Pictured from left: Taylor Porter Managing Partner and Cristo Rey Board Member Skip Philips; Cristo Rey Sophomore Ja’Darion Davis; Cristo Rey Sophomore Erion Davison; Board Member Stephen Waguespack of LABI; Cristo Rey Sophomore Jamone Williams; Board Member Sr. Eileen Rowe of Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady; Cristo Rey Board Chair Vic Howell; Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Provincial Sr. Barbara Arceneaux; Cristo Rey Sophomore Rakia Adams; Cristo Rey Sophomore Karen Pigrenet; and Cristo Rey Baton Rouge Franciscan High School President Brian Moscona.

Taylor Porter was pleased to host “Talk on the Terrace,” an event held on Monday, Oct. 23, to celebrate Cristo Rey Baton Rouge Franciscan High School’s Corporate Work Study Program for 2017. An evening on the Taylor Porter 8th Floor River Terrace atop the downtown Chase North Tower greeted guests, including Cristo Rey board members, leadership, Corporate Work Study Program partners, student ambassadors, as well as special guest East Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome.

Taylor Porter Managing Partner Skip Philips serves on the Cristo Rey Board of Directors and also serves as chair of the Corporate Work Study Program Board. Taylor Porter has been a part of the Corporate Work Study Program since the school’s inception, hosting students to work within the law firm office. “We see this as way to give back to our community by mentoring students who, without Cristo Rey, would never be afforded this opportunity,” stated Philips.

Cristo Rey students work five days per month at businesses across the Baton Rouge area to learn corporate skills and professional etiquette, providing them both college preparatory education and a pre-experience for the work force.

Every Cristo Rey student takes a full course load of college preparatory coursework for four years, as he or she participates five days per month in a four-year Corporate Work Study Program to fund the majority of their tuition.

In addition to Taylor Porter,  current Cristo Rey Baton Rouge Corporate Work Study Program partners include: All Star Automotive Group; The Baton Rouge Clinic; Baton Rouge General; Cajun Industries, LLC; CSRS; East Baton Rouge District Attorney’s Office; Essential Federal Credit Union; Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System; Front Yard Bikes; GMFS; Gulf Coast Bank & Trust Company; Hispanic Apostolate of the Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge; Innovative Emergency Management (IEM); Kean Miller LLP; Lamar Advertising; Louisiana Association of Business & Industry (LABI); Louisiana Remote Sensing & Geographic Information Systems Institute (LARSGIS); Louisiana’s Community and Technical Colleges (LCTCS); MidCity Redevelopment Alliance; Neighbors Federal Credit Union; Office of the Mayor-President – City of Baton Rouge/Parish of East Baton Rouge; Ochsner Hospital; Orion Instruments; Phelps Dunbar; Postlethwaite & Netterville; Society of St. Vincent de Paul; UpLIFTD; Vivid Ink Graphics; The Water Institute of the Gulf; and YMCA of the Capital Area. Corporate Work Study Program Underwriters include: Albemarle Corporation; Baton Rouge Area Foundation; Capital Area Finance Authority; and Entergy Louisiana.

The school currently serves 9th and 10 grade students and will be looking to add more corporate partners next year as the school continues to grow its enrollment.

About Cristo Rey Baton Rouge Franciscan High School: Cristo Rey Baton Rouge Franciscan High School is a part of the national Cristo Rey Network, which uses a rigorous academic model, supported by best practices in instruction and assessment, to prepare students with a broad range of intellectual abilities for college and life. Further, Cristo Rey schools employ an innovative Corporate Work Study Program that provides students with real world work experiences. In this highly unique model, every Cristo Rey student works an average of five days a month to fund the majority of her or his schooling, gain job experience, grow in self-confidence, and realize the relevance of this education. Students work in various corporate and business settings including law firms, banks, hospitals, universities, and with other professional organizations. Cristo Rey Baton Rouge Franciscan High School is a Catholic, college preparatory high school for students of all faiths from families of limited financial means. The school is co-educational and will serve students of diverse backgrounds. We help our students grow intellectually, academically, emotionally, spiritually, socially, and morally. Our aspiration is that all our students graduate from high school and college and become the future leaders in our churches, institutions, businesses, nonprofits, and the community at large. The religious sponsor of the school is the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady.