John Hornung ‘18

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This year at Strake Jesuit, we have many new members joining our faculty and staff. I had the pleasure of interviewing one of these individuals, Mr. Tarek Darouiche ‘11, about his returning to our campus as new teacher.

Mr Darouiche graduated in 2011 from Strake Jesuit and then proceeded to the University of Texas at Austin, where he studied economics. During our interview, he talked about how Jesuit prepared him for college. “I could tell that I was much better prepared for college that a lot of my classmates,” Mr. Darouiche said. “It was very noticeable.” After graduating from Texas with a Bachelor of Arts in economics, Mr. Darouiche was unsure what he wanted to do, so he decided to come back and work at Jesuit. “I really did not know what to do yet after school,” he offered, “so I decided to come back to Strake Jesuit and give back to the school that prepared me so well for college.”

Many things have changed since Mr. Darouiche was a student at Strake Jesuit. “One big change since being here is the new athletic facilities,” he said. “For example, there was no Restrepo Field or Golf Learning Center when I was a student here.” Technologically, we also have new changes since 2011, such as the use of iPads for school work and the wifi we have on campus. Another big change has been the new three story STEM building completed last year that we now have so many of our classes in.

Mr. Darouiche is currently serving as one of the three members in Alumni Service Corps (ASC) this year with Mr. Giraldo and Mr. George. Strake Jesuit began the ASC program in the fall of 2003. The ASC consists of two to four alumni who spend a year of service to the alma mater just after graduating college. The SJ website explains, “Specifically, the members of the ASC live in one of the houses currently being used by the Jesuit Community on the southeast corner of the campus, observe a class taught by their faculty mentor, teach one class, work on retreats, service projects, and are involved in any number of possible athletic and extracurricular activities.”

This year Mr. Darouiche will serve in social studies department teaching both AP Microeconomics and Freshman World History. He will also assist with Jesuit’s soccer team. “I’m just really glad to be back at Jesuit,” he pointed out. “One of my favorite things is just seeing old faces and teachers that I had while being a student here.”