It’s no secret that there is something special about Catholic schools.
The proof is in the classrooms, auditoriums, gymnasiums and hallways of schools across the Diocese of Camden, where students thrive as they grow in their faith and prepare for their future.
The proof can also be seen in Catholic school graduates. According to the National Catholic Educational Association, 99% of Catholic high school students graduate, and 85% of those students go on to higher education. Catholic school alumni find success in furthering their education and making a name for themselves in their fields – all while maintaining the faith, morals and work ethic they learned in their alma maters.
Following is the second in a series of these success stories.
Lauren Cristella has fond memories of her time at Our Lady of Mercy Academy, Newfield, and recalls being inspired in her first year there.
“I had a moment at the end of my freshman year where I thought to myself that I wanted this place to be better because I was there – it was filled with phenomenal women doing their best and making a difference, and it was an inspiring example,” she said. “I joined almost every club the school had to offer and took leadership roles in several of them. I was also on the softball team all four years and was the team captain. There are so many highlights, and many of the teachers and my fellow students are still important parts of my life and community.”
Raised in South Jersey, Cristella attended Saint Mary School, Williamstown, before Our Lady of Mercy Academy. Her high school experience inspired her to continue her path of Catholic education by applying to the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
“A teacher at OLMA knew my interest in politics and current events and encouraged me to apply for the Presidential Classroom summer program between my junior and senior year,” she recalled. “During that program, I fell in love with Washington, D.C., and knew I wanted to attend college there. I visited every college in the D.C. metro area, and CUA felt the most like home.”
Cristella went on to earn her master’s degree in ethics, politics and public policy from the University of Essex in Colchester, England.
Today, Cristella serves as the president and CEO of the Committee of Seventy, which was founded in 1904 in Philadelphia to combat corruption in government. The nonpartisan nonprofit is credited with playing a significant role in civil service reforms and the passage of the city’s 1919 and 1951 home rule charters.
“I’ve dedicated my career to preparing people for active citizenship,” she said, “whether in the education department at the National Constitution Center, helping to run the Fels Institute of Government [at the University of Pennsylvania], and now at the Committee of Seventy, where we help all voters vote and understand their government and their role within it.”
Cristella also previously served as president of the League of Women Voters of Philadelphia, where she helped rebuild the organization and support its volunteers in their grassroots efforts.
She has nothing but good things to say about her roots in Catholic education, and how they have supported her trajectory after graduation.
“Catholic school definitely instilled a self-discipline that has served me very well,” she said. “A strong work ethic and persistence to always strive to make each effort better than your last was at the core of so many lessons in school, and certainly reinforced by my parents and their wonderful example.”
She added that “attending an all-girls school allowed me to grow into myself and gain a confidence I’m not sure I would have had otherwise.”
Catholic School Success Stories
Lawyer reflects on leadership, compassion learned at Camden Catholic
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