Brother Vito Aresto, F.M.S.
Marist High School, Chicago, IL

We started the Marcellin program — a specialized program for kids who might not get a Marist education — seven years ago with 15 or 20 kids. Marist Chicago has a reputation for accepting the brightest students, but we were also taking in kids who were educationally challenged, so initially there was some resistance on the part of some who felt these kids could not succeed in a college prep school. Naming it for our founder, Marcellin Champagnat, seemed appropriate though, because he had difficulty in school, too.

We created academic courses at a pace that students could learn, and were trying to build the kids’ self-esteem while putting them through a college prep program. For many of these kids, failure in school has been a part of their life, and they don’t think they can succeed. Keeping them up can be such a challenge, especially if they’ve been working to take a test and still fail. We don’t give up. We re-strategize, come up with a plan and keep to the plan. It takes a long time, but gradually they move into other classes and find the skills they learned in the Marcellin program really start to pay off.

When the first group was nearing graduation and getting acceptances to colleges, I think that was when I realized that what we were doing was worthwhile. It was hard, but worthwhile. The greatest gift I can give these kids is to become advocates for their education. There are 200 kids in the Marcellin program now, and it has turned out to be a really wonderful experience. It’s a blessing.