| This year, De La Salle North Catholic (DLSNC) proudly celebrates its 25th anniversary. When our founders first set out to provide access to a high-quality education for underserved students in North and Northeast Portland, the question of how was not immediately clear. But the why was: to create a transformational educational opportunity for motivated young people that honored cultural, spiritual, and ethnic diversity, and was grounded in Lasallian values. One decision led to another—much like St. John Baptist de La Salle’s founding of the Christian Brothers in 1680—and here we are today, 25 years later.
The question of how found its answer in the Cristo Rey Corporate Work Study Program. For 25 years, our students have stood apart from other high school students across the country by working five days each month in professional jobs throughout our city. We are especially grateful to those first companies (Guardian Real Estate, Nike, OnPoint Community Credit, and University of Portland) that said yes to employing our founding freshman class in 2001. Their courage and generosity paved the way for all the partners who have joined us since.
The 25th anniversary is known as the Silver Anniversary, with silver symbolizing strength, durability, and beauty. At DLSNC, I see strength in our faculty and staff, past and present, who bring both heart and professional expertise to support our students every day. I see durability in our school leaders and Board members, past and present, who have ensured that our mission remains strong in Portland. And I see beauty in the lives of our 1,150 graduates and 202 current students, whose curiosity, talent, and determination are making a lasting impact in our community.
Whether you have been with us since the beginning or have joined our Knight Nation more recently, thank you. Your belief in our mission has brought us to this milestone, and, together, we will carry it forward for the next 25 years and beyond!
Ashleigh De Villiers
President
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Relationship Building Among Knight Nation Constituencies!
During one week this month, two different gatherings offered unusual opportunities for intermingling amongst disparate Knight Nation constituencies. On September 17, supporters of our mission visited campus for our first-ever Morning Mingle. It was an opportunity for the special visitors to tour the campus and get to know two juniors, Fallon Presley and Arturo Isais Perez, as well as Michael Bartha, our new principal.
Many of the attendees have been supporting the school for a decade or more, and, for the majority of them, it was their first visit to campus. The format of the Mingle was both informative and fun! First, the students interviewed Mr. Bartha, asking questions ranging from why he pursued education as a career to the differences he experiences between dealing with his two-year-old son and DLSNC students. Then the roles were shifted, and Mr. Bartha interviewed Fallon and Arturo so that attendees could better understand the impact of their financial support.
Regarding the experience. Fallon remarked, “It felt like a great honor to be in front of people who support me and are interested in my education. When I grow up, I want to be able to give back to the community that I believe in, so the experience gave me hope.” Anne Kelly Feeney, a member of DLSNC’s founding Board of Trustees, shared, “It was such a good idea for me to attend. Gave me a shot in the arm for my commitment.” Check out a portion of the Morning Mingle here.
A few days later, at the University of Portland, three DLSNC alumni and current UofP students, Carlos Rocha ‘25, Liz Leon ‘23, and Sandra Padilla Cervantes ‘22, did a panel interview as part of a day-long retreat for the 19-member DLSNC Board. Board member Evan Leadem led the lively discussion that gave a clear sense of the power of a Knight Nation education and how it is propelling these impressive young adults towards their dreams. For one of them (Sandra), a component of her future dreams is being realized on campus, as, in addition to her UP coursework this school year, she is giving back by serving as a valued student-teacher in our senior English classes. Check out a portion of the alumni panel here.
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The author (in brown hoodie) on a Minds Matter outing in downtown Portland
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The Knight’s Blog by Arturo Isais Perez ‘27
Minds Matter is a national organization with local chapters throughout the US that supports high-achieving, low-income students pursuing higher education. It offers mentoring, SAT prep, academic and college application support, as well as access to summer college enrichment courses. Given that Minds Matter and DLSNC both focus on quality education for underserved youth, it's not surprising that many of my fellow Knights participate.
As a member of Minds Matter, an important thing I've learned is the importance of perseverance and maintaining a strong value for quality education. To me, Minds Matter is a strong community because they keep in contact with and support their students from the beginning of their participation to well after their high school graduation.
