WOODBURY – Juggling school, FFA officer, business owner, and running a nonprofit organization while still being a high school student, Nonnewaug senior Jason Suess does it all. Throughout his life, Suess has always strived for more.
At only 16, Jason Suess created one of his largest achievements, the K9 Foundation. It supplies police dogs with bulletproof vests, a pursuit that personifies Suess’ hard work and dedication.
A life of law enforcement and community service hits home for Suess because of the events he has gone to for family and friends as a kid made him grow close to the police force.
“I decided to start the K9 Foundation because I grew up around K9s and law enforcement,” Suess said. “I picked the K9s because there are a lot of agencies that are donation-funded only, so they can have trouble paying for important gear like vests or medical bills. I picked police because I have been around them a lot, but [I] am currently trying to expand to military and fire dogs.”
Suess works alongside Nonnewaug faculty to help create fundraisers for the K9s, such as the penny wars in which each grade level strives to donate the most pennies to win a certain prize. They can also donate nickels, dimes, and quarters to lower another grade level’s points.
“With The Blue Paw Initiative, I have raised a total of $1,400 and hope to raise more with my event later this year,” Suess said. “In total with the school, we have provided one K9 a vest.”
Due to the large expense in outfitting K9s in protective police vests, Suess took on the challenge of raising enough to provide one of these significant vests. Each vest is about $1,500 and last year he was able to donate one vest for the K9s.
“Dogs are sent into combat and need to go into dangerous situations where they need to be protected,” Suess explains.
Suess says he hopes to save more lives this year.
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As Suess set up his booth at the Woodbury FFA Holiday Plant Sale in December, many community members had the opportunity to purchase some of his products.
Seuss was hard at work, welding used horseshoes together to create unique pieces for this holiday season, which included wreaths, napkin holders, horseshoe fairy doors, wine glasses, wine glass holder, and trees.
“My end goal with my business is to expand to fabrications for vehicles,” Suess said. “I want to continue after high school and do it on the side as well as either welding or being a police officer in the military. I got the idea to start my company when I saw different types of designs at the Big E and needed to come up with a new SAE, so I went through the process of getting approved and now am in the process of getting my OSHA Ten for my company.”
Suess will continue to begin new chapters after he graduates; his plan is to join the military and then become a police officer.
“My plan after high school is to go into the military and then go into law enforcement,” Suess states. “I want to give back to the community and inspire more kids to go down the LEO [law enforcement officer] path like the officers I work with do.”
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On top of everything that Suess already does, he also is the 2023-24 student advisor for the Woodbury FFA. During May of last year, he was elected as an officer, even while knowing about everything he already does in his life.
The Woodbury FFA has always been a large part of his life as soon as he arrived on Nonnewaug’s campus as a freshman. In that year, he was instantly drawn to the timber team and has made lifelong friends through it, one of whom is junior Chloe Walsh.
“Jason as a teammate is determined and [is] always willing to help,” Walsh said. “He cares about the team and is eager to put his all into letting it grow.”
He is always willing to be of aid whenever needed, whether it’s staying late, going early, or just being there to help for tasks.
“Jason contributes in many ways to the team. He works on managing the tools and saws before and after every practice or competition,” Walsh said. “He also is certified for several different medical emergencies, making him the team’s medic.”
In all, Suess is certified in flagging for traffic control, wound care, burn care, CPR, and the Heimlich maneuver.
Suess’ role as the FFA student advisor includes encouraging involvement in chapter activities and assisting members in personal growth and career success. Every officer has their own tasks, such as running a committee or planning for the upcoming FFA meeting during flex. Jason is on the Program of Activities committee and is active in helping to create the activities for the FFA chapter members.
He is also very involved in the Events Planning Committee run by treasurer Emma Cummings. He has plenty of experience of planning events due to his time running the K9 vest fundraiser and knows how much planning actually goes into creating events.
“Jason is a very headstrong person and can be his own leader. He only asks a few people for help but he very much enjoys working with the law enforcement, like the K9 vest fundraiser last year,” said junior Ashlynn Graziano, a member of the POA committee. “It was amazing, and with the help of other people we were able to raise enough money and be able to meet some K9s in the process. He’s a very active member on the timber team and tries to be a good role model for his teammates. Working with him on the Events Planning Committee is very fun, and he’s always trying to help and put ideas in.”
Suess continues to impress those at Nonnewaug by continuing to take on many different roles within and outside the Nonnewaug High School community.
“Jason is extremely involved in and out of school as he carries many responsibilities,” Walsh said. “Being an entrepreneur, running and inventing a nonprofit organization, being an FFA officer, a regular attendee of multiple clubs and the timber team, and school on top of it all, Jason does it all.”
