Student Spotlight: Jonathan Grisalez
CTB’s Carlos Martinez sat down with current Arrupe student, Jonathan Grisalez ‘26 to discuss his experiences at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School, his transition to college, Arrupe's various supports, and his future aspirations.
Note: This transcript consists of excerpts from a longer interview and has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
CTB: Why did you choose to go to college? What prompted you to want to go to college?
Jonathan: As a Latino whose parents are immigrants, who came to the US and just wanted something better for themselves and for their children, luckily, I was given the chance to be a US citizen, and really just try to reach for the stars. I need to have realistic goals, but I also want to have that American dream and achieve things the way I want to. As a Latino, families always prioritize education, so that's what I wanted to pursue as well. That motivated me to continue pursuing education after high school. And I think college has become a gateway, a way for me to navigate what type of careers I want. There's so many different opportunities and careers that you can pursue and I think college does that for me.
CTB: Can you tell us about the major factors that influenced your college decision?
Jonathan: I think there were three big factors. I think the first one was family. As I said before, my family was big on education and continuing and pursuing that. My second big factor was high school. Cristo Rey has become a big part of my life because I attended high school for four years there and they're really big on you continuing your education after high school. They really want you to pursue careers, to get your bachelor’s, to have something on your resume. They want you to feel pride in being able to say “Hey, I went to college; my education's a priority.” And my third one was myself. What do I want to do in life and where do I see myself in the future? Because at the end of the day, I'm going to be the one making decisions, not my family, not my school.
CTB: What resources did Cristo Rey provide you with during the college admissions process?
Jonathan: Definitely a big resource at Cristo Rey was the college counseling. Luckily, my college counselor was Joanna Mena along with her counseling team. They have been amazing, they make sure you do your college essays, sign up for interviews, go visit colleges, have a good college list…They make sure that you get those resources so that you can be financially assisted and just focus on your education, on your classes, on your own life.
CTB: What has your experience been like during your first year at Arrupe?
Jonathan: There's just great people here at Arrupe, it's just so welcoming. There's no negative energy, nothing bad. How can you complain? It's just great. I love it. It's so diverse and I'm so thankful that it's diverse. Different races, cultures, traditions and food. I'm so happy because I really was looking for that.
CTB: Are there any academic tools or resources that you're using to stay on top of classes?
Jonathan: Academically, Arrupe helps you a lot. They have math fellows, bio fellows, and writing fellows. If you need help, you can just come to the office and do your homework and if you have any questions, you can ask them. They are there to help you out and it's a great space. It's where you hold yourself accountable. You're just there to do your homework. You're just there to focus, so you can be prepared before class begins the next day or in the next few hours.
CTB: Can you tell us more about the transition from high school to college? What changed for you?
Jonathan: At Cristo Rey, they taught us that college is going to be a big transition. I'm glad that some students from different colleges came to Cristo Rey and talked about their experiences and managing their free time. In high school, it's like a 9 to 5 type of thing. You wake up, go to school, go to classes, and then go home, do homework and go to sleep. In college, it’s different. You really have to manage your free time. You have to do things for yourself and make sure you're on top of your things.
CTB: What are your aspirations after Arrupe?
Jonathan: My whole life I’ve wanted to help people. And I know there's so many different ways of helping people out. But I think medicine has given me that big spark in life where it's not just being a surgeon or being a nurse or being a doctor. It's being able to help someone out so that they don’t have to worry about their complications or issues in life and more worry about their pursuit of happiness, the things that they want to do, their passions.
