank you for helping me and others experience the joy of their success during that Wonderful Time of the Year United hope trusting in God let's continue to Dream Big Dreams thank you again for coming this evening as we begin our live auction and paddle raise I asked you to give until it feels good together let's set the world on fire thank you very much

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President Clem Martin's Remarks - 2019 King of Hearts Gala

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