By: Sarah R.

Jason L. is an easy going 17-year-old Senior at Sanborn. One of 18 selected to be in Project World.

Jason decided to join Project World, because he was part of Project Wheery last year. He really liked it and felt Project World and Project Wheery had many advantages, such as field trips, being outside (where he prefers to be), and meeting new people.

He feels the class will give him "a great appreciation for the swamp", and it has actually gotten him really interested in the vernal pool at Sanborn. Though he feels he is "more aware than the average bear" about protecting or environment, this class will be a great opportunity for him and many others to expand and share their knowledge about the environment and our wetlands. Jason's goals for Project World are to learn as much as possible about the vernal pool, speciology of plants and trees (he wants to be able to know what a tree is without looking it up), and he would like to create a masterpiece (like a sculpture or painting). So far, he is enjoying Project World, but he misses working on the Wheery boat. Last year he felt Project Wherry was a free time away from academics, less school oriented than this year, but "it's a new experience". He hopes to make the best of it. For academic credit, Jason is studying environmental science and art history. Jason is really passionate about art. Last year he created a beautiful painting called a luminosity.

Luminosity is a "way of painting, it has rules, and a certain glow about it (like a sunset)". It shows the "greatness of nature compared to the insignificance of man". He painted the Portland Seacoast around the time of the Wheery. This painting took him an entire school year, and he felt it was a difficult painting because he is a perfectionist. Getting the lighting and colors to match was a task in itself. In the end it was well worth it and it looks professionally done. Jason is very knowledgeable about all kinds of art. He is a skilled painter and sculpts in his spare time.

Jason would like to go to college, but where and for what is pretty unclear for the moment. He has some direction towards what he may want to study. Something to do with science, the environment, and/or art. He seemed to be leaning towards science. Though Jason doesn't feel Project World will affect him in life, or college; I think it already has. It has given him an idea of what he may want to do in college and in life. It has given him direction by getting him interested in art and science.