Jamie Horsley joined DeSales in 2016 in the English Department. As a member of the faculty, Mr. Horsley knows that he gets to play a role in helping young people build happy and successful lives for themselves. “I love when a student tells me they’ve just gotten into a college that they were really hoping to attend, or that they’ve landed an apprenticeship, or enlisted in the military. It’s good to see kids taking steps to become the people they want to be, and it’s a fulfilling thing to be able to act-- in a small way-- as a guide along the journey,” said Mr. Horsely.
When reflecting on how he wants students to remember him, he said, “At the end of the day, what I really want to teach students is how to think. I want them to think critically. I want them to think for themselves. I hope I’m remembered as someone who encouraged people to ask big questions and take nothing at face value.”
Fun Facts About Mr. Horsley
Why did you choose to work at DeSales?
I think DeSales as an institution is deeply invested in not only the academic development but the personal growth of its students. That phrase from St. Francis DeSales, “Be who you are and be that well,” isn’t just something nice we put on our brochures; we mean it.
What is your proudest moment at DeSales?
Not sure there’s one moment in particular, but any time I see students go out of their way to be kind to someone else, or do more work than they really have to do on a project just because they’re taking personal satisfaction in doing it, that makes me exceedingly proud.
What is your motto or personal mantra?
“Chop wood, carry water.” It’s an old Zen way to say that you should keep your head down and do the hard work, even once the work is finished-- because the work is never finished!
What is your biggest achievement to date?
I learned three ancient languages in college/grad school: Latin, Greek, and Biblical Hebrew. I’ve since forgotten most of what I learned (use it or lose it!), but I take a lot of satisfaction in knowing I could read multiple old, dead languages at one point in my life.
What is your hidden talent?
Talent is a strong word, but I write poetry and music semi-frequently, and I’m really into lifting weights. I don’t claim to be much good at any of those things, but I have a lot of fun doing them.
What would others be surprised to find out about you? I played bass in a punk rock band in high school. We were just a garage band, but we did get disqualified from our school’s battle of the bands for being too rowdy on stage.
What were you like as a student?
In high school, I was lazy and fairly unmotivated, but still maintained a high academic average. College knocked me for a loop initially, so I learned to buckle down and study hard. That’s when I became a complete nerd and figured out that I really liked spending most of my time with my nose in a book.
How do you spend your summer breaks?
Reading-- a lot of nonfiction, but also novels that I think I might want to teach in the future. Also, writing, working out and going on a hike here and there.