Applicant #43 is Jason Lyons

Jason Lyons is a 23-year-old from London.

Jason's video application:

Jason online:

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Jason current situation:

Hi there! My name is Jason Lyons and my hometown is London, Ontario.

Following high school, I decided to attend Mohawk College in Hamilton, Ontario. There I spent two years in media studies. I am a graduate of the Journalism - Print and Broadcast program. 

In my time at Mohawk, I greatly enhanced my skills as a writer and a broadcaster. I learned the differences between the different mediums - print, radio, television and online - and by graduation had strongly developed my ability to channel my ideas through each one. I still have a lot to learn but I feel that now I am at an advanced level of interviewing, shooting, editing, voicing and presenting news, sports, weather and entertainment.

For my college internship, I worked as a reporter/cameraman for Rogers Television in London. I enjoyed a lot of success during the volunteer placement, and received great feedback from family and friends. However, finding a job in the industry has proven much more difficult than I expected.

I am currently employed with the Corporation of the City of London in the Parks and Recreation department. I am in my sixth season working on a golf course grounds crew. This has been a great job throughout my years as a student but I am now ready to start my real life!

My biggest passions in life are reading, writing, music, movies, visual art, and of course sports. I enjoy meeting new people and have a great sense of humour.

In conclusion, I would like to thank you for viewing my application and I hope you make the right choice and vote for me for the Young and Free Ontario Spokesperson! :)

Jason's blog post:

Those of you that have been holding your breath for the past two and a half years, you can relax now. The economic downturn is finally coming to an end. This parabolic life has ushered in a new and exciting age, which is now commonly referred to as a state of "post-recession".

The mainstream media is attempting to convince us that everything is going to be alright. Just look at our Nation's marginally lowered jobless rates and its slightly heightened loonie. Everything's thriving again. It's soaring. Booming. Don't worry. Be happy.

Even the late Bob Marley himself couldn't sell me this story.

The truth is: For many of us - especially those in our teens and twenties - times are still very tough. Finding a job is harder than generating BP's latest marketing campaign. The human workforce is continuing to be replaced by computers and robots. If that wasn't bad enough, Uncle Ed's been reduced to selling his collection of Matchbox racers on Kijiji so he can afford to buy a wagon for his paper route, which is helping him save money so he can go back to school at the tender age of 48. Grandma's a Sandwich Artist at Subway. Gone are the days of automatic retirement at 65.

Never before has experience been such an asset. Thousands of recent post-secondary graduates are struggling just to get a foot in the door in their respective fields. What about current students? They're really fighting an uphill battle.

A recent article in The London Free Press documented these difficulties and provided advice for students seeking work. However, I'm not sure how many people even would have seen this narrow column, which was - perhaps strategically - located on the last page of the Today section. To find it, one had to flip through the funnies and read two pages beyond the bridge puzzle and the celebrity birthdays. Important stuff, eh?

Anyway, the journalistic piece contained some staggering numbers. According to Statistics Canada, the employment rate for students aged 15 to 24 who intend to return to classes this upcoming semester is a mere 59%. This translates to roughly 70,000 young Canadians without a full-time job. Citing the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations, the author reveals that the average price of post-secondary tuition is about $5000; the very same amount a student could make working for minimum wage at a full-time job over the duration of one summer. Never mind rent and food costs. And these are the soon-to-be-starving/debt-ridden students that are lucky enough to even find employment.

This seems like an awful lot of stress for an age bracket that is supposed to be enjoying the best years of their collective lives. And if these trends continue, our generation won't have a lot to look forward to in the future.

But I guess you're only young once - unless you're Peter Pan. So we might as well just enjoy riding the ups and downs. We're all in the same boat. One love. One heart. Let's get together and feel all right.

Where's Bob when you need him.

Jason