Sardis secondary grad Jason Chabot admits he battled self-doubt at times, especially as a teenager.
But now he's a published author, as well as a chief financial officer for a Vancouver firm.
Chabot was visiting local schools in his hometown of Chilliwack on Wednesday and Thursday, in part to remind young people to actively and passionately follow their dreams.
He spoke about his journey, and what it's taken to see his sci-fi book project aimed at young readers come to fruition.
Chabot is a proud graduate of Sardis secondary, class of 1992. He spent his childhood growing up in beautiful Ryder Lake.
He earned the prestigious Governor-General's Award for Academic Excellence before heading out of town to complete an honours degree in commerce at UBC.
"For many years after that, I crunched numbers as a chartered accountant, but over the past 12 months, my career has changed in a dramatic and exciting way."
His debut novel, Below, was published by Harper Collins Canada this summer with the tagline: "No one but the dead dare to venture below."
It's the first of an exciting forthcoming trilogy that he has titled The Broken Sky Chronicles, and the second novel is already written and in the bag, with more twists and turns coming.
"Though it was a challenging path to take, I was able to accomplish this by writing whenever I could spare the time from my demanding job as a chief financial officer in Vancouver.
And it was totally "worth it" in the end, he noted.
"More importantly, I hope students will find inspiration in my story so they never doubt themselves when it comes to goals they want to achieve, no matter how grand or unattainable those goals may seem to be," he told The Progress.
Besides class presentations at various grade levels, he was also set to host some workshops for those teens interested in creative writing and/or a career as a writer.
Want some more fun facts about Chabot?
He once ate fish eyeballs as part of a Survivor type competition held in Chilliwack. He was robbed at what he thought was gunpoint while working as a bank teller, has clung to the outside of a speeding train, and dined with a real-life princess.
Chabot has won trophies for competitive ballroom dancing, as well as public speaking.
See more www.jasonchabot.com.
Check out the review of BELOW:
http://www.umanitoba.ca/outreach/cm/vol21/no13/below.html
jfeinberg@theprogress.com
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