Sitting comfortably on a couch in the basement of Schroeder Hall, Jason Curtis raises his arm to adjust his glasses. He is well dressed, wearing a blue button-down shirt and khaki pants with a full day's worth of wrinkles in them. As his fingers push his glasses back near his face, he lets out a small laugh.

If you're trying to picture Curtis in your mind, just log on to the university's homepage where the College of Arts & Sciences sophomore is wearing a matching smile.

"It's kind of interesting to be 'the face of Marquette'," Curtis said. "I'm a humble guy who just does his own thing, but to have people recognize me is interesting."

When Curtis recounted the story of when he realized his face was on the Marquette Web site, he seemed in his element. He sat in the Residence Hall Association office, where he worked as president this year.

As RHA president, Curtis was a liaison between residents and RHA and listened to student concerns.

While he held this position, RHA was able to provide hall residents with new ping-pong and foosball tables. But what Curtis is most proud of accomplishing while serving as RHA president is next year's addition to RHA of Campus Town, Carmel and Humphrey apartments.

After all, Curtis knows the importance of making people feel at home. A native of Leicester, Mass., Curtis had a few reservations about coming to school in the Midwest.

Curtis said he felt at home at Marquette right away.

"I absolutely loved the atmosphere, the community that the school had," Curtis said. "I walked onto the campus and I knew it was my fit; it felt like home."

Curtis was one of the first in his class to arrive on campus, since he came to a summer session as a student in the Freshman Frontier Program.

FFP Director Mary Minson first met Curtis when he was a student in the program. The following summer, Curtis worked for FFP as a peer counselor, which is a role similar to resident assistants in the residence hall and student mentors.

"He is a born leader," Minson said. "He is very creative in his ideas and was a wonderful mentor to the students. He really cared about them because he could relate to them."

For Curtis, working as a peer counselor meant he had the opportunity to help another generation of Marquette students take advantage of the extra academic boost the university offers.

"FFP really gives that kick to students who need it. I needed that kick and I received it, and I feel like I've been pretty successful here at Marquette," he said.

As a peer counselor and in general, Curtis' most striking personal quality is his level-headedness, Minson said.

"I've never seen him get upset about anything. He is so even-tempered and is a compassionate and caring human being," Minson said.

Andrea Kratofil, a freshman in the College of Business Administration who was an FFP student, said, "he is always really happy to be doing whatever he was doing."

Curtis has aspirations of being an American history high school teacher.

"It's a role model position," he said. "The idea that I can be a consistent adult in a student's life for a year straight is really mind-boggling and fascinating, and a privilege I would like to have."

He said this semester, he most enjoyed his fieldwork for his secondary education courses.

When he is not in class or working with RHA, Curtis can be found working for the Student Safety Program. Last semester he was a LIMO driver, but this year he is a supervisor. He said most students don't realize the leadership that is required of SSP workers.

"What we do while students are sleeping at midnight, being extra eyes and ears on the road so students are safe, is overlooked," he said.

Curtis was recently awarded the sophomore Student Affairs Leadership Award but maintains his humble attitude even when talking about the honor.

"It was kind of shocking that I would receive that award," he said.

This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on May 5 2005.