As the most recent hire, Damien James says, Prep is “the cream of the crop”. Working as the incumbent director of facilities and operations, he will follow in the footsteps of Mr. Dan Wood, who will be exiting his role at the end of the school year.
It’s been a long journey for James, however, as he started off at the Catholic Community Services for 13 years before moving to the Northwest School, another independent school here in Seattle. But after all the stops, he will be embraced at what he refers to as his dream job. Now taking the role of the facilities director, James will oversee “all of [Seattle Prep’s] hard and soft assets, which means hard assets like buildings and soft assets would be mechanical, HVAC systems, desks, furniture, lights.”
He will also help with transportation, vendor relations, and other maintenance.; the job allows him to “get to work with everybody and the students.”
James values both ministry and curriculum. James said, “[I]went to Catholic school and I’ve also watched it change in public schools […] Ministry should be in school, so it gives a better foundation. So that was an allurement for me”. But Prep is even more than that. To him, Prep was a priority when he was looking for a job because of its endowment, rich history, and staff. “It all matched up” he said.
But most importantly, he noted the strong, tightly knit community that Prep has. After dealing with the passing of his mother, shortly after joining Prep, things were off to a rough start. But, with the help of teacher and others, “the community just wrapped me in their arms and embraced me. A lot of the students didn’t know these things, but our administrative faculty, the teachers, the faculty as a whole embraced me, held a mass, the candles sent flowers supporting her”.
That’s what it’s all about. The support that students and teachers have given is something that he is forever grateful for. Now, after reflecting on his first weeks at the school, he says that “it was really beautiful and really nice, and it just affirmed and assured me that I was at the right place. It makes me well up now thinking about it. It’s just a beautiful community.”
