S1 E11: 100% accepted to college, 100% corporate trained: Inside Cristo Rey’s Proven Model for Student Resiliency and Success (Dr. Patrick Liang, CEO and President of Cristo Rey Tampa Salesian High School)

What if a high school education could include AP classes, extracurricular activities, and corporate work experience, starting at age 14?

In this episode of Think Bigger Voices, host Jennie Treby sits down with Dr. Patrick Liang, President and CEO of Cristo Rey Tampa Salesian High School, an educational model transforming the future for low-income students by blending rigorous academics and real-world corporate work experience in a warm, family-centered community. With a 100% college acceptance rate, Cristo Rey equips first-generation students to break the cycle of poverty by giving them what few high schools offer: opportunity, structure, and confidence.

Listen in to learn:

• How Cristo Rey is a network of 40 schools across the country combining AP courses, corporate internships, and a values-based education.
• Why starting work study as a freshman helps students build confidence, soft skills, and career readiness.
• The importance of mental health support, food access, and trauma-informed care in student success.
• How Cristo Rey partners with 60+ universities and top employers to ensure students not only go to college—but graduate.
• What makes Cristo Rey Tampa’s students some of the most resilient, motivated, and employable young people in the region.

From BayCare to JP Morgan, Cristo Rey students are showing the world what’s possible when hard work meets high expectations.

Links:

Cristo Rey Tampa Salesian High School

Think Big for Kids

More about Dr. Patrick Liang

Dr. Liang on LinkedIn

About host Jennie Treby

Jennie Treby on LinkedIn

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