Jason wouldn’t have made any ‘most likely to succeed’ lists in his early teens. He was doing drugs when he had a life-changing experience that left him with a firm decision–he needed to challenge himself. At 16, he turned his back on drugs and focused on studying math and martial arts. Math, his weakest subject, became a testing ground for him. He succeeded using the teachings of martial arts, focusing and breaking down obstacles. In 2004, he won a Bell Canada Computer and Communications Award at the Bay Area Science and Engineering Fair and later entered McMaster’s elite Engineering Physics program.
“I’ll always be indebted to the Halton CAS. They always helped, always saw some potential and stuck with me, even though it took me longer to complete my degree. I took a year off and I changed my focus, but they never gave up on me.”
Today, Jason runs his own business, using many of the skills he learned in school and martial arts. He also cares for his mother. His business, Fresh Look Paint, allows him to have a more fully-rounded life than he had when he was always challenging himself, working at the most difficult tasks he could find. He says he’s developing more as a person now. And that’s what school’s all about.