A new adventure!

Hi! I'm Jonathan,

the Foundry Makerspace Fellow to Camp Curtin Academy and Marshall Math Science Academy for this year (2017-2018). I'm thrilled to be joining these learning communities and eager to support teachers in providing great education to our students. Here is a bit of what I bring to the table in this new roll: training and experience as a Mechanical Engineer, previous work with youth in a challenging wilderness setting, and lots of practice guiding students through the experiential learning cycle. I'm especially looking forward to seeing teachers at their creative best as their love for teaching is unleashed through project-based learning.

But what about 'making'? For me, 'making' is a way of life that promotes integration between me (the user/benefactor) and the objects, machines or systems that support a thriving life. That means knowing how the engine in my car works, and how to perform basic maintenance. It means turning raw ingredients into delicious food. It means building a canoe or a shelf-set from scratch. It means being able to fix a light switch, get my computer to do what it should, and helping a neighbor install a new doorbell. It means attempting to draw or sing (mostly without success) every once in a while.

It means being not just good, but good for something.

When not at school, you'll find me canoeing on the Susquehanna, biking to Sta@rtup Hbg, reading a book, or trying (still!) to learn a programming language.