| Do you want to give back to your community in a unique and meaningful way? Are you looking to expand your organization’s talent pipeline, provide your staff with management experience, and tap into the younger generation's creativity? If so, look no further than De La Salle North Catholic High School’s innovative Corporate Work Study (CWS) program.
I am very honored to lead business development for CWS, with strong collaboration from our Jobs Committee, which includes current CWS partners, Board of Trustees members, and dedicated friends of DLSNC. DLSNC is one of 41 schools nationwide that belong to the Cristo Rey Network, all of which have a similar mission and also operate a CWS program.
CWS employs all 200 of DLSNC’s students one day a week and one Monday a month, because of the commitment of our 85+ partners, including Expeditors, Microsoft, NIKE, and OnPoint Community Credit Union. Each partner pays a competitive service fee to host students from September through June, helping offset the cost of their education. CWS provides students with the amazing opportunity to explore career fields they may otherwise be unfamiliar with while learning new skills and building their professional networks throughout their four years of high school.
I’m so struck in my conversations with partners by their enthusiasm for hosting students in their workplaces. Frequent phrases that I hear from them about the program are “win-win,” “no-brainer,” “mutually beneficial,” and “the only game in town for workforce development for high schoolers.” Many partners find value in having already-trained students eager to work over the summer and sometimes even hire them for part-time work during college or after college graduation. A universal sentiment expressed by our partner supervisors is that saying yes to CWS brings “a breath of fresh air” to their workplaces, giving them hope for the future.
If you would like to learn more about how to participate in CWS, please reach out to me at nwagemann@dlsnc.org or 971-429-0060.
Noah Wagemann
Director of Business Development
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A Real World Application of In-Class Learning
Under the enthusiastic guidance of Social Studies teacher Richard English, the senior class spent a good portion of their US Government class during first semester working in small units, focusing on various elements of Constitutional knowledge. Their final exam was competing on the last Saturday of January against 10 schools from the Portland/Salem region at the We the People competition. Sharply dressed in black and white professional attire, the 48 seniors showcased their knowledge through timed arguments and by fielding questions from prominent members of the Oregon legal community. “It's a real watershed activity for all of our students, regardless of their academic standing or intellectual acumen, since they are all held accountable by a group of unknown professional judges in a challenging forum," commented Mr. English.
We were especially proud to bring home an Outstanding Unit Award for the Unit II division, which focuses on the creation of the Constitution. According to Mr. English, “Unit II is one of the hardest. Our group (Akeem Griffin, Sylena Kennedy, Zabe Marks, and Amore Thomas) had to wade through the Federalist Papers and be able to quote parts of the Constitution—some really tough stuff. They were the group who, during rehearsals, were constantly asking, ‘How can we do better?’ At the competition, they were able to use the six-minute intro to take control of the conversation, and the judges were sitting back, going whoa!”
Read some reflections from seniors about the competition here.
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Robotics Season Wraps Up
Robotics has always been more than a competition; it’s about collaboration, problem-solving, and building community. This season reminded us just how powerful that community can be.
A small but dedicated group of students continued to show up with commitment and determination to keep the Robotics Team strong this season. This core team consistently put in the hours, supported one another, and kept pushing forward. The students set small, achievable goals and worked steadily to reach them—goals such as improving their design, strengthening communication, and learning how to adapt under pressure. Every setback became a lesson. Every adjustment became progress. By the end of the season, the team had developed not only technical skills but also resilience and confidence.
At our final meet, during his interview with the judges, Co-Captain Adam Alvidrez '26 shared something that encapsulated the spirit of the season: "The robotics program helped foster a sense of community, one I didn’t even realize I was looking for." His reflection was a powerful reminder that what the DLSNC Robotics Team builds extends far beyond the robot itself!
–Pablo Rios-Cruz, Robotics Team Coach
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CWS Breakfast at NW Natural
Thanks to the dedication and generosity of the CWS Jobs Committee and NW Natural, we held our annual CWS partner recruitment event on February 3rd, and it was a resounding success with over 70 guests. The event featured impactful speeches from Ryan Marquez, Managing Partner of the Portland Office at KPMG, Jordan Bowen, VP, Sustainability & ESG Program Manager at Columbia Bank, and senior Amore Thomas.
Ryan, a native of NE Portland, effectively conveyed KPMG's commitment to giving back to the neighborhood he grew up in and to fostering the potential of the next generation of accountants. Jordan provided a clear, actionable roadmap for onboarding and effectively working with high school students. Last but not least, Amore, as the keynote student speaker, shared why she chose to attend DLSNC and how working at Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center and Cascadia Health through CWS has helped her prepare for a career in healthcare.
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Black History Month at DLSNC
This year’s Black History Month is especially monumental because it is the 100th Anniversary of the celebration. Our Black Student Union, under the leadership of Ms. Jasmine, organized a celebratory assembly, with much assistance from Ms. Argento and Ms. Ashley. The assembly featured videotaped personal reflections from staff about what Black History Month means to them, lots of learning opportunities about why Black history is American history, high-energy games, a fashion show of African and Caribbean traditional outfits and flags, and an Ethiopian dance for everyone to join in. Following the assembly, the whole school was treated to lunch, much of which was homemade by Ms. Jasmine’s mom. Thank you to all the contributors for pulling off such a fabulous celebration!
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The author (left) with his classmates at the Called & Chosen Retreat in CA
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The Knight's Blog by Arturo Isais Perez '27
From February 7-9, I was one of four DLSNC male students to attend the Called and Chosen Retreat at Saint Joseph’s Camp in Duncan Mills, CA, along with Mr. Kong-Ellison, Theology Department Chair. The retreat is named “Called and Chosen” as vocation defines our call in community, being both our passion and our divine calling.
