A shared mission unites colleagues at St. George’s School

When Melissa Gaudiel was working as director of food services for a company providing catering for St. George’s School, she used to wonder what it would be like to work for the Vancouver-based independent boys’ school.

“I’d seen many different settings for food services, from hospitals to corporate offices to camps, and St. George’s was the only place that made everyone feel included, like part of the family,” she says. “I’d never felt that before, and it was a huge thing.”

In 2023, Gaudiel happily accepted the position of events officer at St. George’s School. “It was a perfect transition, because I was already involved in the events with the catering, so I had an idea of how things worked,” she says. “And now I get to put on events with the school’s vision in mind and make sure everyone feels included. Inclusiveness is important to the school, and to me.”

David Young, head of school, is proud of the dedication of both the faculty and the office and facility staff to the school’s mission of raising young men who will make a positive impact on society.

“Our teachers do more than classroom teaching; they’re all coaches or play directors or they work with music or robotics,” he says. “It’s tiring work, and it only happens if they really buy into what we’re trying to achieve. It’s an important shared commitment by everyone at St. George’s, all faculty and staff, and I think over time that forms a culture.”

The school supports its employees in a number of ways, from subsidizing those using public transit or bikes to get to work, to providing time for teachers to prepare their lessons so they don’t have to do it at home, to supporting the staff and faculty’s professional development activities.

“We have quite a few staff doing their master’s degrees, and if the best place to study is elsewhere, we’ll try to send you there,” Young says. “Our Independent Schools Association has leadership and early educator programs as well as programs for those in the business office, and we send our coaches to sports programs. We do our very best to support everyone.”

Gaudiel also appreciates the health and wellness programs offered by St. George’s School.

“One of the biggest things that drew me was the work-life balance here,” she says. “There are flexible schedules and so many wellness programs. There’s a gym and a pool on site, which is great, and there’s a yoga program and volleyball and pickleball. And lots of opportunities for people to get together and decompress.”

For Young, those opportunities for social connection are important for everyone at the school.

“We have special celebrations for employees, and we do fun social stuff together,” he says. “We’re lucky to have food services on site; it’s a real benefit. And the second part of that is nobody has to eat their lunch in a cubicle – they’re in a vibrant lunch hall socializing and catching up with each other.”

St. George’s School recently hired its first female deputy head, part of a commitment to increasing diversity within the staff, faculty and leadership team. “There’s a real culture of always wanting to get better,” Young says. “It helps that people really buy into the mission of the school. There are a lot of things that tie us together, and it makes for an all-in kind of culture.”

This article appeared in the magazine announcing this year's BC’s Top Employers winners, published February 11, 2025 in the Vancouver Sun. This article was prepared with the financial support of the employer, which reviewed but did not write its contents.