Paul Esch

Cristo Rey High School Sacramento is transforming lives by providing a Catholic, college preparatory education paired with real-world professional experience for talented students with limited financial resources.

What makes Cristo Rey different is our innovative Corporate Work Study Program. Beginning as freshmen, students spend five days each month working in local businesses and nonprofit organizations, gaining invaluable professional experience while helping offset the cost of their education. In doing so, they invest in themselves, their families, and their futures.

Our students graduate not only with a high school diploma and college acceptance letters, but with the confidence, skills, and professional experience to thrive in college and beyond. By graduation, each student has earned more than 1,200 hours of meaningful work experience and developed relationships with mentors and professionals throughout the Sacramento region.

The results speak for themselves. The Class of 2026 included 65 graduates who received an extraordinary 415 acceptances to more than 100 four-year colleges and universities. Forty-one percent were accepted to a University of California campus, with students earning admission to institutions including Santa Clara University, UC Berkeley, UCLA, Seattle University, and Loyola University Chicago.

Today, more than 80 corporations, businesses, and nonprofit organizations partner with Cristo Rey Sacramento to make this life-changing model possible. Together, we are opening doors, creating opportunity, and helping young people become the leaders our community needs.

Every swing at Capital Cup helps write the next chapter of a student's story.

About the Capital Cup

The Capital Cup adapts the historic Ryder Cup format—steeped in tradition—to promote community pride, healthy competition, and raise money for the Sacramento region’s most deserving charities. Each year, leaders from the Sacramento region are divided into two teams for an exciting 3-day golf competition. Donors have the opportunity to support their favorite player (or their favorite charity), as each player is competing to benefit his or her favorite charitable organization. The winning team's designated charities share a prize fund of $100,000! The tournament started with the ambitious goal of raising $250,000 in its first year. When it well surpassed that goal, the tournament committee raised the bar, and has continued to do so every year since—and every year, the participating golfers exceed expectations. The Capital Cup has raised more than $20 million over its history.