It can be easy to imagine teachers as people who have it all together and are settled into a career they’ll stay in for decades. But for one longtime Seattle Prep educator, that assumption doesn’t quite hold true. After more than 20 years in education, Mrs. Kramer is preparing to take on a new role that reflects her ongoing commitment to growing her faith.
Next year, Mrs. Kramer will become Associate Provincial Assistant for Secondary Education for Jesuits West, a Jesuit organization that supports 19 secondary schools across the West Coast, including Seattle Prep, in strengthening their Ignatian mission.
Her journey began with a clear sense of calling: “I just knew that I really wanted my life path to be a way to share space with other people,” Kramer said, reflecting on her time in Catholic school. This desire inspired her to become a high school theology teacher and campus minister. She spent 10 years at Kennedy Catholic before coming to Seattle Prep, where she has been teaching for the past 12 years.
At Prep, Kramer stepped into leadership roles beyond teaching, including leading the school’s Educational Technology (EdTech) team. In that role, she helped teachers integrate technology into their classrooms and played a key part in transitioning the school to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. “I was really proud of how well Prep did … teachers really went the extra mile to help students learn,” she said.
Her decision to leave Prep was not an easy one. “I was definitely not looking. I love Prep. I was very happy here,” Kramer said. When the opportunity arose, she turned to the very practices she teaches, the Jesuit practice of discernment. “When you have a couple of great choices, how do you discern that?”
Ultimately, she saw the role as a chance to expand her impact. “It’s a way that I’ll be able to take my love for Ignatian spirituality and Jesuit schools and do that on a really big level,” she explained. In her new position, she will travel frequently, visiting schools, leading programs, and helping educators deepen their understanding of Jesuit identity.
She acknowledges the challenges ahead, especially leaving a city she deeply loves. “I will be traveling close to 50% of the time… and I am a very strong Seattleite,” she said. Still, she approaches the transition with openness: “I’m just going to kind of lean in and trust that it’s going to be a new adventure.”
