Jason Nicholas returned to Philadelphia from Scotland, where he is seeking his Master's degree, to assist with the technical equipment for the Institute after previously working with BuildaBridge and living in the BuildaBridge house for several years. Nicholas met Dr. Corbitt in 2003 while doing freelance work with the American Baptist Mission Board. Corbitt was doing leader training for a cultural immersion trip bringing youth to Japan.

When he came back, they asked him to do a promotional video for the Campolo College at Eastern University. During that time, he lived in the carriage house at BuildaBridge. He was looking for an apartment and subsequently moved into the BuildaBridge house, where he lived for three years.

He has worked with BuildaBridge in many capacities. He has done lots of design work for programs, brochures and banners, as well as copy editing and concept work with Corbitt and “general media stuff” like the promotional BuildaBridge video created in 2004.

Nicholas is currently working towards getting his Master’s degree in human ecology in Glasgow, Scotland. In the past he worked with a former Vista worker, Sylvan Argo, who completed the same Master’s program that he is currently undergoing. While in Scotland, both have made a lot of contacts in the area with people interested in doing work with BuildaBridge.

This year Corbitt and Dr. Nix-Early spoke at Nicholas’ university and met with some artists. “It’s a great place to do an Institute,” said Nicholas. “There’s a lot of artists interested in doing community art. There’s a lot of social justice energy there.”

After receiving his Master’s, he would like to do further work in the non-profit world, living in Scotland. After meeting with his career officer, they decided that a good idea would be to work with an aid agency. He is interested in the ties between displaced people and human trafficking, which he says is a potential area of involvement.