Born and raised in Lincoln, Maine, Jason never went to summer camp but when he started working at Camp G. Peirce Webber, the Y’s Day Camp, he saw how incredible the experience was for children. “The outdoor nature of camp allows kids more freedom and fun,” he says. “As I never got that experience, I want to make sure I give our kids the best Y summer camp ever.”
As the Y’s School-Age Programs and Day Camp Assistant Director, Jason gets to do that every year as well as help with early childhood education and before/afterschool programs. Now a University of Maine elementary education graduate, Jason is realizing his own dream of working full-time with children both in and outside the classroom.
Jason’s enthusiasm for his job stems from his mom who was very involved with his school activities and those of his siblings. “She was my chauffeur to sports and always at my games,” recalls Jason. “A lot of my passion for making sure things are done right comes from her.”
It makes sense, then, that Jason’s favorite quote is “Failure is only the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently” (Henry Ford). Jason adds, “As a childcare supervisor, I want to shoulder the responsibility and show the staff that it’s okay to make mistakes. They won’t be alone in the fight and I’ll help them through that.”
While summers are taken up with camp, fall and winter leisure activities include watching sports on TV especially when the Detroit Lions and Boston Celtics are playing. He has another hobby too: the Rubik’s Cube, a 3D combination puzzle. The current world record is 3.134 seconds but Jason can solve it in under one minute. That’s a tremendous achievement when you know that only an estimated 6% of the world’s population can do the same thing.