by Ani Janakiraman ’26
After a nationwide search, as of July 2023, Mr. Rod Jemison is now our principal for this school year. He comes to Bellarmine with a wealth of experience and knowledge. His experience as a school director, dean of students, basketball and football coach, and teacher in schools ranging from La Jolla Country Day School in La Jolla, California all the way to Kurikoma Junior High School in Miyagi, Japan make him not only an international-minded principal, but also one that truly understands his students.
This week, Mr. Jemison spoke at the Mass of the Holy Spirit, delivering his homily on the community here at Bellarmine and the surrounding city of San José. I got a chance to interview Mr. Jemison to better understand his outlook on Bellarmine as a whole, and what the transition meant for him. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Mr. Rod Jemison, Principal
Q: How are you doing in terms of the transition from your previous school?
A: “I’m doing well, Bellarmine is a big place, but I must be patient because I want to know so much immediately, and the fun part about a new place is that you have a long time to get to know tradition and nuances about a place because it takes a while.
Q: I heard you came back from Japan, how was that?
A: “I visited Japan in 1992, and the only word I knew was ‘sayonara’. I never studied Japan and never knew where it was and went there because I studied in England and wanted to do some more traveling and was selected to teach English in Japan, but now I’ve spent almost every summer spent in Japan, and it’s a “second home” and I appreciate it immensely.”
Q: Which other institutions did you teach at?
A: “MBA (Montgomery bell academy), undergraduate was at Woodhouse College, just a nice transition, and then at The Branson School in Marin country, and finally La Jolla Country Day School in San Diego.”
Q: What are your first impressions of Bellarmine so far?
A: “Traditions, excellence, history, and the real identity as a Catholic Jesuit community.”
Q: What would you say are some differences between Bellarmine and the other schools you’ve worked at?
A: “The first thing is it being a single-gender school and Catholic Jesuit. There’s also the size, location, and the legacy since 1851; MBA was founded 1867 so those 16 years are a big difference. Additionally, there’s a very strong sense of brotherhood and community and the expectation is once you finish 4 years, you’ll love the school and embrace it.”
Q: What are your goals for Bellarmine and improvement?
A: “Embrace and enhance. One thing is to embrace all Bell has to offer; you won’t change Bell, but Bellarmine will change you. When you come in and embrace the history and passion and enhance it and make it stronger, it’s a great thing.”
Q: So far, what’s been your favorite tradition at Bellarmine?
A: “The ‘Go Bells’ chant. I have heard a lot about mascots and mottos, and everyone has school colors, but I’ve never heard this sort of rally chant before.”
Q: Do you have any advice for the current freshmen?
A: “Reinvent yourself. When you’re 13-14, you’ve been told who you are or tried to create who you are, and some of that is good or bad, but there’s not many times that we’ve become someone through images from parents and associate, but now we get a chance to start over, just getting to know each other for the first time, and the opportunity for it is no place better than Bell.”
Q: Do you have any outside of school-hobbies?
A: “First of all, I like spending time with my family-daughter is a senior in high school. Holidays with family are also great. Finally, golf is really fun as well, and is great to play.
Q: How do you plan to embrace the community?
A: “There’s a lot to learn; people are looking for me to bring a lot, but I’m looking for Bellarmine to give me a lot, as I’m learning more about who the community is, and there’s many teachers, families, and faculty to learn and spend time with.” ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
That is, it folks! I hope you learned more about Mr. Jemison and are excited to get to know him better as the school year progresses. He is excited to get to know the Bellarmine community, and hopefully you all are excited to meet him. A big thank you to Mr. Jemison for taking the time and giving us this opportunity!