As a captain, Gonos has led his team in participating in multiple charity events in order to give back to the community.
This year, Harvard participated in the Mustache Madness program, a fundraiser that raises money for the HEADstrong Foundation, a lacrosse-oriented charity dedicated to blood cancer patients and survivors. Gonos and his teammates helped raise $6,979, the second most of any team in the country.
“Unfortunately, I’m kind of known for my inability to grow much facial hair,” Gonos joked. “So I personally wasn’t able to get much of a mustache, but our team got a lot of donations and it was awesome to help generate so much money for a great cause.”
Gonos also participated in a program called Metro Lacrosse that strives to teach inner-city Boston kids more about the game and help them with their academics at the same time.
“Our team has been involved with the program all four years that I’ve been here,” Gonos said. “I tutored a middle school student weekly…and this fall, we hosted camps for the kids and we provided them with gear. That was really important, because the gear is really the main thing that stops a lot of inner-city kids from playing lacrosse because it is so expensive. Our goal was to provide the kids with the gear and then help teach them the fundamentals of the sport.”
Gonos also participated in community service back in Maryland, helping out with a homeless aid group called Happy Helpers, and volunteer coaching for a youth lacrosse team.
In the classroom, Gonos has earned a 3.5 GPA. He will graduate this summer with a concentration in economics and a secondary in computer science.
According to Duvnjak, Gonos has been a helpful academic resource for his teammates.
“Jason really helps us all out,” Duvnjak said. “He is one of the smartest players on the team, and he does a great job helping all of us. As a freshman, you come in, maybe not quite ready for the academics of a place like Harvard, but he is always there to help you out if you have a question about a class or really anything at all.”