With his UNLV-themed blazer and infectious energy, Jason DeMaria is hard to miss around campus. The longtime Rebel and near-FBI recruit brings his experience and bright personality to the Office of Admissions, where he serves as the assistant director for visitor experience and engagement.
With a background that began as a student worker at UNLV, he’s worked his way up to his current position through dedication and a passion for higher education.
What is your role at the university?
It encompasses quite a lot. I oversee all of the Admissions undergraduate and graduate social media platforms – my social media team has LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, X, Instagram, and Facebook, as well as the Instagram for the Office of the Registrar. Aside from the social media aspect, I also oversee all of the campus tours. If you’ve ever seen a tour on campus, that’s my team, whether it’s a golf cart tour, a personalized tour, or a group tour with high school or elementary school students. My teams consist of about 70 students in total. I have 30 tour guides who also answer our phone calls from prospective students, six members of my social media team, and about 25 to 30 unpaid student volunteers referred to as Rebel Ambassadors. And then I also oversee about seven members of the UNLV Glitter Squad. So, there's the SparkNotes version.
Is this what you thought you’d do when you grew up?
Absolutely not. I don't think anyone wakes up in third grade and is like, “You know what? I'm going to work for higher education.” I had different plans. Higher education is one of those things I think you just kind of fall into if you know the right people or if the right opportunity arises. And that's how I got my position. I started as a student worker for UNLV, made the right connections, and was able to secure a full-time position almost immediately the day after graduation. I kind of built my way up to the position I'm in now.
What inspired you to take this path in your career and in your education?
I started as a student worker, which was a tour guide. So, I started in the position that I currently oversee. There was something so fulfilling about being a part of a person's decision on where to go to college because where to go to college is a huge decision that families make. There are people to this day that'll come up to me on campus and say, “You gave me my campus tour. You're the reason why I chose UNLV.” It's just an incredible feeling.
Then I see those students that are involved on campus and all the awards they're getting, and then I see a few of them graduate. Just knowing that I was a part of that decision is what's kept me in the field of higher education. It’s the main reason why I enjoy my job.
Any notable mentors when you were starting?
Three mentors come to mind. The first one is Ryan Romero, who was pretty well known all over campus before he left. People know him as the man with the sequined jacket and sequin bow ties. He did a lot of the events and was one of my big mentors when I first started. Since he left UNLV, I've stepped into that role. Now I'm the one emceeing the events, and I even have my own UNLV blazer.
Also, Jenna Heath, who works in the College of Liberal Arts. She was the very first supervisor that I ever had; she gave me my job as an orientation leader. To this day, we meet up and have coffee, and she gives me life advice and professional development advice. She is actually the reason I was able to become a first-year seminar instructor for BUS 103! She talked about her experience teaching and gave me advice on how I could also be involved in that.
The last mentor that comes to mind is Barb Roberts, who is the associate vice president for Enrollment Management. She is the reason that I got hired as a professional staff member. She offered me my first full-time job and has always been someone who's been in my corner, a great mentor, and a great person to have in your life.
If you weren’t working at UNLV, where do you think you’d be?
Funny story – around the same time I got offered a job at UNLV, I got offered a job with the FBI of all places. It's completely random, but I met the FBI recruiters at one of the career fairs on campus. I thought I'd entertain it. I went in for an interview. They said there were 100 applicants, and I was one of the three that they wanted to hire. The job was an operational support technician, which is essentially an entry-level job. How they structure that position is that your duties will be related to whatever your end goal is.
I was going to do the special agent route, but you can also do Secret Service, or surveillance, and then your job duties are going to be relevant to that specific job. Then, I had to sit back and assess where I was with those two job offers and which one fit better at this point in my life. I thought, which one can I see more longevity with? Higher education was the safer route. But, if I didn't get offered the position at UNLV, I would probably still be in the FBI doing some cool stuff.
Tell us about a personal item that is important to you.
My UNLV blazer that I wear whenever I am asked to emcee/host any on-campus events. I have hosted New Student Orientation, Premier UNLV, Rebel Ready Week, UNLV CREATES, and more!
It took me over six months to find someone who can personalize it and make this blazer specifically for me. I wanted to wear something that people would be able to recognize when they see it at events, and it can often be a good conversation starter. People ask me all the time about it and where I got it, but I am definitely gatekeeping that answer because I like being the only person in the world who has this blazer, and I do not plan on ever giving it up!
What do you like to do with your family?
My family is super competitive. We are always finding new competitions for each other. We did the COVID Olympics during the pandemic. We play a lot of games; every week or so, we always play Monopoly, cornhole, and bocce ball. We're also really big into escape rooms. We've done almost every escape room in the Las Vegas. It's a weird, addicting habit.
We do anything that brings the family closer together, which is usually competition-based. We have this whole thing where we randomly draw teams because we're all good at everything, and there's no way to stack one team against the other. They get pretty intense.
What advice would you give your younger self?
I would tell him, “It's not that serious.” Spend more time with your friends and your family, and stop stressing about homework and work. Because it's all going to work out.
I look back to all the time I spent stressing about certain assignments, knowing that I was going to do well on them. But, for some reason, it's the fact that you have a due date, and you're gonna get this grade is so stressful versus enjoying the time that you spend learning because there's something so incredible about having the luxury of learning in a higher education setting. I wish I would have taken more advantage of the learning aspect rather than stressing about what grade I'm going to get on the test.
What is something people would be surprised to learn about you?
That I moved out of my house when I was 13 years old, and I've been working since I was 14. Throughout my undergrad, I either had three or four jobs at the same time. The family that I referenced earlier is my wife's family; that's my chosen family.
People are surprised when I tell them about that because the statistics show that if you grew up in a single-parent household, you're already about half as likely to graduate college. Not only that, but I didn't have any family at all. Once I was 13, I was homeless for a while, and I just worked and worked and worked and went to school and worked and went to school. I think that's something people don't understand because they see where I'm at now with a master's degree and in the position that I am and don’t understand the grit and the hard work it took to get here.
What was the last TV show you binge-watched?
The last show I binge-watched and that I continue to binge-watch is Survivor. I'm unhealthily obsessed with that show. I've applied to be on the show a billion times, and I've already been working on my script and perfecting my video for my next application. I am a huge fanatic, and I am re-watching and taking notes so when I finally do get the call, I'm ready to win the show.
I haven't heard back from Survivor, specifically, but it sparked my interest in game shows. I was just on a game show that aired in December. It's called Lingo, hosted by RuPaul; it was a super fun experience. But that taught me about what to expect in the casting process because we had Zoom interview after Zoom interview, and we had to meet different producers and people from CBS. It was a crazy experience.
But, now I know what to expect and what people are looking for. It's just that Survivor is a much greater scale; they have 20,000 people that apply every year. So, I just need to get a phone call so that I can win them over in an interview!
What does the future look like for you?
So right now, it's more work and school. I'm about halfway done with my Ph.D. program here in higher education. The end goal is to hopefully become the dean of a college. I know that's about 10 or 15 years down the road. So, I have a long journey ahead of me and a lot to learn. Now, I just have to figure out the pieces of the puzzle that's going to get me to that end goal, which is why I started teaching and why I picked up the Ph.D. I know there are a few more elements of my professional career that I'm missing before I get there, so I'm hoping to fill in those gaps before the opportunity comes up.
