I’ve only had the privilege of knowing Jason Scofield just under five years, but it’s amazing how much one person can teach you without you even knowing it.

I remember the first time I had an in-depth discussion on something, coming home and talking to my now fiancée, and saying to her “there’s this dude at work, he’s based in CT, he absolutely scares the hell out of me, but I think I’ve got a crush on his brain.” And that’s where it began.

Over the years, I’d try everything I could to glean whatever piece of knowledge I could from him, knowing full well that the totality of what I’ll learn is less than what he’ll forget in a lifetime. But through it all, he was always happy to jump away from one of those meetings where he was either “on with the business” or “getting the business” to come over and have a geek session – always informal, always trying to just help us figure things out and see the big picture. He had this knack of helping people frame their own mind to connect the dots to find a solution, and you knew you were in for it as soon as you heard him say the words “think differently.” Another fun one was when he’d ask “are you sure?” If he asked twice – you’d better not be sure.

But in addition to being a legendary engineer, I’ll always remember him as an awesome boss, an amazing mentor, and most of all, a great friend. In fact, there were entire months where I forgot that he was my manager, just because that’s how well we all got along. During just about every 1-on-1 call or small group call, we’d end up going down the rabbit hole and just talking about life, then eventually circling back to the screen share that was clearly idle for at least a few minutes. There was never a single topic about which he would refuse to listen – he was always there for someone if they needed.

This world is a better place for having had Jason Scofield. My life is better for having had the friendship and mentorship of Jason Scofield.

It’s rare when you can say that you truly love your boss – but I’m lucky to be able to say that I did, and I’m thankful for what time we had together.