This summer, as part of Minds Matter, my fellow classmates and I attended the following:
Denisse Arriola Ramirez ‘27 - Stevens Institute of Technology - Business
Anai Beng ‘26 - Yale University - Science & Technology
Stephanny Castillo Portugal ‘27 - Tufts University - Engineering Design
Cassandra Enrequez Isais ‘27 - Oregon State University - Business
Jayden Hart Rasberry ‘26 - Brown University - Astronomy
Anahi Huertas ‘27 - Duke University - Justice
Angeli Lopez Hernandez ‘27 - Oregon State University - Business
Arturo Isais Perez ‘27 - Syracuse University - Pre-Med
The students were all asked, “How did your Minds Matter summer experience affect your goals for your DLSNC education or your future?” Here are some of their replies:
“It helped me fill a qualification for the Engineering Pathways [certificate] and helped me see that I want to continue in Pathways. It also helped me discover more Engineering careers that I wasn't exposed to before.” Stephany Castillo Portugal ‘27
“Since I was being exposed to like-minded people, it helped me become more motivated, and it helped me bring in new ideas to De La Salle. And it made my career goals more detailed. Instead of saying ‘I want to be a doctor,’ it helped me narrow down what specialty I would like to be.” Anai Beng ‘26
“The Minds Matter experience at Brown’s Summer College changed my perspective on careers I'd like to pursue. With that said, it also affected my goals for my DLSNC education, specifically which courses to take to expand my horizons and remain flexible for future job placements.” Jayden Hart-Rasberry ‘26
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Spreading Encouraging Energy
This month, all students in Theology created Community Spirit Flags, inspired by the Tibetan Prayer Flag tradition of praying into a flag and then allowing the wind to blow the blessing to the person for whom it's intended. Our students identified an inner quality they possess that they offer as a blessing to our classroom communities this year, and they wrote a word for that quality on one side of a folded piece of paper, using any language they chose. On the other side of the paper, they wrote another quality that they would like to possess in the classroom on a daily basis. Among the qualities listed are Peace, Love, Joy, Truth, and Hope. Finally, they decorated the flags in any way they chose.
With these beautiful flags, we are surrounding ourselves with positive, encouraging, and inspiring energy, and we will take that beauty out of the classroom and share it with the whole community. Enter to Learn, Leave to Serve!
--Tom McLaughlin, Theology Teacher
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Selfie With A Supervisor
Get a peek into the Corporate Work Study (CWS), the unique program that sets DLSNC apart from other schools in Oregon by hearing the perspectives of individual supervisors and their student associates.
This month’s supervisor/student team is from Metro Metals NW, which started its partnership with us last year. CFO Dan Jacobson supervises Sophomore McKenzie Hendrickson on Tuesdays (plus one Monday per month).
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How have you and your staff grown by supervising DLSNC Student Associates?
It’s so valuable for our managers to think proactively about getting McKenzie involved in learning about the business and arranging for her to work in different parts of it. She’s been doing mostly office support, a big filing project, and a lot of real estate-related data entry that helps me prepare our tax returns. We’re a pretty lean organization; none of us have assistants. For me, it’s been a good process to think about what I do daily that I can delegate. And then having the courage to trust McKenzie with being thorough. (Dan Jacobson)
How are you growing this year working as a Student Associate at Metro Metals?
I’m getting better at working with computers, talking to people, and being able to advocate for myself if I don’t understand something. Also being able to check for mistakes on paper and correct those.
The career options I’m thinking about are either a lawyer or a therapist. At Metro Metals, I’m learning how to talk to people and tell by their tone what they need help with, if they are confused by something, or getting upset for not understanding something. I think that’s helpful for either one of those jobs. (McKenzie Hendrickson)
What’s the coolest thing about working with McKenzie?
I would have qualified to go to De La Salle, so the number one thing I get out of the experience is giving back. Being older and having spent the last 50 years fighting to get to another spot in the world and succeeding, I just love the opportunity to help kids do the same thing. And I know our CEO, Victor Winkler, thinks the same way.
It is so much fun having youthful energy in the office. That’s the thing that I’ve really enjoyed. Last year, I’m not even sure McKenzie had turned 15 yet; she was really quiet, almost looked scared. So when she came in after the summer break, she was a completely different young woman. Confident! It was amazing to see the additional maturity because it wasn’t a brand-new job for her. (Dan Jacobson)
What’s the coolest part of your job at Metro Metals?
At Metro Metals, people come in to sell metals and to buy metals. They bring in things like old fridges or cars, and then the metal gets taken out from those, and they get rid of the rest.
You can actually go on a balcony and look at the people collecting the metals, which I think is cool. They use machines that separate things depending upon the magnets they use, and then they sort everything into buckets. It’s pretty interesting. (McKenzie Hendrickson)
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Please join us for our special anniversary evening; tickets are going fast!
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| Ways to support
Fred Meyer Reward Cards + De La Salle North Catholic
By linking your Fred Meyer Community Rewards points to De La Salle North Catholic, we will receive a quarterly donation from Fred Meyer. It only takes a moment to sign up:
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