“Teaching runs in my veins,” says Jason Abate, an adjunct professor at Cleary University and successful businessman. Abate grew up in Farmington Hills and graduated early from high school because “I needed money,” he recalls. He took a job at a local restaurant as a manager until IBM recruited him on the spot at the restaurant. He worked both jobs for a few years while going to college part-time, and then accepted a position with First Federal Bank as a branch manager, with no banking experience.
“I was told I had the skills and the mindset to succeed, so they hired me,” Abate says. This was just the beginning. At the age of 24, he was named a vice president of Comerica Bank. “I was told I was the youngest vice president they ever hired.” Abate continued his part-time schooling and once again was promoted within the banking industry.
“When you do well, people want to be in your line at the grocery store,” he laughs.
Even though his banking career was soaring, Abate still wanted to teach. “My mother and my aunt were high school teachers, and my great-grandmother was a principal. Teaching ran in our veins.”
Abate worked hard to earn his degree. He acknowledges that he did not have the full college experience of living in a dorm, playing a sport or joining a fraternity. “My car was my dorm,” he says. “My struggle was real. All odds were against me, but I pushed through it all. I am an openly gay man who made it to the top in the boardroom,” he says. “What good are my experiences if I cannot share them?”
And he continued to do just that. He was at the top of his game in the banking industry, an adjunct professor at Purdue Global, engaged to be married, planning to adopt a child, and helping his fiancé, who launched the Sober Grid app.
Abate was in Michigan working and caring for his dying mother, while Beau Mann, his fiancé, remained in California working on the app, when Abate’s life turned upside down in an instant.
It was the afternoon of Nov. 30, 2021, when Abate’s fiancé sent a 911 text during an Uber ride. After that, Abate never heard from him again. Mann’s remains were found 18 months later. Police continue to investigate his cause of death and still have no leads.
“I was left living with this tragedy; I couldn’t focus on anything but teaching, remembering what Beau often told me, ‘you have no idea how good you are at this.’
“What kept me sane was teaching,” he reports. “It was very therapeutic for me.”
A few months after Mann’s death and his mother’s, Abate heard about the Cleary pathways to completion program for first responders and wanted to be part of it.
“I fell in love with the program and my students immediately,” he says.
Shortly after he was hired as an online instructor, Cleary asked Abate to consider teaching in-person classes at Detroit Public Safety headquarters in Detroit. “I was hesitant because of the long drive, but I decided to give it a try. I was happily overwhelmed!”
When he first arrived and was given badge access to the building, “I was in awe of my surroundings,” he recalls. “I was in the presence of so many VIPs; all of my students were doing God’s work in public safety, and they were so receiving and welcoming. They are such a great group of human beings.”
“This student population is respectful, honest and yearning to learn. I was very impressed with their determination to succeed in the classroom. They have so much on their plate, so much responsibility on their shoulders, and they still were in class, working hard to complete their degree.”
Many of his students have 20 to 30 years on the job and “so much experience at such a young age,” he finds. And many have a 20- to 30-year gap in their academic career, he also learned.
As their instructor, Abate helps students see different perspectives so they can bring new insights into their jobs.
“I am here at Cleary for a purpose, not a paycheck,” he emphasizes. “It is a pleasure and a privilege to teach this population of students who are so hungry for knowledge.”
With their degree from Cleary and their years of on-the-job training, these individuals are well-equipped for advancement and even greater achievements, Abate says, adding that he often tell his students “Rather than looking behind and finding excuses, look behind and say, ‘I did it.’”
“Cleary has a wonderful culture, and I could feel it the moment I walked into the building. The leadership team is focused on giving students a world class education,” Abate finds. “The Cleary faculty is inspiring, uplifting and dedicated to students, always making sure they are set up for success, and the students know it. Everyone at Cleary is on the same page.
“Cleary lives its mission,” he says.
In addition to his executive banking position, he serves as president of the Canton Charter Academy School, and is launching an app called the Network Recovery as a legacy for his late fiancé. Abate also established The Beau Mann Center for Excellence Scholarships and Awards in memory of Mann. Sober Grid was the world’s first digital platform offering 24/7 global community support for those battling substance abuse. It is used in more than 170 countries.
