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Mason
BUCKHANNON -- As a Buckhannon-Upshur High School alum was preparing for life after high school, he found himself unsure about that next step.
Now, Daniel Mason has created Mountaineer Connect as a free service to help Buckhannon-Upshur High School students make those big education and career decisions.
"I felt like growing up in Buckhannon that high school did a great job with classes and guidance counseling," he said.
But when it came to where he should apply to college, what major to pursue and what a career might look like after college, Mason still didn't feel he knew enough.
"I knew jobs that were common around Buckhannon or that family and friends had," he said. "I would read books like the Princeton Review. I just felt like there was a lot that was missing from those. It's really hard to get an idea of why you want to do something in a day to day job."
Still undecided on a major and career, Mason settled on Wake Forest University – a liberal arts school where he did not have to choose a major for his first two years.
This was helpful for Mason as he debated majors and careers.
He studied physics for a year but found he didn't like it. Mason switched to a double major of mathematics and business and earned a Bachelor of Science in both.
"Even at that point, I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do," he said. "My first real job out of school was at a small technology start-up called Three Ships Media. I discovered I have a passion for technology, for entrepreneurship mostly, and I think that is what has guided my career since then."
Despite not knowing what to do in those early years, Mason has carved out a career path that he enjoys and now wants to help others do the same, starting at the high school he attended.
"I feel like it was serendipitous that it came to me and I got pretty lucky to find something early in my career that I love and helping people find that moment of clarity is really my goal," he said.
Even though there may be more available resources available than circa 2006 as Mason was preparing for college, he hopes Mountaineer Connect can provide a different experience by connecting students with mentors.
"I have met a lot of people in a lot of different careers, learned a lot of things about those careers and where they studied that I wish I had known," he said. "That is what made me want to start this program."
Students and/or their parents can schedule an initial 30-minute call at www.mountaineerconnect.com where they will decide if Mountaineer Connect is a good fit.
"I ask what subjects they like studying, what they have thought doing for a living, what they like, if they have seen careers in movies or on television that look interesting - questions that are relatable," he said. "The main part of the program is me putting the students who signed up in touch with people who I think can be helpful to them. They may be people who have gone to schools they are considering, studying what they are or work in jobs they find interesting or align with some of their interests."
A lot of people have already expressed interest in being mentors including some from Buckhannon, according to Mason.
Now, Mason is advertising the program to find students to connect with those mentors.
Although Mason is starting with Buckhannon-Upshur High School students, he plans to include students across West Virginia in the future.
"I just want everybody to know that it's really there for the benefit of the students," he said. "They can try it out; it's completely free and we are going to do our best to help them in any way we can. That's really the guiding mission of what we are trying to do."