Here at Cristo Rey Jesuit, one of our most heavily-used resources is our computer lab, an open space containing 31 computers available for student and faculty use. The lab came together over several months during the summer, with many donations, and a lot of hard work from our great volunteers.

One year ago, when our technology director, Mark Bazin, arrived at Cristo Rey Jesuit, he surveyed the building, and found one room that was particulary well-suited to be the computer lab. Initially, the room was like many others at Cristo Rey, with a ceiling that needed to be replaced, no floor covering, and an accordion door that led to the room next door. During construction, all of the Cristo Rey offices were moved to this room -- one desk for each person, in a big, open area. As soon as construction on one side of the wing was complete, and people moved back to their own offices, construction began on the computer lab. The accordion door was removed and filled in, the ceiling replaced, and new carpet put in.

During the summer months, the computer lab was a staging area for many of the technology endeavors of Cristo Rey Jesuit. From unpacking and figuring out the Nortel Norstar phone system that was donated by a friend of Fr. Martinez's (and is in use at the school), to testing donated computer equipment, the room saw heavy use by Mr. Bazin, and his volunteers. As the school year grew closer, the room began to take shape as a computer lab, thanks to several generous donations. Strake Jesuit provided the computers that had been in its library, as well as keyboards and mice. Cheniere Marketing donated a large number of printers, one of which is the computer lab printer. We also received chairs from Exterran, and tables from the Aim Foundation. Except for purchasing surge protectors, network cables, and computer monitors, everything in the room is in place thanks to an in-kind donation, much like every room at the school.

The computer lab came together thanks to the help of several volunteers, in particular Michael Depinet, Cesar Giralt, and Nick Young. Michael is a Senior at Strake Jesuit, and chose Cristo Rey as his "Senior Service Project". Mike's first task was cleaning, inventorying, testing, and upgrading the computers available for the lab. Once the computers were ready, Mike and Mr. Bazin set to preparing the tables to function as computer tables by mounting a surge protector to the bottom of each table, and cable management rings to keep the computer cables nice and tidy. After the two had the computers in place, they set to using a disk cloning program to install software on the computers, and get them ready for daily use. Nick Young is a graduate student at USC, and a friend of Mr. Bazin's. Together, they refurbished network equipment donated by Dallas Jesuit, and tested different software configurations to get the ideal setup for our students. Cesar Giralt, another friend and former student of Mr. Bazin's, was another important volunteer, working with on several information technology projects both in and out of the computer lab.  The computers in the lab are all Acer desktops, with 3Ghz Intel Celeron D processors, 2GB of RAM, and an upgraded graphics card, connected to an 18" Dell LCD monitor. The computers all run Microsoft Windows Vista Enterprise, Office 2007, and are networked using Microsoft Active Directory. Next year we are looking to upgrade to Microsoft Windows 7 and Office 2010.

All of that hard work has paid-off: the lab gets regular use throughout the day -- it's often used by English, Math, and Business Communications classes, and was heavily used for the Corporate Work-Study training initiative. Currently, we are preparing for new activities and extracurriculars, such as digital media editing, and a robotics club. As the school grows, the computer lab will expand and change to fit the needs of our students and faculty. Regardless of what technology changes lie ahead, Cristo Rey Jesuit will always provide our students with the technical proficiency necessary to excel in college and beyond.

We are honored to announce that Fr. TJ Martinez, SJ and Susan Branda Martin have been nominated for the AMA-Houston Chapter-Marketer of the Year in the Education Category! Cristo Rey Jesuit is thrilled to even be considered for such a prestigious award. Bo Bothe, President and Chief Creative Officer, BrandExtract, LLC, the graphic design company that has generously created our brand and marketing materials, is also excited about the nomination

“You are most deserving of the nomination for everything you have done this year,” said Bothe. “It's incredible how much momentum you have built for the school.”

The marketing duo took only a few moments out of their busy schedules to take in the exciting news of their nomination.

“Cristo Rey Jesuit is such a great story to tell, we don’t really think of it as marketing the school,” said Susan Branda Martin, Communications and Public Relations Director. “All of us at Cristo Rey Jesuit feel so passionate about what we are doing and how the school is changing the lives of 100 students that getting the message out to anyone who will listen just seems like a natural thing to do.”

“Working with Fr. Martinez helps –he is such an enthusiastic leader for Cristo Rey Jesuit that you never stop to think something isn’t possible…you become a committed spokesperson or a volunteer for Cristo Rey Jesuit just by being near him, listening to his passionate vision for these kids.”

Fr. Martinez takes on many roles at Cristo Rey—besides being the leader of the school, he is also a very strategic marketer. He is constantly thinking of innovative ways to showcase Cristo Rey Jesuit and broaden the school’s appeal to the Greater Houston community.

“I believe that marketing is one of the most important areas of a business, and frankly, Cristo Rey Jesuit, is just that—a Catholic, college prep school in the business of educating low-income youth—kids who would have never dreamed of getting such an education—getting them off the streets, and sending them, prepared, off to college,” said Fr. Martinez. “Although the Cristo Rey business model did not have the position of a Communications Director until year 3 or 4, when I was appointed president of the school, I made the decision to have a Communications Director from the very start. I knew the importance of establishing brand identity and setting the standards on how we communicate our message to the public. With the incredible generosity and talent from our friends at BrandExtract, the Cristo Rey Jesuit brand design and identity has helped us become the ‘buzz of Houston.’ None of this would have been possible without the vision and support of Bo Bothe, Will Cunningham and Aimee Moore at BrandExtract.”

AMA-Houston is the premier association for professionals in the marketing industry. It leads the industry in educational information, career building and networking opportunities. On March 15, 2010, at the Alley Theatre, AMA Houston will honor 41 Best of Category winners and announce the 2009 Marketer of the Year.

Last year, 180 outstanding Houston-based companies, organizations and institutions were nominated by their industry peers, marketing leaders and chapter members for their innovative and effective marketing programs, and 33 were selected as Best of Category winners by a vote of members. Past Marketer of the Year winners include the Houston Zoo (2007), Weatherford International (2006) and the Houston Symphony (2005).

We are also proud to announce that Will Cunningham, Senior Designer at BrandExtract, received the bronze medal at the 54th Annual Art Directors Club of Houston Award Show for his work on the Cristo Rey Jesuit logo. Mr. Cunningham said, “We would like to thank Father T.J. Martinez, Susan Martin and all of the amazing staff, faculty and board members involved for trusting us with such an important project. Opportunities such as these are what drive us to do the Magis.”  Read More about Will's Award at BrandExtract's Blog.