Today we’d like to introduce you to Paul Posoli.
Paul, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Prior to Cristo Rey Jesuit, I spent 20 years in the energy trading business, most recently as Managing Director and Head of Global Energy for JPMorgan Global Commodities. While working in London, I received an email from my wife telling me about my son’s baseball game. At that point, I thought, “you fool, you’re missing the most important years of your life.” I decided that day to change the direction of my life. I took a 15-month sabbatical from JPMorgan and began volunteering at Cristo Rey Jesuit, teaching a leadership and personal finance class to seniors. I fell in love with the mission – To inspire and prepare students of limited economic resources to succeed in college and lead their communities as compassionate, committed and competent men and women for others for the greater glory of God.
I returned to JPMorgan in the fall of 2013 but continued teaching periodically. In the spring of 2014, our founding President, Fr. TJ Martinez, SJ, was diagnosed with stage 4 stomach cancer. We were all deeply saddened because he was an extraordinary leader and person. While at work one day, my wife called. She told me that TJ thought I should be the next president. I was blown away because I loved Father Martinez and the school. After a few conversations with board members, I realized that they needed my help so I agreed to leave my career and join the school as interim president. I’m now in my fourth year as President of Cristo Rey Jesuit and I feel incredibly blessed to be a part of something so rewarding.
Has it been a smooth road?
During my time as a leader in the energy business, I experienced dozens of significant failures and setbacks including a corporate bankruptcy, trading losses, criticism by the New York Times and shareholder lawsuits. I can honestly say that, I’m more grateful for my failures than my success. Those events definitely reminded me of the things in life that are truly important and tempered my ambition a bit. As I become older, it’s also beneficial to see that those events, which seemed catastrophic at the time, were only small speed bumps in life, and in many cases, I was actually better off in the long run.
Cristo Rey Jesuit is unlike any high school in Houston because of our unique work-study model. Our biggest challenge at Cristo Rey Jesuit is typically related to fundraising. We are not a charter school so we don’t receive government funding for the education of our students. Every one of our students is on scholarship. They each work at one of 155 different businesses in Houston. The money they earn covers about 50% of the cost of their education. We need to raise an additional $3 million annually to fund 530 scholarships.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Cristo Rey Jesuit is a college preparatory high school that educates students with limited economic resources. All of our students are on scholarship. One of the unique aspects about our model is that each of our students works at one of 155 different businesses (examples BP, Hilcorp, Enervest, Wells Fargo, Deloitte, Memorial Hermann) in Houston. The money they earn (approximately $3.5 million annually), covers about 50% of the cost of their education.
We are in our ninth year. We’ve grown from 80 students to 530 students and 100% of our graduates have been accepted into college. They’ve been accepted to more than 200 colleges and universities including Stanford, Georgetown, Rice, UT, Texas A&M, UH and University of St. Thomas. I’m proud of the fact that we had our first college graduates in May from the class of 2013 and we estimate that more than 45% of the first class will graduate with a four-year degree within six years which is close to six times the national average of 8% for students with limited economic resources.
Most importantly, our students are leaving Cristo Rey Jesuit with values like being Open to Growth and Committed to Justice, with the understanding that we’re all called to be men and women for others.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Houston is the perfect city for Cristo Rey Jesuit because the people of Houston are so generous and philanthropic. We are very much a community school. Every person that ever hired our students, volunteered at CRJ, prayed for our students and contributed financially to support our students has a special connection to our school and students. We’ve been blessed with many corporate partners that hire our students. We need to add 20 new partners annually to keep up with the growth so we’re always in need of new partners.
Contact Info:
- Address: Cristo Rey Jesuit College Preparatory School of Houston
6700 Mount Carmel Street, Houston, TX 77087 - Website: www.cristoreyjesuit.org
- Phone: 281-501-1298
- Email: pposoli@cristoreyjesuit.org
- Instagram: @Cristo_Rey_Jesuit
- Facebook: /CristoReyJesuit
- Twitter: @CristoReyJesuit
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cristo-rey-jesuit-college-preparatory-of-houston/
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