The Brave News

by Kyle Moats

Ms. Amy Krisch is one of St. John Bosco’s hidden gems.

While Ms. Krisch is a well-known face in the staff and administration, she may not be as well-known to many parents and students. This is ironic in that the students at St. John Bosco are the primary beneficiaries of her many efforts and the results her events provide.  

I had the privilege of being able to sit and really get to know who “Miss Amy” – as she is affectionately known – is and how important her position is to us at St. John Bosco.

Ms. Krisch’s road to St. John Bosco has been equally lengthy and interesting. She was born one of three daughters, in a town outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and spent most of her early childhood there. As she grew up however, her family moved frequently due to her father’s job in the Aerospace industry, moving them from Pennsylvania to New Jersey, then to Livermore, California and back to Pennsylvania for her senior year of high school.

Ms. Krisch attended California State University, Monterey Bay where she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Human Communication with an emphasis in Practical and Professional Ethics in 2007. While there, she was a player on the Women’s Golf Team and worked for Pacific Grove Golf Links.

Unfortunately, during a round in her sophomore year, she hit a tree root and tore tendons in her wrist and her role of player transitioned to that of coach and mentor. Ms. Krisch also volunteered with the PGA and LPGA Tour and The First Tee of Monterey County, an early indication of leadership potential.

“I love golf and I got that love from my dad, my forever coach. It became our thing and still is today,” said Krisch. 

After graduating from CSUMB, she worked at the Portola Hotel and Spa, looking to build a career in the hospitality industry.  She capitalized on an opportunity to organize Portola’s employee golf tournament and realized she wasn’t ready to give up golf completely.

She made the decision to further her education in Arizona where she attended the Golf Academy of America, Phoenix, earning an Associate Degree in Business focusing on Golf Complex Operations and Management in April of 2009. As is common with many graduates, jobs after college are often difficult to find, especially for a female trying to break into the male-dominated golf industry.  

With limited jobs available, Krisch started working for the Arizona Humane Society (AHS) as an information ambassador, and six months later moved over to the Spay/Neuter Clinic as a surgery scheduler and – on occasion – veterinary assistant.

We almost, unknowingly, lost Ms. Krisch before we had her to a career as a veterinary technician. She thought she had found her calling in veterinary work but a job opportunity within the AHS Development Department became available.

Her time in the Spay/Neuter Clinic was cut short when she accepted the position of development coordinator, responsible for grant writing and overseeing tribute and memorial gifts. Eventually, Ms. Krisch began helping with AHS’ Signature Event, Compassion with Fashion, managing one of the event’s critical fundraising components – the silent auction – thus starting her career in event management.

She quickly took both her educational assets and practical experience on the road and went to work for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Orange. Her responsibilities there developed in many areas but the majority of her time was spent as the Events and Logistics Campaign Manager for the Light the Night Walks at Angel Stadium and Cal Baptist University in Riverside.

Fast forward to March 2014, where Ms. Krisch entered the unique world and community of St. John Bosco High School. She was hired as a consultant for the Braves Gala and was offered a full-time position as the Special Events Manager for all of Bosco’s events including the SJB Golf Classic, the Alumni Memorial Mass and SJB-hosted tailgates before home football games.

Currently, she is the Director of Alumni Development and Special Events. The title just scratches the surface of her diverse and varied responsibilities. Essentially, there are two major areas where she focuses her efforts. As the Director of Special Events, her primary focus is to find creative ways to help programs raise money for current and future needs.

Some examples of this include sport-specific events, such as the Bosco Football Golf Classic (formally the SJB Golf Classic) which is a cornerstone for the football program, Texas Hold’em and Casino Night for Bosco Baseball and Aquatics and Bosco Baseball’s St. Patty’s Day 5K Run.

She also spends much of her time producing SJB’s signature fundraising event – the annual Braves Gala. The event hosts anywhere from 350-400 attendees and proceeds are critical to St. John Bosco, providing both merit and need-based aid for students, pathways, and other programs. She also works on “pop up” events designed to help Bosco continue to grow and increase exposure by getting people to come to campus.  

As the Director of Alumni Development, Krisch works to find different ways to keep our current alumni active and engaged with their alma mater and essentially cultivate more alumni to return home to their Bosco days.

Ms. Krisch feels that the connection is mutually beneficial as SJB Alumni are the business leaders we need in our community whose assistance and guidance ensure a strong future for the students of St. John Bosco. It links them with fellow Bosco brothers, providing benefits and opportunities to their businesses and interests as well. Her job challenges her to keep, build, and expand those bonds.

Ms. Krisch celebrated five years at St. John Bosco in March of 2019. Even with her family in another state (finally settling in Denver, Colorado) she was determined to settle down from her travels and promised herself she would invest her time and talent to see what she could develop.  

With much of her first year at Bosco spent working with the Margheritas Guild and the Parent Association, the immense outpouring of welcome for her personally, as well as the volunteers who consistently came alongside her to help create successful events that benefited the students, solidified her feeling that she was in the right place. She has stayed, frankly, because she believes in St. John Bosco High School. She believes that this is a unique place with great accomplishments and continued potential.

I feel the best way to describe Ms. Krisch is as a “One Woman Army.” No matter how busy she is, and she is always busy no doubt, she takes the time to handle one more thing, assist a coach, welcome a student, and more. Currently, she is juggling the Braves Gala, Graduation, and the Bosco Football Golf Classic – just to name a few of her many responsibilities!

Even though her job is hectic, it is satisfying. Miss Amy, at this time, cannot imagine being anywhere else. We cannot imagine Bosco without her and thank her for being the true epitome of a Bosco unsung hero.