Chris

As a child, Chris aspired to be named valedictorian of his graduating high school class. Years later, in 2016, he accomplished just that at the Henry Viscardi School. These days, with a career in investigative journalism taking off in New York City, Chris’s achievements have only grown.

A 2021 grad of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, Chris’s talent for digging deep into important issues as a reporter has pushed him forward in a highly competitive industry. It’s not the first time he has defied the odds. When Chris was born with a rare skeletal condition known as Thanatophoric dysplasia, doctors didn’t expect him to live past early childhood. Jumping ahead to 2022, the twenty-four-year-old fully understands the value in setting concrete goals for the future and pursuing those dreams—no matter how out of reach they may seem.

His positive outlook and passion for becoming a multimedia storyteller blossomed during his time as student at Viscardi, where he excelled academically and dabbled in extracurricular activities that changed how he viewed his strengths.

“The Henry Viscardi School at The Viscardi Center teaches you to be confident and to want to go places and have goals,” he said. “That is what The Viscardi Center is about.”

Following a fellowship at nonprofit news organization The City, Chris currently serves as a Spanish stringer for The New York Times. As Chris progresses in his career, he understands that his disability and the unique perspective it brings to his work should be seen as an asset, not an obstacle to overcome.

“Disability does not mean ‘unable.’ We just do things differently.”

Watch Chris share his personal philosophies on life in this video from a past Celebrity Sports Night event at The Viscardi Center.