Christina Chavez, member of the class of 2000 of Saint Mary’s College High School in Berkeley, California, credits the four years she spent at Saint Mary’s with giving her the foundation she needed to realize her dreams: “I learned how to be confident in myself and my abilities — something you really need to succeed in college and to get to medical school.” As a Class of 2009 M.D. candidsate at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Chrissy Chavez speaks from personal experience.

Living a life that includes "service for others," was one of the most important lessons this hard-working alumna learned at her alma mater. While at Saint Mary’s, her Enrichment Week experiences included an immersion trip to Tijuana and participation in the first Pilgrims for Peace trip to El Salvador: “El Salvador definitely changed my life,” she remembers, “so much so that I went back last spring break and hope to do a one- to two-month rotation at the clinic in Guarjila next year.”

Another life-changing aspect of her high school education was her membership in a multicultural club. “At the time,” Chrissy recalls, “I wished for a Latino group, but I realized later that my experience at Saint Mary’s allowed me to feel comfortable working with different cultures.” Today Chrissy values the realization she gained: People’s characters are important, not the color of their skin or their country of origin. She’s able to put this realization to work daily through her involvement in SNMA, a mostly African-American organization; LaRAMA, a Latino group; and SAMSA, the South Asian Medical Student Association. The credit goes to her alma mater, Chrissy insists, “The diversity Saint Mary’s fosters is an excellent example the rest of the world should try to follow.”

Co-curricular activities played an important part in Chrissy’s life during her student days at Saint Mary’s. “I was the captain and goal keeper for the first varsity women’s soccer team my freshman year and continued to be the captain all four years.” Her sophomore through senior years, she was on the varsity cross-country and softballs teams as well. In addition, the busy student played trombone in the school band. From all of these activities, she learned not only how to be a leader, but also how to be a member of a team. Today, Chrissy reaps the benefits of that training by holding responsible positions in various medical student groups.

Was there a teacher or a coach at Saint Mary’s who was a major influence? Chrissy says it’s impossible to name just one: Mr. Filson, Mr. Mohun, Mr. Davis, Mrs. McManus, Mrs. Lawson, the list goes on. What mattered most was knowing there were people who truly cared: “To feel like I had an SMCHS family that would remember me and be cheering for me as I continued through high school on to college and now medical school has always made the difference.”

Although Chrissy Chavez has a long challenging career road ahead of her, one day soon she looks forward to being back in the Bay Area as either an emergency room physician or a pediatrician. When that day comes, she plans also to play an active role in Saint Mary’s alumni community. "I love SMCHS," says this future physician. "Sending me there was absolutely the best decision my parents ever made. My med school colleagues and I wonder what school we might give money to when we finally have some. I always say that of the four schools I have attended, Saint Mary’s will be my choice. I’m thinking some sort of scholarship for a minority female interested in science, hmm . . . ."

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Writer: Mary Beth Ferrari
Photographer: Dean La Prairie
This article first appeared in the Spring 2007 issue of Peralta Park Press, the magazine of Saint Mary’s College High School, Berkeley, California. The entire issue of Peralta Park Press in PDF format is on the school’s web site at www.saintmaryschs.org.
Saint Mary’s College High School and other schools in Washington, Oregon, California, and Arizona are sponsored by the De La Salle Christian Brothers western province, the District of San Francisco (www.delasalle.org). The Brothers of the Christian Schools, founded by Saint John Baptist de la Salle in 1680, have as their mission “to provide a human and Christian education for the young, especially the poor.” For more information on the worldwide Lasallian educational mission, visit the international website at www.lasalle.org; for more on the life and vocation of the De La Salle Christian Brothers, visit www.brothersvocation.org.