Staff Feature: Jason Evans!

You might have seen our recent posts about visiting programs and SUSI participants, both huge parts of what FIUTS does throughout the year. One of the people responsible for the success of visiting programs is FIUTS staff member Jason Evans. If you’ve visited the FIUTS office, you know that Jason is always willing to lend a helping hand or brighten the office with his infectious laughter. Keep reading to get to know Jason and his FIUTS story!

Jason was born and raised in California. He attended the University of California, Santa Cruz, and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology with a focus on cultural studies. He studied abroad at Sogang University Korean Language Center (KLEC) in Seoul, South Korea. Prior to FIUTS, he worked as an English teacher and tutor.

As the Education Programs Coordinator since August 2021, Jason primarily works on hosting and homestays, in addition to helping organize and lead visiting programs. His favorite FIUTS memory was watching his first CulturalFest show last February. Seeing the students put so much effort into their performances and witnessing the passion they had for their work was inspiring. One of his favorite performances was the University of Washington’s Taiko Kai, UW’s first taiko ensemble. He urges everyone to come to CulturalFest and experience the magic for themselves! Aside from next year’s CulturalFest, Jason is looking forward to the visiting programs in early 2023. Between January-April, there will be 5 visiting programs in Seattle!

Outside of FIUTS, you might find Jason at his favorite Japanese restaurant, Ginza, in Downtown Bellevue. He loves their pumpkin rice! Other restaurants you might find Jason at are Frank’s Oyster and Champagne Parlor in Ravenna or Market FishMonger in Edmonds for the best lobster rolls you’ll ever have!

In typical FIUTS fashion, Jason has lived in 2 different countries and visited 22. His goal is to hit 35, with Scandinavia, Portugal, and Spain at the top of the list. Something you might not know about Jason; he has a twin brother.

A good blog post wouldn’t be complete without a FIUTS love story, and Jason has the perfect one for us! During the summer, Jason was taking a visiting summer program to lunch in Queen Anne. They ended up at a burger place, and while their server was making milkshakes, they exploded everywhere. Jason and the server got to talking, and the server mentioned how he was thankful it was his last day working there. He was going to start working for Pokemon (one of Jason’s favorite things) the next day. Jason gave the server his FIUTS business card and the rest was history!

Thank you to Jason for everything you do for FIUTS! We hope you enjoyed learning more about one of our amazing staff members. Stay tuned for another staff feature next week!