M-J White

Mark-Jason White, or M-J as he is known by his friends and loved ones, has been involved with youth camps for the past fifteen years.  The better part of those years were spent at Wekiva Youth Camp in Apopka, Florida, as counselor/lifeguard--including one year as the head counselor, and one year volunteering in a leadership position to co-direct an Environmental Education program.  The program utilized canoeing as a medium to teach eighth grade graduates the environmental impacts that human waste and development have on our water systems, and in turn, our lives.  The last two years of M-J's life in camps have been spent at Bethel Camp for the Arts.

M-J is currently in a Masters program focusing in children's literature at the University of Florida (UF).  He earned his Bachelor's degree in elementary education from UF in May '07.  M-J finds a lot of strength and enthusiasm from helping children and students discover their potential through a respectful and caring atmosphere both in the classroom and at camp.

His fondest memories of camp are the times spent with his favorite camp counselors, and he credits those experiences with love of camp in general. M-J happily strives to create the same emotions and memories with the campers he works with.

M-J has been heavily involved in various martial arts focusing in a Vietnamese style called Cuong Nhu ("hard soft" in Vietnamese) for over ten years, throughout his high school and college career. This style promotes individual self-progress with an atmosphere of camaraderie between students, building through hard work and training to improve social skills and personal safety through martial arts techniques.  Cuong Nhu and its practitioners embrace low impact self-defense techniques with zero contact to preserve health and improve self-control.  M-J became a Nidan (second degree of black belt) in May 2008 and currently teaches martial arts at UF where he has recently become Head of the School of Cypress Dojo.