More Than Just a School

For many, Strake Jesuit is a formative four years that leaves a lasting impression on their lives. For Mr. Kelly Clemons, Jesuit is a second home, one that he regards with “incredible anticipation for the great things still to come.”

Starting as a volunteer baseball coach in the Spring of 1993, it did not take long for Kelly to notice that Strake Jesuit is a special place. When asked to comment on what drew him to stay at Jesuit, Kelly noted that “after being around the community, I fell in love with it. I knew this is where I needed to be. My coworkers recognized that their job was to create meaningful relationships with their students and players to help each young man develop into the versions of themselves that God called them to be.”

Moreover, Kelly has spent his 29 years at Strake Jesuit modeling that love for his students and players, true cura personalis, care for the whole person, for his peers to see and emulate. For fellow coach and Theology Department member Mr. Reid Linden, Kelly continually shows “what it means to be a member of the SJ family, both as a teacher and as a coach. He values both students and players, understanding that he is meant to mediate, either in example or spoken word, Christ to each young man he encounters.”

This modeling has served to not only better the lives of students, players, teachers, and coaches, but has touched the life of Kelly’s son, Mr. Brandon Clemons ’17, who has given this academic year in service to the SJ community as a member of the Alumni Service Corps (ASC). 

With his year of giving back to the school coming to an end and the next step of his life’s journey on the horizon, Brandon is in a unique position to reflect on what he values about Strake Jesuit. He is quick to highlight the same qualities his father noted: the mission and the community. Brandon says that his time as a student at Jesuit taught him that “if you don’t continue to try to better yourself, you will never become who God intended you to become.” For Brandon, this openness has meant being open to “serving the greater good and helping those in need,” as well as recognizing how pivotal role prayer plays in his daily life.