As part of its renewal year, Cristo Rey Brooklyn held a student contest to help students express their input on the school.

The Bushwick high school asked its students to share their personal experience. The winners received a small stipend to put toward a college fund.

First-place winner Michael Purvis, senior, described how the school changed his personality. He wrote: “To have the chance to work in multimillionaire organizations, law firms, and (in my case) a commodity exchange is unbelievable and more valuable than you could possibly imagine. Sure, we aren’t a standard school. We attend school for longer hours. We wear business attire every day. (I’ll admit I’ve had a major problem with wearing shoes in the past. Believe me, rebelling gets you nowhere.) It is so beneficial in the end!”

Second-place winner Daniel Velez, senior, wrote: “God is with the school every day. Many don’t realize (that) we are loved by Him. That is why we are gifted with this school. This is His gift to us. God helped create this school He has plans for you, He has plans for me.”

Third-place winner Reina Felix, freshman, spent less than a year in the school but said she was already transformed by it.

In her essay she wrote: “I always feel lucky when I walk through those doors and see the teachers wishing all the students good luck for the day. Just having them wishing me good luck makes me happy every day and I think of them as family.

“If someone was to ask me what family is before I came to Cristo Rey then I would have said that family is the people who you are related to. Since I’ve been attending Cristo Rey Brooklyn, I’ve come to realize that family isn’t just who you are related to, but anyone who cares for you and loves you the way you are and that is why Cristo Rey is my family.’­­”