Page 41 - Priorities #60 2014-November/December

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ANNIVERSARIES
Tim Molak
Head of School and former Dean of Students helps shape
the landscape of Priory’s future
by Sean McLain Brown photo by Jim Kirkland
Entering his 26th year of service to the Priory community, Tim says that what he most enjoys about serving the Priory is the variety. “No two days are the same which I like, working for the Monks brings me great satisfaction,” says Tim. He added, “I really feel at home in a school run by a religious order because it is all about community, faith and service. I like the fact that educating the heart and soul is core to graduating the type of student we want to send out in the world.”
Tim believes that the sacrifices of the monks who have lived, worked, and died in service to God and the Priory community is what makes the Priory such a special place to so many people. He says, the Priory fits perfectly into the historical Silicon Valley story because “It [the Priory] was really a story about a “religious startup.” The arrival of the Saint Anselm Monks in 1975 rounded out the vision as an American school with Hungarian roots. Tim says his love of the Priory is his “greatest contribution.and I feel I can never do enough to further our mission and be of service to the Monks and their ministry.”
When asked what Benedictine value resonates most with him, Tim says that Hos- pitality seems to weave through everything he has done in service to the Priory com- munity. He added, “A hospitable attitude costs me nothing but goes a long way in creating an inclusive feeling vital to creating the community we want at the Priory for our students faculty, staff and Monks.”
“The Priory has made a difference in my life and my family,” Tim says. He contin- ued, “the Priory has had an impact on all facets of my life. I live here, my daughter grew up on campus, my family has visited me here and there are so many Monks and lay people who are part of my life because of the Priory. The life the Monks model appeals to me because of its simplicity, repetition and focus on what is most important to living a purpose filled life.”
“Tim Molak is a man of vision who understands the complexity of education and is able to unfold the future of the Priory with grace and a smile.”
—Fr. Martin
Tim Molak knows what it means to wear lots of hats, literally and figuratively. One might expect that of the Head of School, but Tim really goes the distance. As the gala MC, Tim’s enthusiasm and auctioneer-like chatter during live-auction is legendary. Anytime something is asked of him, no matter how silly, if it’s for the good of the school, he says without hesitation, “I’ll do anything.”