Southwest Detroit high schoolers got the sports-draft treatment on September 1, but instead of jerseys, they walked away with corporate ID badges. Detroit Cristo Rey High School held its first annual Draft Day, pairing students in its Corporate Work Study Program with regional employers in a ceremony designed to feel like the real thing.
Senior Cristina Esquivel was one of the students matched that day, welcomed to her new team by Ebbony Graham of the Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network, according to the Detroit Free Press. The program, which the outlet describes as enriching hard-working students both in and out of the classroom, sends students to a job site one day a week during the school year, a model the school has run since it first opened.
How the Work Study Model Pays Tuition
Detroit Cristo Rey opened in August 2008 in Southwest Detroit's West Vernor-Junction Historic District, taking over the former Holy Redeemer High School building to become the city's only coeducational Catholic high school, according to Wikipedia. The idea behind the work-study requirement is straightforward: students earn wages at their placements that go toward offsetting tuition, while also picking up professional skills long before graduation.
The school now counts more than 80 local business partners in its Corporate Work Study Program, including automotive giants General Motors and Ford, per Niche. That corporate bench strength was on display during Draft Day, when Rehmann office manager Dani Shier joined school president William R. McGrail to discuss the onboarding process on WJR's The Mitch Albom Show. McGrail took over the presidency on January 5, 2026, after a national search tasked him with steering the school's strategic planning, community partnerships, and fundraising.
The Data Behind the Draft
There's research backing up the theory that these placements matter beyond a paycheck. An April study from the Cristo Rey Network found students who earn strong performance ratings from their work-study supervisors are 32% more likely to graduate college within four years. Nationally, the network reports that 68% of its graduates who attend university partner institutions earn a degree within six years, based on data released in January 2024.
Detroit Cristo Rey's own numbers have stayed strong closer to home: the school reports a 100% college acceptance rate among graduating seniors every year since 2012, according to the school itself. The broader Cristo Rey Network now spans 41 high schools in 24 states serving roughly 12,900 students, backed by more than 3,500 corporate partners that have generated $83 million in student job earnings to offset tuition nationwide.
Leadership Rooted in the Neighborhood
Principal Karla Gudiño's own path traces back to the same Southwest Detroit streets her students walk. She grew up in the neighborhood and joined Detroit Cristo Rey as a math teacher in 2009 before working her way up through the administration to lead the school, according to the school's own bio of her. That local rootedness echoes the school's early history: during its 2009 rollout, the school received a $900,000 grant from The Skillman Foundation along with support from the McGregor Fund to help get operations off the ground.
According to Hoodline, Detroit Cristo Rey has shown up in Southwest Detroit community life beyond the classroom before, having hosted a Bikes and Tacos ride from its parking lot and served as the beneficiary of a rooftop fundraiser back in 2019. Draft Day builds on that same neighborhood presence, giving students like Esquivel a formal, celebratory entry point into workplaces that will shape their next four years and beyond.
