BC's Top Employers (2025) Magazine - Flipbook - Page 76
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BC’S TOP EMPLOYERS (2025)
A shared mission unites colleagues at St. George’s School
W
hen 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.
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.
— David Young
Head of School
David Young, head of school (left), and Melissa Gaudiel, events officer, at St. George’s School (photo credit:
Hayley Lohn).
“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
