Madren Center's 'ambassador of welcome'
June 2008
Jay Bottum, 25, is called the “ambassador of welcome” at the Madren Center. The fact that he has autism may limit some of his abilities, but not all.
“You can have the worst day in the world, but after three minutes with him, everything is back to normal,” said Jim Bottum, the vice provost for computing and information technology and chief information officer and Jay's father.
Jay started working at the Madren Center in August 2006. Some of Jay’s duties include washing windows, setting up and taking down chairs and tables in the conference rooms and pavilion and taking out trash. He said his favorite part of the day was “hanging out with Tarver and taking out the trash.”
Jonathon Tarver, operations manager at the Madren Center, works closely with Jay every day.
“I was nervous when I first met Jay because I wasn’t sure how he was going to react to such a different environment and someone else giving him orders,” he said. “But I love it. I wish all my employees worked as hard as Jay does. He never complains. He just loves his job. If you tell him not to do one of his tasks that day, you better have a good reason as to why not, because he needs his routine.”
“Jay loves everyone the same; he doesn’t dislike anyone. If only we could all be that accepting.”
Autism can be a debilitating condition, but Jay has succeeded in developing many skills. He swims 30 laps every day after work, remembers names from years in the past, recites numbers and dates and their relevance, maintains a routine to the tee, establishes relationships with people that last and loves to make brownies.
“He’s also fastidious in his organization," his father said. "It’s like seeing an intelligence that you can’t connect with."
He marveled at Jay’s abilities with memorizing, and told stories about Jay's exuberant encounters with familiar people.
Jobs that Jay has had in the past include working at a nursing home, putting movies away at Blockbuster and filing medical records at a hospital.
Published by Erin Knapper
Pictured: Jay Bottum (left) and Jonathon Tarver.