Junior Jimmy Gomez warms up the crowd

Cristo Rey Jesuit's first-ever talent show, "The Mane Event," held on Friday, April 20th, was an incredible success, selling close to 300 tickets. A variety of student organizations, including Student Council, National Honor Society and the Woods Project came together to put on the outstanding dinner and talent show.

The students' talents were outstanding, ranging from singing, playing the piano, guitar and drums, reciting original poetry and performing original music and rap. Two wonderful Masters of Ceremonies kept the audience entertained between acts. In addition, the lighting, sound, and stage crews were all comprised of student volunteers.

Social Studies teacher Sean Tellez, organizer of the talent show, was in astonishment at the capabilities of the students: "Wow! It was inspirational to see our awesome student's talent on display in what will I am sure will become an annual tradition her at CRJ. I could not be more proud of the hard work and dedication of all of these performers and all the people that made this wonderful event possible!

All proceeds benefited Cristo Rey Jesuit's Wood's Project and will help ten students participate in a two week camping and backpacking trip to Northern California in July 2012. The Woods project seeks to develop leadership capacity and life skills in inner-city students through a series of outdoor education and environmental awareness programs.

The Woods Club on campus has attended 5 field trips over the last two years. On these trips, a total of 35 Cristo Rey Jesuit students have been afforded the opportunity to experience and interact with nature.

A Hole-in-One for Cristo Rey Jesuit! The school that opened just three years ago reached another milestone on Monday, April 23rd, raising over a quarter of a million dollars for student financial aid at its inaugural golf tournament. Held at the prestigious Champions Golf Club and chaired by Bill Smith, a Cristo Rey Jesuit board member and CEO of Russell & Smith Auto Group, the Cristo Rey Jesuit Golf Classic was planned with the true enthusiast golf in mind. The pristine greens of the legendary Champions Golf Club made for a memorable day.

"We wanted this golf event to be like no other with a limited number of players to create a day that appealed to golf aficionados," said Bill Smith.

Pictured: The Russell & Smith Auto Group team and Fr. TJ Martinez, SJ, President Cristo Rey Jesuit (Rick Baker, Tim Mercer, Reverend TJ Martinez, SJ, President Cristo Rey Jesuit, Kory Coles and Bill Smith)

An impressive list of companies and individuals attended as team sponsors, with Cooper Industries and Denham Capital as the premier course sponsors.

"Cristo Rey Jesuit is making an incredible impact on many of the city's economically challenged youth and their families," said Kirk Hachigian, CEO of Cooper Industries. "We are honored to support Cristo Rey Jesuit and its innovative education model. Cristo Rey Jesuit is making a difference in the lives of so many and we want Cooper Industries to be a part of that."

"The mission of Cristo Rey Jesuit fits with our community mission to seek out high-impact organizations and form partnerships with those dedicated to making a difference," said Bill Zartler, founder and managing partner of Denham Capital. "We look forward to a long term relationship with Cristo Rey Jesuit."

"The success of this event is proof that leaders of Houston believe Cristo Rey Jesuit is key to the continued prosperity of this city. Cristo Rey Jesuit is providing economically-disadvantaged students a road map to become the next leaders of Houston," said Reverend TJ Martinez, SJ, Founding President. "We are so grateful for this support, yet we are far from reaching our goal of providing a college prep education for 550 students annually. Next year, our school will jump from 260 students to over 400. Every one of our students need financial aid. As word of our mission spreads, more and more students are looking to Cristo Rey Jesuit for a chance at a better life."