A Great Night to Honor

Dr. Andrade and S.E.E.D. Fairfield

Prep honored Dr. Donna Andrade for her 42 years of service to our school during a dinner with SEED alumni, colleagues, and friends on Saturday, Nov. 12, in Prep’s Student Life Center. Dr. Andrade was recognized for development of the SEED program which has impacted Prep’s diversity level to climb from single digits to now 26% of our student body. The evening also marked the first meeting of the SEED Alumni of Color & Allies Network, with plans for future growth. The Prep Community is blessed by Dr. Andrade and her exemplary career as teacher, administrator, mentor and leader of diversity!

‘Voluntold’ You So!

Ruben Goodwin, Director of Diversity & Community Engagement, leads Prep’s SEED Diversity program and helps coordinate the newlyestablished Prep Alumni of Color & Allies Network, working to sustain and build the successful programs that Dr. Donna Andrade established. Ruben reflects on Dr. Andrade’s impact:

During our lives we meet individuals that will have a huge influence on who we are, what we desire to accomplish and the battles we choose to fight. These people will literally alter the course of our lives. They accomplish this feat by imparting wisdom, displaying conviction in their beliefs and by using God’s love to open your eyes to new and exciting possibilities. For me, Dr. Donna Andrade is one of those people.

The first day I sat down and met with Dr. Donna Andrade, I knew I was in trouble. She had my whole first year at Prep planned out for me and I wasn’t going to be able to say no to her, about anything! I honestly thought to myself, this woman has been here over forty years, just put your head down, do what she says and maybe you can have a glimmer of her success.

If you know Dr. Andrade personally you know about her skill of “voluntelling.” If you are “voluntold” by Donna, you have been volunteered and told at the same time. She doesn’t do this to give you more work or pass things off, she does it because she cares about your future. It means she wants you to do something that will enhance your work or who you are as a person. In my four short years here at Prep I have been “voluntold” many things, all of which have been a blessing in one way or another.

I am proud to call Dr. Andrade one of my mentors, but she is so much more than that. Dr. Andrade has paved the way for countless administrators, faculty members, and students at Fairfield Prep and in her community. She has certainly left an indelible mark on the Prep Community. To know her is to love her and everything she has stood for her entire life. I am blessed to have followed in her footsteps at Fairfield Prep.

By Ruben Goodwin, Director of Diversity & Community Engagement