“I feel like I’m graduating a second time,” Dr. J. said as Tatler finished interviewing him on his departure from Lakeside. “I learned a lot the first time I was here, but I learned just as much [this time] even though this was only a year.”
Having graduated from Lakeside himself in 1984, Dr. Paul Johnson — or Dr. J., as students call him — served on Lakeside’s Alumni Board twice: once in the 1990s, and again in the 2020s. This past school year, he stepped in to serve for a year as Lakeside’s interim director of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB). Previously, Dr. J served in similar roles related to DEIB and/or HR at Boeing, Starbucks, Microsoft, Seattle Waldorf School, and the Seattle Symphony. He explained that he was especially drawn to the excitement surrounding Dr. Kai Bynum’s appointment as the new head of school. He added that he decided to take the opportunity to serve as the interim director of DEIB in part out of a desire to stay connected with the community as he stepped down from the alumni board.
His most memorable moments were when guest speakers came to campus to speak to students. “Those events were really special … watching the interactions between students and guest speakers is always great,” he said.
He explained that as long as he was able to help a single student lead their life at their own pace, then he had achieved his goal. “What I want [students] to remember is that you can be successful no matter what others might say,” he said. “Just run your own race.”
Dr. J. brought this intention to his job as Director of DEIB, working to create a space where all students feel welcome, a sense of belonging, that they could be their authentic selves, and that they each had something to offer. “At the end of the day, we’re all people and no one is better than anyone else,” he said. He especially enjoyed seeing students grow and evolve throughout the year and become more comfortable being themselves at school, especially in the context of his 9th-grade advisory. “The best part is … [seeing] students who may have been a little more quiet at the beginning of the year … being able to share their confidence more so at the end of the year,” he said.
As for what’s next, Dr. J. plans to travel and write. “My goal is to publish my first book … sometime this summer and to continue being an advocate for education in general,” he said. He will miss being around the optimism of a school environment and the special sense of community within Lakeside alumni, which he describes as “a unique family.”
“It’s never too late to do whatever it is you want to do,” he said. “At Lakeside, there’s a bar, and there’s a desire to jump over that bar at a certain time. What I would leave with everyone is that you just keep moving forward and you’ll get there.”
