1. The Cristo Rey TorchIssue 5 Cristo Rey Atlanta Jesuit High School * 680 W Peachtree, Atlanta, GA 30308 Friday, June 3, 2016
Ms. Beam: No Longer a Che-mystery
Jada Milligan
Staff Reporter
Melissa Beam is one of the sophomore chemistry
teachers as well as one of the biology teachers for the
freshmen. Ms. Beam attended UNC Asheville and then
UGA for her graduate degree. She has been teaching for
around 16 years now and can’t wait to get to 17. Prior to
joining the Cristo Rey staff, she taught at Milton High
School and St. Pius X Catholic High School for four years
each and at Alpharetta high school for seven years.
Ms. Beam enjoys teaching, but when she was
younger, teaching was the last thing she wanted to do. “I
didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do, but I did know
that I definitely did not want to be a teacher!” Before Ms.
Beam became a teacher, she had various jobs such as
working at the YMCA and working as an administrative assistant, but they didn’t necessarily “speak to her.”
She also volunteered with a life teen group at church and while volunteering to tutor for a friends service she
discovered that she was pretty good at teaching science.
Ms. Beam started working at Cristo Rey Atlanta because she was intrigued by the mission and liked
what the school stood for. She especially liked the idea of the corporate work study program and her favorite
memory since coming here just happens to be Draft Day. Cont. on A2
Ms. Huff: Forever Young
Melanie Mata
Staff Reporter
Ms. Huff balances a wide range of responsibili-
ties throughout the school. She meets with students
one-on-one and counsels them through whatever chal-
lenges or obstacles they may be facing. She also works
with classes through her Guidance class, where she
provides college and general "life" advice. Not only
does she help students, she helps out faculty and staff
by taking on additional responsibilities such as substi-
tuting, staying after school, and acting as "nurse."
Ms. Huff first became interested in this career
after working in admissions at Oberlin for four years!
She made the switch to high school because she en-
joys being able to talk to young students. She also en-
joys working with teenagers because she feels as if she
gets to stay forever young with them. Though we all
love and appreciate all she does to help us, many peo-
ple do not know much about Ms. Huff. Cont. on A2

2. A2 SCHOOL NEWS
Campus Ministry In Action
Malcolm Delfish
Staff Reporter
It's a Thursday and you just happen to
be walking into Fr. Kenny's classroom. What
would you see? You would see the Campus
Ministry members and the current director , Mr.
Soares , in the middle of a discussion, of course.
This discussion would cover a multitude of sub-
jects such as the liturgy, student retreats, ser-
vice projects, and pastoral care. Meanwhile, you
would be welcomed into the warm and friendly
environment as if you'd always been there.
Members of Campus Ministry are active
in schoolwide liturgies. They read the gospel
and scripture verses. While campus ministry is
the main source of helpers during mass, every-
one is allowed to help. They also play a role in
school wide retreats. For example, the freshmen
and sophomore retreats were orchestrated by
the campus ministry. Cont. on p. C1
“Ms. Huff” cont. When she first started at Cristo
Rey, she had a lot of pressure on herself be-
cause there was only one counselor. Besides
the big transition from admissions office to
counselor, she had to work long hours and had
only herself to rely on since we had limited cir-
cumstances.
Besides helping us with our problems and giv-
ing us advice on life, Ms. Huff is also a part of many
clubs at school. She is a moderator of Girls Who Code
Club and even assists in Cross Country. In fact, Ms.
Huff ran for the first time this year in 2016.
We have all received help from Ms. Huff even if
we think we have not. She doesn’t just help us with
our personal problems but with our futures. She wants
to make sure all of us get into a great college/
university and achieve great things when we get older.
Ms. Huff isn't just an advocate for us but also
for animals who do not have the ability to defend
themselves. Ms. Huff has been a vegetarian for nine
years now and believes in saving the animals not kill-
ing them. Ms. Huff loves the outdoors and doing things
like biking and hiking with her family.
Our counselor is a major part of our school and
without her we wouldn’t be the school we are today.
“Ms. Beam” cont. She said that she enjoyed the
cooperation of the community at the event and she
enjoyed seeing the reaction of the students when
they received their job placements.
Since starting here, she has learned a few
things from her students such as, what “shade” is
and how to throw it, how to use her iPhone, and
how to be a more flexible in her teaching. Ms.
Beam says that her flexibility allows her to accom-
modate for the different learning styles of her stu-
dents and it allows for a laid back and interactive
environment in her classroom.
Throughout the year, she has gotten to
know her students and witness the famous “light-
bulb moment” they have when something clicks
after working so hard on a difficult topic. Ms. Beam
wants her students to know that she finds these
moments rewarding and that they are part of the
reason she keeps teaching.