The retreat is offered by the San Francisco and New Orleans (SFNO) District Office of Education Young Lasallians Program, with the support of the District Office of Vocational Ministry. It is held annually and is open to all junior and senior students (because those students are closest to pursuing their future educational and career paths) in the SFNO Lasallian schools. My classmates who attended were Jorge (Logan) Sanchez Mendez ‘27, Louvanny Bojorquez Perera ‘27, and Jose (Alfredo) Rivera ‘27. Next month, a similar retreat for young women will be held, and Denisse Arriola Ramirez ‘27, Michelle Troncoso ‘26, and Jahzara Harmony Wheatt ‘27 will attend. Read more of The Knight's Blog here.
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25 Fun Facts About Knight Nation!
As our 25th anniversary continues, we’d like to share some of the nuggets of knowledge and old-time pics that we’ve unearthed in our archives. Our mission of advancing equity in college and career opportunities through access to quality education has been unwavering since the day we opened our doors to the freshmen of the Class of 2005. But lots of other elements have changed over the years, many of which are no longer known by those of us currently in the building or connected to Knight Nation.
Who knew?
1) The school’s name was Cordero (meaning lamb in Spanish) when it was originally incorporated. The name De La Salle North Catholic came about subsequently, combining the name of the former North Catholic High School that burned down in the 1970s and De La Salle to represent our Lasallian sponsors.
2) In the first years of its existence, DLSNC’s dress code was professional garb, including ties for the young men. Uniforms were not introduced until 2010.
3) During his long tenure as US Representative, Earl Blumenauer visited DLSNC multiple times, the first being in 2003 to chat with the then juniors of the Class of 2005.
4) One company has been hosting DLSNC student associates for every single year of our 25-year history. It went by a different name in the early years (Portland Teachers Credit Union), but the dedication that OnPoint Community Credit Union has shown in mentoring hundreds of students is still as strong as ever!
Are you an alum or former staff member with a historical fun fact to share? We’d love to hear your input. Please email a reply to this newsletter and then check back in the next few months to see if your idea was selected for this feature. Knight Nation strong for the next 25 years!
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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 Microsoft, which is in its fifth year of hosting eight students every week at its Hillsboro office. On Wednesdays (plus one Monday per month), Senior Lab Engineer Corey Luihn supervises Casper Parsons '26.
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How have you grown by supervising DLSNC Student Associates like Casper?
My team supports Azure hardware engineering, so part of what the students are doing is being a tiny bit of that engineering project. Even if it’s physical stuff like organizing our lab space by unboxing cables, cabling, racking servers, that’s all necessary work. I don’t have anyone on my team who is Tier 1 support, so their being here opens up my guys to handle more difficult tasks.
Having young people in the office is a breath of fresh air; it keeps us on our toes. I’ve been in plenty of, I want to say, cube farms with a bunch of people, and it starts getting a little bit like a boys’ locker room. Having young people here keeps us focused and on the task at hand. (Corey Luihn)
How have you grown the past three years, working as a Student Associate at Microsoft?
My entire CWS time has been at Microsoft, and I love it! One thing that has surprised me is that, going into a business setting for the first time, I thought everything was going to be extremely serious. But in the networking work group that Jaden (the other senior at Microsoft) and I are part of, people are laughing and joking together while they’re working. Sometimes they get into deeper conversations, and what I appreciate is that they include us. They’ll ask, “How have you seen this in your life?” When I first got there, I didn’t speak much to my co-workers, but as time moved on, now I strike up a conversation with them about anything. It’s really cool.
I’ve learned a lot about coding in general—Python and some Scratch. Also, I’ve learned a lot about hardware. Every few weeks, we have to rack servers—that’s definitely really interesting. They’ve taught us what each individual part does for your computer, and so I was able to tell the good from the bad when I earned money this summer to buy a new computer. It’s made me consider for college doing something in the technical field. AI development, cybersecurity, and networking have made it onto my list in addition to my original plan of being an astronomer or something in biology. (Casper Parsons)
What’s been the coolest thing about working with Student Associates?
We’re truly impressed by how much our students have grown and contributed, and their positive attitude makes a difference every year. We hand over lower-level tasks to them, and lower-level as a freshman is definitely not lower-level as seniors. Having Microsoft on their resume, even right out of high school, if they wanted to get a Tier 1 help desk job, they’ve got something to get a foot in the door. It lets others know that they are trainable and valuable.
I was a Cristo Rey Network supervisor at Microsoft in Raleigh prior to coming to Portland, and I’ve been doing it here for four years. Dan Danner, who has my role at Microsoft in Silicon Valley, his team has been doing it awhile. I think Redmond, the mothership, is the latest department to sign on for students. (Corey Luihn)
What’s the coolest part of your job at Microsoft?
During lunch or if we finish our work early, we can go to the game room or the pool table. Jaden and I generally play Marvel Rivals or Fortnite, and sometimes Corey comes in to comment on our gameplay. That’s cool, like bonding. It’s a positive thing to have fun stuff like that in the workplace to destress a bit.
There’s one thing that’s really unique to the Microsoft building. Nearby is a building that houses chimpanzees ( Oregon National Primate Research Center). There’s a set of binoculars upstairs and a perfect view of their play structure. Jaden and I like to go up and watch them play on their exercise wheel. (Casper Parsons)
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