After a tenure of ten years, security assistant Durmia Marshall made the announcement that he is leaving WS. Marshall will have to say goodbye to his athletes from the boys basketball team and football team, as well as depart from all of the students and faculty he has grown close with.
The class of 2019 had a themed basketball game where the WS student section dressed as Marshall. With students wearing sweat suits, bringing Popeyes, and giving a large fake check to Marshall, the gymnasium was full of life and excitement.
“The team loved it. Coach Marshall hung around after the game and after he realized what we were doing, he liked it as well,” said WS class of 2019 graduate Logan Parker.
The coach and security assistant worked for many years at different schools and participated in many different jobs. Before he worked at WS, English teacher Alexa Whitlock knew Marshall when he worked at W.T Woodson High School.
“I have known him since I went to high school at Woodson, and then I started working at WS for a couple years, and then he got hired and saw me in the main office and said to me, ‘I know you!’” said Whitlock. “[Marshall] is just so great at remembering so many people.”
Marshall’s experiences working on the WS campus has had its ups and downs. One specific suboptimal situation that Marshall and the WS community had to live through was the renovation from 2015-2019. Classes all took place in trailers behind the school that had mold and other flora growing in them.
“The renovation wasn’t a great thing to deal with for four years. Plus, during [the renovation], the school caught on fire,” said Marshall.

Many known Marshall by his nickname, “Big Durm” or “Coach Durm.” His big personality and dedication have made a large impact on his athletes and the WS basketball and football programs.
Senior Inan Shariff and junior Robin Casapao both played on the boys varsity basketball team during the 2022-2023 Winter season. These two particular athletes have spent a lot of time with Marshall. Whether during practice or talking during passing periods, the players grew respect for their superior.
“I like how hard he pushes his players and he’s willing to go the extra distance to help out his players and put them in the best situation they can be in,” said Casapao.
Although the 2022-2023 winter season didn’t close out the way some had hoped, ending with a 6-19 record and eighth in the district, admiration by both the players and coaches for each other was still evident.
“Marshall brought up WS basketball. He left his legacy and he left his footprint here, but I don’t think it ended the way he wanted it to,” said Shariff.
Marshall has a mentor that he respects as well. Marshall cites Paul “Red” Jenkins, who used to be a boys varsity basketball coach at W.T. Woodson, as his reason for wanting to be a coach in the first place. Jenkins won over 600 games at W.T. Woodson and Paul VI Catholic high schools.
“He was a mentor, a neighbor, he gave me my first job, my first opportunity, and he was a legendary coach in the Northern Virginia area,” said Marshall.

Once Marshall leaves, he will continue to coach basketball at another high school, but given the chance, he would come back in a heartbeat. He greatly appreciates the connections and friendships he has made while working at the facility.
“I will miss the people that I met throughout the years in the community,” said Marshall. “The faculty, staff, and students have been great.”
Marshall’s beginning of a new journey away from WS is not only sad to students and coworkers, but also it saddens Marshall himself.
“I mean nobody wants to leave a place that has embraced you and showed a lot of love. Unfortunately though, sometimes in life you have to move onto something new, and at this time at FCPS it has come to the end and I have come to a new chapter to go to something different,” said Marshall.
In the future, Marshall is not only looking forward to retirement, but he also has an aspiration to make a sports-based business for athletes in the next segment of his life. At the end of day, he hopes to have accomplished at least one thing for the students and faculty at WS.
“I hope that I brought kindness. The one thing that I preach about, is just promoting kindness,” finished Marshall.