Today we’d like to introduce you to Jay Mason.
Hi Jay, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My journey through life has been very twisted with an occasional road block I had to maneuver around or get over. My mom’s mental illness had a huge impact on my childhood. She spent time away from our home during my adolescent years, which caused some difficult times for my family. Most importantly, I was fortunate to have a caring and loving family. Additionally, I had athletics and my sports family to alleviate some of the difficult times. Although, we were the only Black family in a rural neighborhood, I had several friends, who treated me like a brother, and their parents treated me like a son. Being surrounded by great friends and families alleviated some of the hard days. After graduating high school, I went to Shepherd College, where I played football. I was the starting quarterback for three of my four years. The fall semester of my fourth year of college, I failed my final economics class, which caused me to miss graduation in the spring. In 2008, 17 years after I started college, I earned my bachelor’s degree. During my time at Shepherd, the challenges at home increased due to my mom’s mental illness, adding difficulties to my college years. I was eventually able to traverse my difficult times and meet my goal of graduating college.
My inability to graduate college on time added to my twisted journey; however, completing my undergrad and obtaining my Master of Art in Teaching in 2011 helped set me on a path to accomplish more of my goals. Although I was not hired full time by any school systems from 2011 – 2014, I turned my attention to engaging in education in other ways. I participated in a community group, who helped African American students and families understand and navigate the public school system. This led me to be elected to the Frederick County Board of Education in 2018, after a failed attempt in 2016. Throughout my journey, I never lost focus on obtaining my college degree and I was guided to focus on the education of the generations to follow. COVID added a twist to my Board of Education journey, especially during the year I served as president of the BoE. As I think back on my journey, there were moments when my adaptability, initiative, and endurance took over, helping me achieve my goals.
I am currently in my 4th year as an educator, teaching 5th grade, while simultaneously completing my doctoral journey. After this semester, I will have two more classes to complete the required 60 credits of my doctoral program. Athletics taught me my mantra, which is to always be prepared and to always be ready. Learning from my family, my mentors, role models, athletic coaches, and teammates has provided guidance to believe in myself and develop my mantra. There is no obstacle too big that I cannot get around or over, as long as I maintain self-determination.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
As discussed in the previous question, my road has been twisted. I would equate that to my road has not been smooth. The Adrinka symbol, Nkyinkyim or twisted journey, originated by the Akan people of Ghana, is why I express my journey as twisted. The biggest struggle was my mother’s mental illness. The impact of mental illness on our family was difficult and intensified by the lack of discussion around the topic. I grew up not being able to discuss my home situation, so very few people in my circle knew about my mother.
Another big struggle was not graduating college in 1994. I attempted to attend school in 1995 and 1996 at Shepherd. That was not successful, so I returned home and worked as a server for a year and a half, then a bartender for 14 years. I was fired from three restaurants, but I always landed on my feet because I was determined not to give up. The final time was March 2012, so I pieced together a few restaurant jobs to get by. I acquired my real estate license in 2004 and worked part-time as a Realtor until 2013 when I began full-time work as a Realtor. Being a Realtor was interrupted by the 2008 crash, adding another challenge to my journey. Real estate carried me through until I began teaching in 2022.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I am a startup business. I am in the final stages of preparation. I am expecting to launch in the next month. My business has been in the making for several years; however, my doctoral journey and dissertation has me focused on my business goal. In 2024, 36% of Black male athletes graduated from Division II (DII) schools and 41% of Black male athletes graduated from Division III (DIII) schools. One segment of my business will focus on raising those percentages. This population is my main target market; however, I am poised to work with anyone who needs a leadership and success plan.
The first stage of my business will focus on Black male high school and college athletes, as well as high school and college teams. I have developed a plan based on seven principles to help athletes and/or teams meet their personal goals. The plan can be diversified based on the client’s needs, wants, strengths, and weaknesses. My journey has guided me to serving the next generation of athletes. I want to help them develop their plan to achieve their goals off the field or the court. If they do not have goals, I will help them set their goals. Each plan might be different than the next because we are all different. I will not have a one size fits all model, which sets me apart from the competition.
My years as an athlete, coach, educator, mentor, and role model has prepared me to help athletes. My brand is developing solutions by being principled in the approach to achieving goals, building community, and diversifying personal portfolios. My brand is to reach back into the past, to understand the present, and to prepare for your future and to follow a principled plan.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has focused their efforts to improve graduation rates amongst their athletes, so the landscape is changing. However, the shift falls short of increasing graduation rates for DII and DIII Black male athletes. Graduating from college is not entirely up to the NCAA, a player’s coach, or the university. They play a role, but each athlete must take it upon themselves to set their goals, meet those goals, and continue to strive to reach the mountaintop. Athletes cannot wait until college to focus on their goals. Getting goals in place in high school allows for an easier path in college. When the athletes understand who they are, they can meet the challenges they face.
Higher education institutions are facing financial challenges, so they will have to change how they recruit athletes to their institutions. Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) is adding to the financial challenges. Coaches are going to shift their recruiting practices and focus on athletes who are going to remain at the institution, instead of the athletes chasing the next financial opportunity provided by NIL. When athletes chase the “bag” they lose focus of the goal of why they are in college. Graduation is one of those goals, which has historically been a challenge for Black male athletes. NIL gives the athletes more control, but it requires guidance and expertise to negotiate and navigate the landscape. I want to ensure athletes have the tools in their bag to navigate education, athletics, NIL, and life.
There is also a shift by the call for high school students go into the trades, rather than take on the expense of college. For athletes who want to participate in college, the trades are not possible, so preparing for college is a necessity. The more prepared athletes are for the challenges of navigating education and athletics, the higher graduation rates can increase.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sevenprincipledsolutions.org
- Instagram: 7principledsolutions
- Facebook: Seven Principled Solutions
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@7PrincipledSolutions
