Jason Butler always appreciated a good education, but the school schedule worked against him. Getting up early for high school classes is nearly impossible when dilapidating sleep apnea keeps you awake.
Still, he was determined to find another way forward, so he decided to go after a GED instead.
With that, and skills that bolstered an otherwise thin resume, he landed a good job in the technology industry. Butler had the financial support he needed, but wasn't satisfied.
鈥淭hat monetary value that we tie into things, that鈥檚 not really valuable to me,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hat is valuable is being able to have the knowledge and the subject area that speaks to you. To be able to study something that moves you, I think that鈥檚 more so what we鈥檙e here for. 鈥� And to be able to study those things on an advanced level and really get specialized insight into those areas that really excite us, I don鈥檛 think that there鈥檚 any number that you can put on that. It鈥檚 really an invaluable experience.鈥�
For Butler, the subject that enlivens him is history. It鈥檚 not the major he chose when he first came to The 极乐禁地. After a few general education courses in the subject, though, he was smitten. And changing from one pre-law major, Philosophy, Law, and Ethics, to another didn鈥檛 remove the possibility of his going to law school. He wants to keep his options open.
Butler鈥檚 main prize, however, is to gain what he lost when he left high school鈥攁 chance to walk in a commencement ceremony with his family cheering him on.
鈥淕etting this degree, it doesn鈥檛 mean more money, but it is going to mean something that I was able to start and complete that I actually wanted to do for myself,鈥� said Butler, a first-generation college student. 鈥淚 have four kids. I鈥檝e lived a life of making sure that other people have the things that they want and they need. This is something that I鈥檓 doing for me.鈥�
From his first history courses at UBalt, Butler was seeing the subject in a new light.
Dr. Joshua Davis wasn鈥檛 lecturing from a dusty book but writing new ones and talking about history as it鈥檚 happening now, Butler noted. Activism, urban law enforcement and civil rights struggles are stories in today鈥檚 news and topics in UBalt鈥檚 history courses.
Davis鈥� course on Prisons and Police in U.S. History helped Butler weigh his personal experiences against a broader understanding.
鈥淵ou can really see where things are and how close we are to the origins,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e much closer to the origins of policing in this country than what people realize. Criminal justice systems are not as evolved and developed as we鈥檇 like to think that they are.鈥�
Dr. Nicole Hudgins鈥� class, Historian鈥檚 Toolkit, had Butler researching his ancestral history. He found it to be a difficult but worthwhile challenge.
鈥淔or a lot of African Americans, that presents a huge challenge, and just to be able to get access to a lot of those resources鈥� I mean, the class means a lot to everyone; I think that it does hold a special significance to African Americans who are disconnected from previous generations. They don鈥檛 know how much information is out there.鈥�
Butler is still writing his own story, and his classes are helping him find his direction. While a law career is still an option he鈥檚 holding for himself, he is also interested in life as a historian.
鈥淚f I can work as a historian and find some way to positively impact people鈥檚 lives, that鈥檚 what I鈥檓 here for,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hen I鈥檓 doing research for any history class, it doesn鈥檛 feel like work. It just speaks to me as a person, and so, I鈥檓 really grateful to have the professors and to have the structure that really kind of helped me to realize that.鈥