Feb. 18, 2018

Mr. Jason Brenner Episode #36

Mr. Jason Brenner Episode #36

Friday, February 23, 2018.
Education Leadership and Beyond: Surviving & Thriving with Andrew...

Friday, February 23, 2018.
Education Leadership and Beyond: Surviving & Thriving with Andrew Marotta.
Blog #36: Carolina on my Mind with Jason Brenner.

Podcast #36- aired Saturday 2/17/18.
9am live or on the app anytime country 107.7 WDLC, 106.9 WYNC, Wall Radio, & Pocono 96.7.

Carolina on my Mind...

Proud to welcome my good friend college to the program on episode #36. Jason is an attorney, a father, an avid boater, and one of my college roommates. We are blessed to have a tight group of buddies from our time at Guilford College and Jason and I remain close with these guys today.

In prepping for the show, I reflected about my time at Guilford and my friendship with Jason. I did not know much about life in NC prior to college and Jason was one of the guys who made me feel comfortable and welcomed me to a new, different environment. Here are some reflections from the podcast:

Carolina on my Mind...I didn’t have any of these things on my mind or even close to it when I arrived at Guilford. It was through my friendship with Jason and our group that I learned about these and made them part of my life, then and today.

Academic focus: Jason displayed a great focus on his schooling and responsibility to take of his studies. I learned from him and adapted some of his practices for myself...always finding a quiet place to study and making the time to do so.

JAZZ: Growing up in Staten Island NY I was not exposed to jazz much. It was oldies with my folks and straight Z100 & WPLJ....pop music/top 20 stuff. Jason played the bass and started a cool band called trio con carne. Cool, cool, and cool. He was a cool cat. I enjoyed the chill atmosphere at the shows and the smooth sounds. It taught me to relax more and just enjoy the music. It didn’t have loud boisterous lyrics yet soothing music that I enjoyed...who knew?

I’d never seen TEVAS before arriving to Guilford....If you happen to not know what they are—they are an active sport sandal. Jason pretty much wore them everyday and why am I am writing about my college roommates footwear? Him wearing those sandal taught me to chill-lax a little. I was always in my basketball sneaks or some sort of athletic footwear. Wearing those sandals kinda showed me it was OK to relax every once and a while and enjoy life, enjoy the Monet. Jason is real good at that and I believe those sandals represented that feeling.

Boating: not much experience here. The only boat I’d ever been on was the SI Ferry....and my thought was if you were asked on a boat by an Italian that you were going to be put in cement shoes and dumped!!!!! Well Jason along with our friend Fernando introduced me to the world of boating—fresh and saltwater. Some of our best memories are sailing with our group off Oriental NC and Newport RI. Like the jazz and sandals, I found the sea to be quite soothing and peaceful vs. the hectic hustle and bustle of NYC. Jason and Fern are excellent sailors and boats men and I am blessed to have friends with these skills and desire to be on the water.

Europe—Jason studied in London in the fall of our junior year along with our friend Jon. Two years later, Jason led us on a trip for the ages to Italy and France post graduation. He was experienced and knowledgeable of his surroundings. That experience gave me the itch to travel internationally with my wife and we’ve been fortunate to travel to places like South America, Italy, Ireland, England, Portugal, Spain, and Morocco. Jason opened my eyes to this world of travel with has had a profound impact on my life. Can’t wait to go back!

Tobacco Road: If you’ve ever traveled to the Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Durham, Greensboro, Winston Salem regions, you quickly learned about tobacco Road—Growing up in Chapel Hill, NC Jason was/is a huge Carolina fan. I got to experience the famous Halloween parade on Franklin Street and saw up close the national championship run in 1993. This was all foreign to me and having a first hand tar heel to show me the ropes was cool.

Lastly, I’ve had many an adventure with Jason—trips to Boston, Miami, NYC, Seattle, and Fort Lauderdale. Too many stories to tell and most not appropriate for a blog on leadership and education....I cherish those memories and am truly blessed to have a great group of friends: CHEERS FELLAS!

Book recommendation: No Complaining Rule by John Gordon

Quote: "To be rather than to seem." The NC State Motto!

Next week's guest is: Founder of the Good Dad project now called the Dad’s edge: author, speaker, and podcast host Larry Hagner

Go out and change the world for the better.