JEFF RODENBURG

Jeff has been involved in education since 1980, as a teacher, an administrator and a dean of students. Here he shares a few memories from his time at Eastside Catholic School.

Favorite Aspect of Your Dean Role: Making a positive difference in a student’s life. Being a Dean is such a unique way to do that. Using a discipline event to show caring, correction and compassion has been the fire that has burned and motivated me to call Eastside Catholic home. For me, the students are the heart of Eastside Catholic.

According to my calculations, over the years I’ve had the opportunity to work with more than 4,300 students, give or take! Every year, the class makeups change, but still the goodness, grace and humor continue.

Let me tell a story: Many years ago, we had a boy who would not attend school with any regularity and when he did, he was generally very late. It got to be a problem, but he did graduate by the grace of God and with the help and support of our teachers and administrators.

Many years later, I was sitting in my office at our Sammamish campus and a man came to my door. He was in full dress uniform, and I believe that his rank was a captain in the Air Force. What was more impressive was this man, who as a student struggled with attendance, was flying jet airplanes in service to our country. You never know how the story is going to end.

Most Unique Experience: Things were different in the old days. At the Newport campus 20 plus years ago, a bomb threat was left on a message machine before the school day started. A large contingent of police arrived, and after some discussion, it was decided the best person to go into all the schoolhouse rooms to see if something was odd or out of place or booby-trapped was a school employee … ME! Fortunately, false alarm.

Funniest Memory: In 1999-2000, I was the new guy and I wanted to make a strong impression on a class of seniors. I was sitting on a table at the front of the class, talking about my new role at EC. The students were a little squirrelly and I told them that I expected them to pay attention when I was talking to them. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a young man mumbling to a few of his friends. I stopped talking and said to him, “If you have something important to say, then say it.” He mumbled a little bit more and kind of chuckled. I repeated, “Say it.” He then said in a very clear voice, “Your pants are unzipped.”

Strangest Event: The 2001 Nisqually Earthquake during a liturgy service in the gym was the strangest event I experienced. During the service, I was walking around campus making sure students were where they should be and ensuring the campus was secure. Suddenly, everything around me started moving and my first thought was, “I’m having some sort of medical issue and I’m going down.” I quickly realized that it wasn’t me that was having the problem, it was the rest of the world. I, and the other faculty and staff quickly began to move students out of the gym and onto the adjacent football field for safety and the Mass was continued to completion. After that, I’m pretty sure we canceled the rest of the school day and began the process of safely dismissing the students.

Most Impactful Event during my 24 years at EC: As I head into retirement, I reflect on the many life changes that occurred during my time at EC. One that stands out (and is not school-related) was asking my beautiful then-girlfriend, Jana, on the last day of 1999 on a golf course in Gold Canyon, Arizona to marry me. She said yes, and that has made all the difference.

Plans for Retirement: Initially I plan to rest and recoup. I have a deep faith in God’s guidance and involvement in my future so the trust factor for me is pretty high. I’ve thought about some level of part time volunteer work to continue to make a difference in others’ lives and I plan to travel with my wife as time and money allows.