Jason Wilhelm - Home

I am originally from Jackson, Alabama, a rural Southern town. Though all of my family are Southerners, I have nonetheless developed a strong affinity for international travel and am increasingly attracted to the prospect of settling in the New England. This and marrying a foreign wife, specifically India, have strained my roots to the breaking point. My relationship with my parents, however, remains quite strong as they both have the same adventurous streak that I have nurtured in myself.

I take pleasure in immersing myself in certain hobbies or pursuits. As a child, I studied the piano for nearly a decade. In my mid-teens, I studied and worked to become an Amateur Radio Operator (also called a Ham). My interest in science and information technology led to my desire to apply for, enroll, and graduate high school from the Alabama School of Mathematics and Science, a public boarding school in Mobile, Alabama. A hunger and curiosity about human nature and the course of human events led to my rather un-lucrative choice to choose a B.A. in History, though I will never regret the personal intellectual development I underwent for choosing a liberal arts degree. However, before completing that degree, I took breaks to: first, to spend the months to become a licensed airplane pilot, and second, to take a study abroad program in Göttingen, Germany as part of a minor in German I completed upon my return. My bachelors degree was a milestone in that my interests shifted slightly from free-wheeling intellectual and academic development to professional and personal achievement.

The fact that I chose a liberal arts major in my undergraduate studies necessitates me choosing a professional degree at this juncture of my life. As both of my parents are middle school teachers, I am sure that I have a subconscious appreciation and soft-corner for education; however, I, like the child of many teachers wish to remain outside of the classroom. My deep-seated interest in a career in education married effortlessly with my love for using new technologies to interact with people in this newborn discipline of Instructional Design and Development.

Since June of this year I have been employed as an Intern (specifically a Cooperative Education Student) in the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts in Washington, D.C. This employment which has already been extremely fulfilling and worthwhile has warmed me to the idea or remaining a federal employee after graduation, though I will shun no positive opportunities. It is my hope that as an adult my desire to explore and pursue new things will continue to motivate me to find radically new ways of delivering instruction to my learners and clients, including my latest interest in learning how to fully implement PHP in my web pages (this site is one example). It is thus from this point that I look forward into my own future with curiosity and optimism.