Max Jovanovich
Max then...
Max now
Max Jovanovich
Max began his talk sharing a picture of young Max in a snow suit. He then proceeded to share is back story.
He is the son of Andrea Conger and Chris Jovanovich. Andrea and Chris are no longer married, but both have remarried and now Max has 5 additional siblings. His parents are from Székesfehérvár, HU, and Yorba Linda…the met at Hollywood Video in Lebanon.
Max was born at Alice Peck Day Hospital and has been a part of the Upper Valley ever since. He shared that he grew up as a child of an immigrant. This shaped part of his childhood. He remembered that his family relied on the Upper Valley Haven and Listen. That never seems strange to him. Both organizations worked to help make his life better.
He spent a lot of time talking about how difficult it could be to be a middle schooler. Thus he decided that he would rely on “being weird” to cope. Part of coping was to dye his hair red and posting on a website where he gave his fellow classmates permission to “roast” him online. Not aways pleasant experience but a way to survive middle school.
Once in high school, he let us know that he “found himself” by taking classes at HACTC. He learned about Future Business Leaders of America…FBLA changed his life. He could see himself as a business leader in suit. He got involved in Interact and the Student Senate. He transitioned from “being a self described loser” to “being driven to succeed”.
He shared that he was in a near fatal car crash that fractured his neck. He was unbuckled in the car, and when it landed, some tires in the car, kept his cervical spine from being totally severed…prior to the crash he told his friend they could leave those tires at his home, but the friend rejected the offer…helping to save his life…a serendipity moment.
Max experience at HACTC with FBLA led him to start a chapter at Lebanon High School. He was the first president.
Since graduation from LHS, he has been going to Community College studying computer science. He let us know that although he worried about going to Community College, it has been a really good experience, and he is supported by excellent professors. He is now trying to figure out how he can move on to a 4-year college at a time when student loans are hard to obtain. He loves math and working with large databases.
He has worked at Dunkin Donuts (he learned he was working with a known pedophile so he quit), Forbes Tavern and Bar (dishwasher…hard hot work), Walmart (he worked with a group of fun fellow workers), BJs (had a very supportive boss who respected staff), and now at Three Tomatoes (a member of the waitstaff).
So why Rotary? Max found a brochure about Rotary at the Lebanon Airport. He remembered that Interact was a part of Rotary, and he enjoyed his time in Interact. This made him decide to reach out to our club via our website and Marilyn Bedell then invited him to come to the club.
What is motivating him now:
Obligation to live (against the actors of death)
-Pursuit of weird (because weird can be fun…today he was wearing three watches because it was weird and fun.)
-Getting tired
-Annoyance as part of community
-What else can I do?
-Pushing the boundaries of life
Besides school, working at Three Tomatoes, Max is a firefighter in Grantham. He showed a picture of him being part an ice recue drill…he was the person to be saved). He also told us that he was part of a pain study at Dartmouth and got money for participating.
He ended his talk with a strong reminder to our members that have children in middle and high school. Stay focused on what you kids and grandkids are doing online. Max has only known a world full of electronics and the internet. He share that parts of the internet are helpful, but it can complicate the lives of children. Explore what your children are doing online
For example…what do you know about the applications?
-liveleak
-coolmathgames
-omegle
-youtube (harlem shake, leafy, pewdiepie, t-series)