3. B1 CWSP
Behind The Scenes Look At New
CWSP Grading Policy
Benton Thompson IV
Staff Reporter
In September 2015, Cristo Rey students began re-
ceiving individual Corporate Work Study Program (CWSP)
evaluations from their corporate job sponsors. These evalu-
ations were used to give students praise and constructive
criticism based on their performance at the workplace. Stu-
dents were evaluated on a scale of one to five, one denoting
a need for improvement in a specific skill set area and five
denoting an above average performance. A few of the cate-
gories that students were evaluated in were communication
skills, technology skills, responsibility, and initiative.
The CWSP staff have decided to bring forth a new
change this year by transforming student work evaluations
into an academic grade that will be counted in the academic
progress reports and end of the year GPA. Students are not
only graded based upon evaluations given by their supervi-
sors, they are also graded on their promptness, profession-
alism, dress code, and overall CWSP performance.
Although some students are jovial about this new
change because it will help increase their GPA, others feel
that this new change will have a negative impact on their
grade.
Sophomore Maria Khai says that she believes that
this change is a great way to ensure that students uphold a
level of professionalism; however, it is unfair for those students who do not particularly excel in the Corpo-
rate Work Study arena. Sophomore Abraham Duarte-Perdomo says that “it’s an easy grade as long as you
listen to the adults. Everything hat they require us to do is are what we should be doing anyways.” Overall,
the transition in CWSP policy has prompted both positive and negative responses from students.
Workplace Experience
Naol Hulufe
Staff Reporter
Ninth grader Bryan Tinoco-Hernandez works
at Ernst and Young and loves his work place. He en-
joys working there because his tasks are interesting
and challenging. His daily tasks are checking the
printers to see if they are properly set up, waiting for a
task, and chatting with his supervisors and other
workers.
Like most of us, Bryan had a lot of challenging
tasks at work. The most challenging tasks were a
scanning project which took him three days to com-
plete and Project CEO final presentation. Even
though the tasks challenged him, these tasks has im-
pacted his life positively. These tasks have prepared
him for college and future careers.
Although Bryan had many challenges at his
workplace, he has gained many skills that will help
him throughout his life. First and foremost, he said
that he gained confidence and trust. Advice he gained
from his job is to, ¨trust people around you because
they are not strangers, they are your friends¨. He
learned that trusting people is important especially
when you work with them. Working at Ernst and
Young has helped Bryan develop a wide range of
beneficial attributes, such as the capacity to take re-
sponsibility, develop time-management skills, and
overcome shyness with adults.

4. C1 OPINION
“Campus Ministry” cont. from A2 Pastoral
care is one of the main focuses Campus
Ministry meetings are dedicated towards.
This usually consists of speaking with
someone like Mr. Soares about religious
questions, whether it be one on one or at
a retreat. Any student can receive pasto-
ral care and it is open at all times.
Campus Ministry also participates
in service projects. One of the more com-
monly known ones is the CRS Rice Bowl.
A few members of campus Ministry went
to a meeting concerning the Rice Bowl.
Afterwards they went to each class dis-
cussing what the Rice Bowl was and what
we were supposed to do. As you know
the CRS Rice Bowl was a major success.
So while you may not hear of such big
projects all the time, Campus Ministry has
done plenty.
The Life of a Child Soldier
Kennedy Harris
Staff Reporter
Most children don’t think about all the pain children from other countries experience. They suffer on a
day to day basis and no one hears their cry.
According to the Human Rights Watch , many African children both male and female are taken hos-
tage and are compelled to become child soldiers. The females are forced to have children and become
wives for the older soldiers.
Often when the child soldiers try to escape captivity they are killed. Some are successful at escaping.
When they escape the brutality of the capturers some of their tribes do not accept them anymore, people
look down on them and begin to judge. Many child soldiers become orphans after they escape because their
parents are dead and no one wants them. Sometimes people raise money to help the children get back on
their feet.
This is the story of one girl who suffered these tragedies at a very young age that was first reported
by War Child.
Agnes was only ten years old when she was abducted from her family garden. When she was twelve
she was forced to have children with one of the commanding officers. Later on when she was thirteen she
escaped and was reunited with her sister. It was extremely difficult for her to get back into society and be
whole again.
This is one example of a distraught child who was forced to be a soldier. Can you possibly imagine
what the other soldiers must have felt? With your help you could give a donation as little as a penny and
make an escaped soldier’s new life just a little bit better.
At Cristo Rey Atlanta, we are striving to be men and women for others. Consider the story of this one
child. Imagine if we all stood up and fought for the children of abuse and torture such as this. We could all
make a difference.
Thanks for reading! Have a great summer!