Karla Torres Delgado wants to be a surgeon. Unsure of the specific discipline, the Bourgade Catholic High School student has her sights set on a medical career.
Her dream is alive thanks to the generosity of countless Catholics across the Diocese of Phoenix.
Each year, donors support over 70 ministries, parishes, schools, charities and programs through the diocese’s Charity and Development Appeal (CDA), “shining Christ’s love where it’s needed most,” said Bishop John Dolan.
This year’s CDA theme is “Faith Lights the Way.”
“Your generosity makes that light visible,” the bishop said.
At Bourgade, Torres Delgado is getting a glimpse into the medical profession through a nursing program offered at no other Catholic school in the diocese.
“Just being able to go to [medical] clinics every week, I see a vision of what I get to do in the future. I’m very grateful for the opportunity here,” she said.
Formerly a student at a much smaller school with an arts curriculum, Torres Delgado visited Bourgade at the invitation of a friend and quickly fell in love with the Phoenix campus, which typically carries an annual enrollment of about 335-350 students.
But without a CDA-supported scholarship, Bourgade would have been out of reach financially for Torres Delgado and her family.
The school leaders and staff have allowed her and fellow students such as Erick Alvarez to learn in a setting in which they’re supported educationally, emotionally and spiritually.
“You’re able to be who you are,” Alvarez said. “People are here to support you. You see God’s light shining through them.”
A member of the student council, Alvarez also repairs some of the school’s Chromebooks and plays soccer. He plans to attend college.
He said that Bourgade’s Catholic-centered curriculum has deepened his relationship with God.
“Whenever I go out [outside of school], it doesn’t feel right if I don’t pray before lunch, or before I go to sleep, [or] trusting God before a game,” he said.
Principal Tom Brennan described Bourgade as a close-knit community, “super-focused” on helping students find and develop their God-given potential.
“It’s a blessing to be a part of it,” Brennan said.
A ‘gesture from the Holy Spirit’
A veteran educator and public school administrator in the greater Phoenix area, and parishioner at St. Bridget in Mesa, Ariz., Brennan had retired from education four years ago and was contemplating his future when he noticed an ad seeking to fill the Bourgade position.
“It was really a gesture from the Holy Spirit,” he said.
“I felt I was done. My wife said, ‘You need to apply. The Lord put that in front of you for a reason.’ And, of course, she was right,” he recalled, laughing.
Brennan said the difference between a public and a Catholic education is, “We’re grounded in our shared faith. We’re able to focus on … their relationship to the Lord. That’s embedded in everything we do.”
He said the CDA and parishioners across the diocese are “invaluable” in that effort. The revenue eases financial challenges to families seeking to send their children to a Catholic high school.
“With the nurturing of our teachers and administrators, by the time [the students] graduate, they’re full of confidence, full of their dreams and goals, realizing the potential God has placed in them.”
Torres Delgado and Alvarez said they have seen their faith grow during their time at Bourgade.
“I was able to be a part of the campus ministry this year. So I’m very excited for that,” Torres Delgado said. “I was also able to go on my first retreat here [at Bourgade] and I’ve gone on many more [retreats] the past year.
“I think my faith has just helped me grow personally and spiritually and just helped me grow a lot with God.”
In addition to Alvarez’s activities, he is an ambassador for the school. As part of a group of students who travel with Director of Admissions Ann Williams to junior high and grade schools, he helps promote Bourgade. He also hosts eighth graders and transfer students when they visit.
“Catholic school has made [me] grow closer to God,” he said. “It feels very blessed.”
To make a gift to the CDA, visit www.give.dphx.org
