Jason Warren

By Alex Jackson

Jason Warren, a college professor, is going to give Alex Trebek a run for his money. With his sarcastic sense of humor and brutal honesty, Jason would be able to handle the Los Angeles scene and the fame of the next Ken Jennings. But until his dream of becoming a game show host comes true, Jason will be enjoying the inner workings of the Communication department and Forensics team at George Mason University.
With a Masters in Communication Studies from University of Texas-Austin (Go Orange!), Jason Warren stands out in the community as a young professor with a vocabulary and passion for teaching well beyond his 28 years. Not only is he a professor in the department, but Jason is also the Assistant Director to the nationally recognized George Mason Forensics team, an intercollegiate speech troupe. Jason began his extemporaneous speaking career in middle school when his duet-acting partner became sick. Without experience in Extemporaneous speaking, Jason won first place in the competition, and 2nd place in the following one. A big thanks to that duet-acting partner, because Jason went on to coach at a speech camp in Austin while in high school, as well as coached 9 AFA finalists in multiple speaking competitions while attending UT-Austin, and received 2 national titles in Extemporaneous speaking while at Northwestern.
After taking one of Jason’s classes, I was surprised at the fervor Jason has for teaching at such a young age, but learned it his passion for his students that gets him out of bed every morning.
“You really get to see people grow and learn and interact when you get that one-on-one time”. Whether it is holding Forensics sessions, watching speeches, or being an academic advisor, Jason enjoys the experience of mentoring his hardworking students who yearn to acquire more knowledge. While he never thought that George Mason’s prestigious Communication and Forensics Department would want to have him as a faculty member, Jason went far enough in proving his passion to be elected the 2008-2009 Professor of the Year in the Communication department.
“I wasn’t even there when I received it.” Jason was supporting an alma mater of his during the Communication department luncheon when his colleague, Peter Pober, called and said, “You’re professor of the year!” Jason’s response: “Are you kidding? Really?”
“It was really an honor and really, really overwhelming…as an educator, you never quite know what your students really think of you”. Of course, Jason’s students fully understand why he received this award and really admire Jason’s spirit for teaching. “To be honest, I think I got it because I’m accessible…I think there are some professors, across the university, who stand up and go through the motions, and I don’t do that, and it keeps students awake and happy.”
It would be very difficult to fall asleep in a class Jason is teaching. Whether it is by making examples of Survivor contestants, analyzing a chart-topping Rihanna song, or observing YouTube videos from a National Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament, Jason uses any attention-getting outlet to connect Communication and students together. My peers and I would leave his classroom dumbfounded by how he was able to connect lyrics of a song to the self-penetration theory, but Jason has a different result in mind. “I hope my students walk out the door, not with answers, but with lots of questions and with the capability to find the answers to those questions”.
Jason has passion. Whether it is for game shows and their intellect, extemporaneous speaking, or for his multitude of eager students, Jason has vigor that could light a fire under anyone. Every student that is graced by Jason’s teaching gets a kick in the right direction and leaves his classroom with a passion for Communication. After naming his accomplishments within his passions, Jason responded, “I must be doing something right.”