Although athletic operations coordinator Mr. Jesse Moses did not attend La Salle during his time in high school, the school is not new to him.
Instead, Mr. Moses explained, he has ample positive experiences with it, albeit as a lacrosse player who competed against La Salle’s team first for King’s Way Christian School and then Union High School — both located in Vancouver, Washington — before he graduated in 2017.
“I’ve always liked the school and known about it,” he said.
A competitive athlete from a young age — who attended Southern Virginia University for one year to play Division 3 lacrosse — Mr. Moses explained that he was drawn to the position of athletic operations coordinator both by his own personal experiences with sports but also due to a desire for a change of pace.
“I was looking for a change in career, and I think the education system is pretty awesome,” he said, having previous experience with practical, hands-on fields such as electrical work and welding. “That’s kind of what drew me here.”
Mr. Moses, who started in this position on Jan. 28, explained that his role currently involves a mix of athletics management, maintenance, and security work.
Typically, his day starts around 1 p.m., and, if there are sports games, it includes setting up events, coordinating with officials, and then staying to watch before helping to clean up and put away equipment. On an afternoon without competitions on campus, he focuses on working on projects around La Salle, including painting, finishing carpentry, or working with the school’s plumbing and electrical systems until he leaves the school around 9 p.m.
While a lot to balance, Mr. Moses said that this wide variety of responsibilities is an aspect of his position he appreciates.
“It gives me a good opportunity to hone my skills in various areas … something that I enjoy because it just lets me work and learn things day by day,” he said. “I’ve always liked working with my hands. Sitting in a classroom has never been my forte.”
Beyond the chances it provides for personal and professional growth, Mr. Moses said the myriad of different experiences offered by his position has given him a greater understanding and perspective on the work done in order to support sports competitions, which he observed being similar across La Salle’s different athletic programs.
“You always know that the behind the scenes are happening,” he said. “But until you actually get a good look at it, you don’t realize, like, ‘oh, it’s very similar for all of these event setups and things, whether it’s a baseball field or basketball court.’”
While Mr. Moses found that the school’s location, along with his appreciation for the job’s hours, motivated a large part of his application, he said it was also encouraged by what he heard from people with experience working at La Salle, many of whom highlighted the emphasis it put on community.
Their observations ended up ringing true for him as well.
“It’s really tight-knit,” Mr. Moses said, which he noted as being due in large part to the school’s smaller student body. “You’re able to know almost everybody at the school. You can recognize a face and know who it is instead of going ‘oh, I’ve never seen that person before.’”
That small size — and the connections it fosters — set La Salle apart from other local schools in the area, Mr. Moses expressed.
“It makes it feel more welcoming,” Mr. Moses said. “It makes you feel like you belong a little bit more.”
Having joined the staff halfway through the school year, Mr. Moses explained that part of what helped him acclimate to the school’s environment was the warm and welcoming attitude of community members, illustrated clearly to him even in his first few days working in the athletic center.
“I specifically remember [senior] Rylan [De Souza] commenting on my mustache, I think, the third day that I was here,” he said. “Little things like that were kind of the big first impressions from staff and students. It’s just really warm and welcoming, and it feels like a big kind of family.”
Moving forward, some of Mr. Moses’ goals include working to reinstate lacrosse, which ended during the pandemic, along with introducing sports that students would be interested in seeing, such as a rugby team or Ultimate Frisbee club. Overall, though, his main objective is to create an environment where any students interested in competing for La Salle — whether they’ve always been an athlete or have never before played a sport — can easily become involved in athletics.
“That sense of team and pride that comes with it … is huge,” Mr. Moses said. “And, you know, it’s fun.”
