Graduating Senior – Jonno Flukes
Posted: March 16, 2015 at 12:59 pm, Last Updated: March 23, 2015 at 12:26 pm
Jonno Flukes grew up in Boston in an area of town one might call “at risk”. While he played basketball and baseball from the age of 6 up, he found a real affinity for boxing while in high school. He says boxing comes naturally to him, probably due to it being a family tradition: one of his uncles was a Golden Gloves winner. Since boxing isn’t available at Mason, he fills his time with studying, working out, playing sports and working for Mason Recreation.
Upon arrival at Mason in Fall 2011, he began working out and playing basketball at Skyline. He says that’s where he made many of his close friends. Then once intramurals began, he joined and played everything from basketball, soccer and flag football, to softball and handball. He says intramural sports give kids the opportunity to play competitively as well as having a chance to play and learn sports they may never have played. Jonno says he’d never played handball until he tried it at Mason Rec.
In addition to participating in intramurals, he’s been a Customer Service Assistant (CSA), a practicum student, a program assistant and is currently an intern for Mason Recreation as well as a weekend and substitute Manager on Duty (MOD). As an intern, in addition to many other responsibilities, he’s involved with coordinating the group hiring session. Based on his positive experience with Mason Recreation, he wants the group hiring session to emphasize the various work opportunities available to student employees in addition to the monetary benefits most students are interested in.
Jonno says he began working for Mason Recreation just to make money. Soon after, he realized all the growth opportunities available. In addition to being on several committees, and working closely with full time staff, he did a presentation at NIRSA’s regional conference on transferable skills learned while working in recreation facilities. He says Mason Recreation opened his eyes to career opportunities he would never have considered before.
After graduation, Jonno plans on becoming more competitive in boxing and he says he wants to coach youth boxing. He plans to work with youth as a side job at first and will eventually turn it into a full time career. His ultimate goal is to run an inner-city non-profit recreation program for at risk teens. Jonno says, “Since I grew up in an area that was at risk, I saw many teens turn to drugs. I think I can provide alternatives to that lifestyle.”
He adds, “Boxing is available to everyone. Anyone can go to a boxing gym and start from wherever they are. If they practice for a month they see improvements. When they see results, it keeps them coming back. Working one-on-one with teens provides an even more focused workout. It almost always guarantees success. I want to show kids they can be successful.”
Jonno graduates in May with a degree in Sports Management.
By Jennifer Lehman, MS RYT