Wild Boar Pasta & Cristo Rey Jesuit.... Most people who get to know me quickly realize that when it comes to food, I'm pretty closed minded! I'm definitely a meat and potatoes (or, to be totally honest, a hamburger and french fries) type of person, and on Thanksgiving Day, I only target the traditional turkey leg and stuffing! It thus caught me off-guard when I was dining out with some very close friends of mine and someone ordered Wild Boar Pasta for the table to taste. My initial reaction was one of serious suspicion and disbelief. There is no way anyone could make wild boar taste good and I had no desire to venture out of my culinary comfort zone to give it a try. Immediately thinking that if my mother found out I rejected this very kind gesture, I would definitely be grounded (no - it does not matter than I'm a grown adult and a priest to boot!!), I grudgingly decided to give it a try. So it took me totally by surprise to find out that I loved it!! Spicy, tender and juicy in a silky, dark brown gravy, if I had known something this different could be this incredible, I would have ordered it myself!
I imagine that my suspicion to a dish that featured "wild boar," and even more, any type of food that was different than I was used to, reflects many people's reaction to anything new. We are generally a people who prefer the devil we know than the divine we don't. Moreover, when it comes not simply to a different culinary dish, but to an entirely new model of education, our suspicion grows even more and we prefer to cling, even irrationally, to a program or a school that we are used to, even at the expense of not preparing our city's children for college and a better future.
So you can imagine the absolute thrill I get every day when I walk into Cristo Rey Jesuit, after only being open for a little over 2 years, and being greeted by close to 300 children!! Rather than dismissing our new program because it was different than other high schools they were used to, our students, our parents and our families have embraced a program that targets children living in economically desperate situations and gets them into college in 4 years. Our teachers have embraced a different teaching and learning model where we have almost doubled the amount of hours students spend in the classroom, which directly and positively impacts their academic success. And our generous benefactors have embraced an innovative and unique school /that offers critical thinking, corporate and spiritual skills to children who will be Houston's next leaders.
During this Thanksgiving holiday, I thank all those who have ventured beyond their educational "comfort zone" and been a part of our Cristo Rey Jesuit Family. I also invite all those who hesitate getting involved because of the newness of our model to give us a try - believe me when I say, this is the next generation of education in our city! Come and see just how good "wild boar pasta" can be!!
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and always remember how grateful I am for you!
Father TJ Martinez, SJ
Founding President
